Kimkim Trip Reviews

Wow! What an amazing experience. My trip to Morocco exceeded my expectations and I am so thankful to KimKim and Megan for helping to coordinate such a lovely trip. I appreciate that Megan met with us live over Zoom before the trip to really understand what we were looking for in this trip. As two young women traveling together, our biggest concern was safety, and we did not feel unsafe for even a single moment during the trip.

The logistics were impeccably managed. Everyone - from our drivers to our city guides to our Riad hosts - worked together to make sure we were comfortable, safe, and that we enjoyed our time. We traveled across much of the country and the time getting to know our driver, Mustapha, was a highlight of the trip. I'm glad to say we gained a new friend!

It's difficult to summarize the experience because we saw and did SO MUCH in just a week. We explored the medinas of Fes and Marrakech, ate amazing food, saw beautiful sights across the country like Todra Gorge and the historic Ait Benhaddou, we bought beautiful souvenirs, and made many friends along the way. Morocco is a unique and very special place, full of lovely people, sights, and sounds. I couldn't recommend a trip with KimKim and Megan/Wanderlust more.

Hotel Reviews

Dar Victoria

Fez

We loved Dar Victoria! Karim and Abdul were lovely hosts, helping to carry our bags and always making sure we were comfortable during our stay. Our room was spacious, comfortable, and SO CLEAN! Breakfast was delicious and plentiful. We also ate dinner one evening, and the chicken tagine was my favorite meal of the trip. The rooftop has an AMAZING view of the Fes medina and was a lovely place to be at sunset.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Paradis Du Sahara

Merzouga

Like most of the trip, our experience at Paradis Du Sahara exceeded our expectations. We began with a camel ride to the camp. Riding camels for an hour at sunset in the Sahara was a surreal experience. It was so peaceful and our guide, Said, was kind and fun, always willing to take photos and share a story. This is definitely NOT "camping" but a comfy king size bed with lots of blankets, a working toilet and shower, and plenty of other amenities. The food and service from the staff was just perfect. Being around the fire at night playing drums, dancing, and sharing stories was a highlight of our trip. I can't wait to go back!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Chamaa

Ouarzazate

Dar Chamaa was lovely! The staff was friendly and helpful, the room was spacious and clean, and the food was great. The property is beautiful, with a lovely outdoor seating area and pool. We especially loved the buffet-style breakfast and the balcony overlooking Ouarzazate from our room. The location is not very walkable, but you really have no reason to leave the property because all of your needs will be met. Would recommend!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Merzouga

Marrakech

We LOVED Riad Merzouga. We were greeted by our host, Brahim, who started the stay with some mint tea (of course) and guitar. The lobby and common space are beautiful, with a pool in the middle, and plenty of space to relax. We especially loved the rooftop and spent time there relaxing. Our room was spacious, clean, and they even included some towel animals for us! The location is great - easy to find and close to the main attractions in Marrakech. Brahim was so kind to even wake up before 4AM to walk us to our driver as we headed for the airport. Everything was wonderful and we can't wait to go back.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Brahim is the best!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Wine Tasting in Meknes

Morocco

While this may not be the most expected or "authentic" experience when visiting Morocco, I am very glad that we visited the Volubilia-Domaine de la Zouina winery in Meknes! After a week of travel, this was a perfect way to relax and see a different side of Morocco. Our guide, Mohamed, was so kind and went out of his way to make our time fun, including driving us around the vineyard and sharing wine and cheese with us. We toured the winery, then were greeted with a lovely spread of cheeses and wines out on a lawn by the vineyard. I would hardly call this a "tasting" as we were given several bottles of wine to enjoy as we pleased. We purchased a few bottles to enjoy over the rest of the trip. Overall, it was a lovely experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour Fes with a Private Guide

Fes

To say we just grazed the surface of Fes with a 6 hour tour is an understatement. The city is incredibly dense, full of lovely people, historic sights, shopping, food, and more. Our guide, Kamal, is so knowledgeable about the history of Fes and Morocco, and it was so interesting to just soak up his brain for the afternoon. Kamal was very helpful in guiding us through the medina to purchase good quality items and seeing all of the artisans at work was fascinating. This tour was a blur in the best way, and Kamal spent extra time with us later in the day to make sure we'd get to see as much as possible.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Camel Trek into a Luxury Sahara Camp

Morocco

Riding camels in the Sahara at sunset is surreal. Our guide, Said, was fun and helpful, always willing to snap a picture or share a story. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sahara to Ouarzazate via Todra Gorge

Morocco

Such a fun day! We stopped in Rissani to visit the market, visited a fossil shop, tried on traditional Berber clothing, stopped at Berber villages, walked the Todra Gorge, and explored some of the "Hollywood of Morocco" sights in Ouarzazate. It was a fun and busy day, and a great way to see Morocco outside of the major cities. Our driver knew exactly where to stop and when to maximize our time and comfort!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ait Benhaddou, Tizi-n-Tichka Pass over the High Atlas, Marrakech

Morocco

Ait Benhaddou was one of my favorite experiences of our Morocco trip. Be prepared to climb a bit if you plan on visiting the top for the views. The drive through the High Atlas was SO BEAUTIFUL! Our driver was always willing to stop for a photoshoot. I was also impressed with the new, well-maintained roads throughout the mountains. We visited the Argan and Rose Oil co-ops as well, which I would recommend as a nice stop for souvenirs.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Food Tour

Marrakesh

We are SO glad that we did a food tour with a guide in Marrakech! It's easy to become overwhelmed with all of the available food options, and the many stall-owners who are vying for your business. With the tour, we were able to try a wide variety of foods that we knew were all of great quality. My only suggestion is to PACE YOURSELF for this tour, as you will eat more than you should!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gary, our tour agent planned for us a very good 6-day trip in Australia. We went to most of places we wanted to be. And we're very satisfied with his arrangements. The fact that we couldn't make local phone calls made things difficulty but when there're changes during the trip Gary responded very fast to meet our requirements through other communication channel he could find.

We were arranged in Palm Cove for 3 nights. That is a beautiful place. But the hotel (Alassio) is horrible. We couldn't get in after 5pm because we didn't get the code to get the key and their emergency phone didn't work at all. Thanks the restaurant next door who helped us to got the key. Then we found there're no elevator, no microwave oven, very hard to get into shower tub (aged people could fell and hurt themselves easily), the toilet seat doesn't stay up at open position unless you use your hand to stop it falling down. One of the bed lamp didn't work, TV remote controller out of battery, There're bugs in the closets. Couldn't find the switch for the ceiling fan (hiding behind the bed board) and nobody to ask after 5pm. Other than that, Palm Cove experience was still very good.

We missed the part of Rainforest program (because we stay at Palm Cove?), still wait for the refund Gary promised for that part.

The experice in Gold Coast is super! Stay in a great hotel (Hilton) at a great location!

After we fly back to Sydney we found no transportation arranged from the airport to the hotel. And we're not told that we need to take a taxi to get to the hotel. Asked Gary, he probably is on vacation so still waiting for the reimbursment from kimkim for the taxi.

All in all kimkim is a very good and trust worthy toure agent! We believe it'll improve their work from our experience to make it better.

Hotel Reviews

Alassio Palm Cove

Palm Cove

We were arranged in Palm Cove for 3 nights. That is a beautiful place. But the hotel (Alassio) is horrible. We couldn't get in after 5pm because we didn't get the code to get the key and their emergency phone didn't work at all. Thanks the restaurant next door who helped us to got the key. Then we found there're no elevator, no microwave oven, very hard to get into shower tub (aged people could fell and hurt themselves easily), the toilet seat doesn't stay up at open position unless you use your hand to stop it falling down. One of the bed lamp didn't work, TV remote controller out of battery, There're bugs in the closets. Couldn't find the switch for the ceiling fan (hiding behind the bed board) and nobody to ask after 5pm. Other than that, Palm Cove experience was still very good.

Authenticity & Character

after hour attendant

Location

the environment

Staff

more friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

shower tub layout

Hilton Surfers Paradise

Surfers Paradise

Convenient, comfortable, friendly!

Authenticity & Character

like it very much

Location

so close to everywhere

Staff

so friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

very clean and comfortable

Rydges Sydney Airport Hotel

Mascot, Sydney, NSW

No shuttle bus to the hotel from airport after 5:30pm.

Authenticity & Character

we arrived late so didn't see too much

Location

close to airport

Staff

tried to help

Cleanliness & Comfort

clean

Activity Reviews

Outer Great Barrier Reef Cruise

Australia

The Great Adventure arranged everything for us, including Green Island visit, Great Barrier Reef, (we took semi-sub), lunch buffet, afternoon tea/coffee snack, transportations to and from the hotel...

Quality of Experience

Went to Great Barrio Reef

Guides, Drivers and Staff

all people were very friendly and helpful

Transport

On time and professional

Kuranda Rail, Rainforestation, Skyrail

Australia

We like the Skyrail and Kuranda Rail experiences! We missed Rainforestation program. kimkim promised to refund that part of the trip.

Quality of Experience

smooth ridings

Guides, Drivers and Staff

all people are friendly and helpful

Transport

On time and professional and friendly!

Our trip was everything we had hoped it would be and Marina made it happen! I had a very limited amount of time to plan this trip and she made herself available to answer any questions or concerns we had. I will absolutely use kimkim again and highly recommend it. Marina is the icing on the cake!

Response time while in Spain was also exceptional. We had a couple of questions during our travels and we received help almost instantly.

Thank you for making our trip so memorable!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel España Ramblas

Barcelona

Don't recommend. Location is good but that's it.

Authenticity & Character

Location

in the center of the gothic quarter

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Windows fogged and mold. bathrooms not comfortable and could be cleaner. Not great

Majestic Hotel & Spa Barcelona

Barcelona

Perfect location in Barcelona. Safe, friendly, beautiful, clean. We'd love to visit again. They treated us like royalty! Food was terrific as well.

Authenticity & Character

They keep true to the history and it's exceptionally maintained

Location

Staff

Can't compliment enough

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Aigua Blava

Costa Brava · Girona

Beautiful location and private beach. Very helpful staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beach! Views!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean, comfortable. I wish they had more food options. Breakfast was great but after our first night, we left for meals elsewhere. Only drink service at pool. It would be awesome if they offered some kind of food service poolside instead of chips and prepackaged icecream.

Activity Reviews

Day Trip to Montserrat & Penedès Region Wine Tasting

Barcelona

Our guide made it special for us. Super friendly. Llopart winery was very fun!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking Excursion

Spain

Guide was great! Beautiful day and plenty of time to jump off of rocks and swim. Beautiful way to experience the seaside of Spain and it's ocean wildlife.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tour of Barcelona & La Sagrada Familia

Barcelona

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an excellent time in London. The house was exactly as advertised with plenty of space. We met with Ann on our first day and enjoyed excellent weather with our walking tour. Ann was kind and very flexible as we did cut the tour a bit short due to exhaustion.
Each day we used the Tube as there were suspensions of other services and frankly the tube was swift and easy to use.
We went to Trafalgar Square and the National Gallery on the second day before enjoying our Chelsea game. They even played our American player!
The following day we traveled to Westminster. Our tickets were excellent and we were able to quickly enter. It was crowded but beautiful. We walked the rest of the day - over to Seven dials to get lunch and onto St. Paul's. We LOVED climbing the the top. After, we through the financial district (my eldest son's dream location due to his university interests). We then walked along the river to see the Tower Bridge light up. We walked around the Tower of London which had beautiful lighting and, then across the Tower Bridge. We ended up returning home via the Tube and had to change trains at Kings Cross, so of course, we went into the train station to see 9 3/4. Boys were bored and sitting in the corner and my daughter was gleeful!
On our free day the boys slept. Joe and Lizzie went to the British Museum and met up later with the boys for the Harry Potter Tour. Kate spent hours in the William Morris museum and then walked the Walthamstow Wetlands. It was beautiful.
Our tour of Stonehenge and Bath was lovely. It was nice to get out the the city and Lawrence was delightful. It was a comfortable ride, we found food (essentials for the boys) and the weather was cooperative (enough - just a bit of rain). Long day at the end as Bath was far from London and traffic was awful, but this was not unexpected.
The following day, Joe, Lizzie and Patrick went to the Tower. Kate and Dominic went to the Science Museum to the gallery of mathematics - this was Dominic's favorite as he studies this at university. We met later to travel to the Shard.
We stayed in New Year's Eve. We had no idea that there would be so many fireworks. Fireworks are common in the USA in the summer at July 4, but not at New Years.
On our last day, we slept and traveled early to the Tottenham game. Kate was so excited. The food was excellent and the stadium was beautiful - now if only Tottenham would have played better :(
Many thanks to Eleanor for planning our dream vacation.

Hotel Review

Victorian Sunbeam

London

This house was spacious (for London). The photos are accurate and the owners left good instructions. They cleared out generous space for food in the fridge and the temperature was very comfortable. Beds were large and comfortable and having 2.5 bathrooms was excellent (and the main reason that we selected the house). Being from the USA, we were completely clueless on how to work the microwave and the washing machine. Many thanks to YouTube for assistance. Directions would have been helpful. I'm not sure we ever really understood the washing machine. Special Note: The house is clearly owned by artists who enjoyed modern and avant garde art. There were artistic drawings and photos of semi-nude women in the house. They were beautiful but a bit shocking and my sons informed me where each drawing/photo was as they wandered the house. Younger kids would likely not notice and adults may appreciate them, but teenage boys are likely not the audience for these photos. We were not offended but I know many a USA family who would be unappreciative of these decorations.

Authenticity & Character

I wasn't really looking for character, just space, but I'm 5 starring this one.

Location

About 7 minute walk to the Victoria Line of the tube. Grocery store on the way. Very end of Victoria line so it takes a bit of time to get to many city central sites.

Staff

Nice notes and directions from owners

Cleanliness & Comfort

House was very clean. Towels were laid out. Easy places to put shoes and coats. Space in fridge and easy to use kitchen.

Activity Reviews

Shard Viewing Platform

London

This would be great, if the weather would cooperate. My kids liked the view but it was considerably cloudy, so buying tickets ahead of time is a gamble. We have done it once, so don't need to repeat this experience.

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa - Kick-Off 2pm

London

Wonderful stadium and food. Lovely atmosphere but our tickets were DIRECTLY in front of opposing team fans which was an odd experience. Now if only Tottenham had played well. Since Villa won the game there was much taunting by these fans directed towards Tottenham fans. My kids thought that this was amusing and not typical of the USA.

Quality of Experience

Private Walking Tour of London

London

Our guide was Ann. She was knowledgeable and flexible, adapting to what we wanted to see. It was a lovely day and a great experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chelsea v Bournemouth - Kick-Off 5.30pm

London

Great food and lovely seats. A bit high up, but good view of the field. You can arrive early and also stay after the game.

Quality of Experience

Discover Bath & Stonehenge - Full Day Tour

London

This was an excellent day but a long drive home afterwards. I wish we had done Bath first and then Stonehenge (or just skipped Bath and found some closer place.) The museum at Stonehenge is interesting and the walk around the stones was lovely. Our entire family really enjoyed Lawrence and he was a helpful and responsive guide. I highly recommend him for future tours. His car was comfortable and he had a lovely personality.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Westminster Abbey

London

This was a lovely place although we attended at peak tourist season, so a bit crowded.

Quality of Experience

St Paul's Cathedral

London

This is a lovely church. We thoroughly enjoyed climbing to the top and enjoying the views. All three teenage kids really liked that experience.

Quality of Experience

Thank you so much for a wonderful trip experience!
All the drivers were friendly and on time. We really loved the zip lining and rafting day! The food at the buffet that day was amazing, especially the coffee!!

Olman was an excellent organizer, we are all extremely happy with the service that Kim Kim provided. We will use Kim Kim again in the future to trip plan.

Thanks again!!

Allison

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Amazing views and comfortable and rooms

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nammbú Beachfront Bungalows

Sámara

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parque del Lago Boutique Hotel

San José

Clean rooms but very stuffy

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

El Silencio Hike & Visit to Ecotermales Hot Springs

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Oh

Zip Lining Adventure & White Water Rafting Class II & III

Arenal/La Fortuna

Very professional and safe!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nature Walk at Ecological Park & Butterfly Garden Danaus

Arenal/La Fortuna

Joe was very knowledgeable and informative.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Isla Chora Kayak and Snorkeling Tour

Costa Rica

Good Experience, but the snorkeling was a bit disappointing, we didn't see anything. Also, we wanted this trip to be longer, we had such a great time!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phil was polite, responsive and courteous throughout my trip. However, a few things could have been better planned and the last day was quite frustrating. My 8-day solo trip had 3 legs which started off in La Fortuna, then onto Manuel Antonio and finishing off In Corcovado National Park.

Phil did an amazing job arranging a car rental pick up and drop off at specific locations which really helped my journey. He also very kindly helped with the flight back to San Jose from Drake on the last day after I realised I had booked the wrong flight time. Thanks!

Unfortunately, I was given the wrong international dialling code so I wasn’t able to get Phil on WhatsApp until day 3. During this time he was not contactable on the KimKim platform either. It got sorted out eventually.

The Volcano Hotel Inn at La Fortuna was pretty basic to be honest and didn’t have any hot water for the shower. Spending $3,000 I would have expected a little bit of a higher standard. What lacked in quality was made up somewhat for a location as I had a breathtaking view of the Arenal Volcano from my room. The Baldi hot springs were super cool and highly recommended. I was disappointed that the waterfall tour was cancelled because of a lack of numbers and I would have liked an alternative to being arranged rather than a refund.

The next leg of my journey was a 9-hour drive to Manuel Antonio. In hindsight, I think this could have been planned better. I was able to break up the journey by stopping off at the La Paz waterfall which was beautiful and the crocodile bridge which was also cool. Then I was privileged to see a family of 9 whales on the afternoon whale-watching tour at Uvita. I didn’t realise I had to double back on myself to Manuel Antonio with another 2-hour drive. This left me absolutely exhausted when I checked into my hotel.

The Manuel Antonio hotel was fine, nothing spectacular but again the location was superb as I was right on the beach. There was a degree of noise outside my room with loud music coming from a local market across the way a few yards away. The itinerary said I should book a ticket for the local national park but when I got there it was already booked out for the next 2 days. I wished Phil had booked this for me in advance and can’t understand why it wasn’t.

The final leg of the journey started in Rancho Corcovado in Drake Bay but I had to pay for the ferry boat to get there. Phil kindly refunded me this fee. The hotel was right on the beach and the location is truly spectacular. The instructions for the pick up the next morning for Corcovado could have been better as the hotel manager didn’t know where I was getting picked up and Phil had some vague direction that it would be from the beach I was on.

I thought I was spending 2 nights inside the remote parts of the park but I only found out on day 2 that this wasn’t the case because there was no room for me at any station in the park. I felt let down when I found this out. I thought I had given KimKim and Phil enough time to arrange for this. I was very disappointed that I never received any communication about this. On day 1, this was the highlight of the whole trip. I saw so much wildlife and took many pictures. Our guide was amazing and had so knowledgeable about everything. He had a telescope with him and was able to zoom in on every animal so we could see everything in amazing clarity. The people on my tour were great and so friendly.

Day 2 of the trip started out with more wildlife watching, which is what I came for. Amazing! I was then told then the group would depart around 11, and I would be on my own with the guide which would turn into “more of a hike”. This was not clear in the itinerary as it mentioned “backyard station” which I took to mean a station inside Corcovado. This was not the case. There was also confusion about my large bag which I had kept on me and even hiked for 2 KM with on my back on day 1. In my opinion, it should really have been left behind in Rancho Corcovado but the communication on this wasn’t there, and at the last second I was told to leave it on the boat at San Pedrillo. I didn’t have time to really get anything out of my large bag to bring with me on the hike.

And so, to the “hike” which was very intense and very difficult through some very thick and dense forest. There wasn’t much of a trail and it was very muddy even for the dry season. As we were gaining altitude it was noticeable how little wildlife there is up here as they like lowland terrain just like humans. I really didn’t enjoy this at all, and the last thing I wanted on my last day on holiday before 20 hours of flying back to Ireland, was a workout like this.

I was very warmly welcomed at the lodging that evening, and while I had my own room, I couldn’t believe there was no mosquito netting around the windows, it was completely open. Even my guide said he had complained previously about this and was told there are no mosquitos around here. How wrong that was. I woke up the next morning with lots of mosquito bites, and for another gruelling hike back towards Drake Bay. It was really disappointing that I felt I only got half a Corcovado 2-night experience.

Overall, Costa Rica is a beautiful country with amazing people and I would have no reservations about recommending it as a destination for other travellers. My expectation was slightly off given some of the accommodation. Using KimKim on the whole was a useful experience. I guess where I feel let down is in some of the finer details which I was hoping I didn’t need to micromanage so closely.

Hotel Review

Hotel Manuel Antonio

The Volcano Hotel Inn at La Fortuna was pretty basic, to be honest and didn’t have any hot water for the shower. Spending $3,000 I would have expected a little bit of a higher standard. What lacked quality was made up somewhat for a location as I had a breath taking view of the Arenal Volcano from my room

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

The impressive Fortuna Waterfall

Arenal/La Fortuna

Didn't happen because there was not enough people to fill the tour

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whale & Dolphin Watching Tour (seasonal)

Costa Rica

Absolutely amazing. Really amazing guides and very professional. I was honoured to see so many whales!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Corcovado Reserve Package - 2 nights

Corcovado National Park

I thought I was spending 2 nights inside the remote parts of the park but I only found out on day 2 that this wasn’t the case because there was no room for me at any station in the park. I felt let down when I found this out. I thought I had given KimKim and Phil enough time to arrange for this. I was very disappointed that I never received any communication about this. On day 1, this was the highlight of the whole trip. I saw so much wildlife and took many pictures. Our guide was amazing and had so knowledge about everything. He had a telescope with him and was able to zoom in on every animal so we could see everything in amazing clarity. The people on my tour were great and so friendly. Day 2 of the trip started out with more wildlife watching, which is what I came for. Amazing! I was then told then the group would depart around 11, and I would be on my own with the guide which would turn into “more of a hike”. This was not clear in the itinerary as it mentioned “backyard station” which I took to mean a station inside Corcovado. This was not the case. There was also confusion about my large bag which I had kept on me and even hiked for 2 KM with on my back on day 1. In my opinion it should really have been left behind in Rancho Corcovado but the communication on this wasn’t there, and at the at the last second I was told to leave it on the boat at San Pedrillo. I didn’t have time to really get anything out of my large bag to bring with me on the hike. And so, to the “hike” which was very intense and very difficult through some very thick and dense forest. There wasn’t much of a trail and it was very muddy even for the dry season. As we were gaining altitude it was noticeable how little wildlife there is up here as they like lowland terrain just lie humans. I really didn’t enjoy this at all, and the last thing I wanted on my last day on holiday before 20 hours of flying back to Ireland, was a workout like this. I was very warmly welcomed at the lodging that evening, and while I had my own room, I couldn’t believe there was no mosquito netting around the windows, it was completely open. Even my guide said he had complained previously about this and was told there are no mosquitos around here. How wrong that was. I woke up the next morning with lots of mosquito bites, and for another gruelling hike back towards Drake Bay. It was really disappointing that I felt I only got half a Corcovado 2 night experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Baldi Hot Springs & Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

The Baldi hot springs were super cool and highly recommended.

Quality of Experience

Food

Very Basic Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We were two American women traveling through Morocco on a budget, but we felt like princesses thanks to our EXCEPTIONAL driver Rasheed, the gorgeous riads selected by the travel agency and the well-informed guides.
Hakim worked with me via email and Zoom, in English, to come up with our ideal itinerary. Not only did we see many historical sights, the guides taught us so much about the history, culture (past and present) and customs of Morocco. And, they were flexible if we wanted to stay a little longer at once place or skip something.
If you go to the Roman Ruins, request the guide Hassan. In Meknes you want Mohamed and in Casablanca, request Mourad.
Many thanks to Hakim and KimKim for giving us a once in a life-time experience!!

This review is long overdue for our 10 day trip to Italy in October 2022. We had never used kimkim before, nor do we typically use travel agents , but we decided to give it a try and we are so glad we did! Our trip covered Tuscany and Cinque Terre, and we flew in and out of Rome. Maria Grazia was a delight to work with. She came up with an organized itinerary, and was receptive and accommodating to my modifications. She revised it three times, and we also had a zoom call during the planning process. The hotels she chose were perfect - very boutique like, but not budget breaking. We stayed in hotels in Siena, San Gimignano, Monterosso and Rome. And the transportation from place to place was seamless - we had drivers, we rented a car for a portion, and we took the trains. Everything went smoothly. One of the highlights she organized for us was a private walking food tour of Siena and that was a treat. Our tour guide Anna was knowledgeable, fun and knew the authentic places to go. It was a well spent four hours.

I highly recommend kimkim, and in fact, we are working with them again for a trip to Croatia and I have referred the company to many friends.

Activity Review

“Taste Siena” Food Tour

Siena

Our guide Anna was just delightful. It was a relaxing and fun four hours. She really knows Siena and also had lots of recommendations for other places to take a day trip to in the area as well as shopping and restaurant tips. Her English was excellent and we just thoroughly enjoyed her knowledge of the city, its history and its food.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had an exceptional experience in Morocco with Kim Kim and original travels, the tour company in Morocco. Our driver Karim was excellent: Karim was great company for 7 days, full of interesting information especially about Berber culture and history. Karim knew all the interesting villages and side-excursions to take us on, completely flexible and helpful with changes - and a relaxing safe driver. Fantastic thank you Karim, Mohamed and Saïd.

The reindeer sled experience with the Sami guide was amazing. We also enjoyed the cruise in Tromso even though the northern lights did not cooperate. The food on the cruise was delicious and the guides were knowledgeable.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Norge by Scandic

Bergen

Rooms and bathroom were large and comfortable. Breakfast buffet had many delicious options and the dinner we had in the hotel restaurant was very nice. The location near the harbor, shops, funicular train and restaurants was great - we were able to walk everywhere.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bristol

Oslo

I would stay here again for sure - it is a beautiful hotel with friendly and helpful staff. The location is great and we were able to walk to the Winter Wonderland one afternoon and to a movie theater one evening. It is also convenient to picking up the tram. The afternoon tea is first rate and their breakfast buffet was the best one we experienced. The rooms were perfectly appointed and the beds were super comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful old building and very warm and cozy

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Radisson Blu Hotel

Tromsø

Very nice location in Tromso - walking distance to shops and restaurants, and the airport express bus has a stop across the street. Many of the tour groups pick up there.

Authenticity & Character

It is not charming because it is a newer hotel but it was nice.

Location

close to airport and shops and restaurants

Staff

Friendly and helpful in both the restaurant and front desk.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The hotel was very clean but the rooms were hot and adjusting the thermostat did not help. We had to open a window to cool it down. Breakfast had many choices and was delicious.

Activity Reviews

Northern Lights Chase

Tromsø

While our guide was tenacious in trying to find the lights, nature did not cooperate. Still, it was a nice experience and we did get a photo with a glimmer of the lights.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Reindeer Sledding & Sami Culture

Tromsø

We loved the reindeer sled ride in the beautiful snow but hearing our Sami guide talk about her life and her reindeer was the best. We learned much about the Samis and the reindeer stew and other snacks, along with hot coffee and tea, was much appreciated after being outside for a while.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Very nice bus transportation

Aurora Dinner Cruise

Tromsø

Even though we did not see the northern lights due to clouds, we really enjoyed the experience. The boat was very nice and comfortable. The guides were knowledgeable and the three-course meal with glass of champagne was delicious. They also offered a bar with drinks for purchase.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Alverstraumen winter cruise

Bergen

The cruise itself was nice but the weather was not pleasant. This would be a wonderful cruise in warmer months. We met some nice people from other places and enjoyed speaking with them.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lucy was an incredible travel planner. We worked with her for over a year planning our honeymoon to South Africa. She was very supportive, responsive, and flexible with us throughout the entire process.

Our in-country guide Craig Taljaardt from Capey Tours took our trip to a whole new level with his expert knowledge of the country and his over the top kindness to us. We spent a lot of time with Craig and his wife, Michelle, and they both were a pleasure.

The highlights of our trip included a safari experience at the Kuzuko Lodge, Table Mountain in Cape Town, great white shark diving in Mossel Bay, kayaking in the Tsitsikamma National Park, and staying at La Terra de Luc in Franschhoek.

We would recommend kimkim and Capey Tours to anyone!

Yuliana was terrific! Highly recommend her. She pays great attention to detail and returns emails and phone calls promptly. A+ service.

We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The dogsledding was a highlight of our trip. The Ice Hotel was a low point and I would not recommend it. The arrangements for getting from place to place were good with one exception. When we got off the ferry from Tromso to Svolvaer, no taxis were available and we had to walk with 4 suitcases over a mile in the snow to our hotel. To make matters worse, no directions to the hotel were provided. That should be easily fixed.

With the exception of the Ice Hotel, accommodations were good. The Amerikalinjen in Oslo was a first class hotel which I would recommend if an extended stay in Oslo were being planned.

Our local specialist, Julia, was very knowledgeable, responsive to our in-trip inquiries and willing to make adjustments to the planned agenda.

Adjusting to the darkness was difficult but definitely outweighed by the delightful Norwegian people, almost all of whom spoke fluent English and were very helpful with directions. The Northern Lights were elusive but we did see them on more than one occasion. Just do not expect multiple dancing colors. You are far more likely to see streaks of green.

Overall, I was completely blown away by my family's trip to Costa Rica. I expected to see natural beauty and warm weather but the hospitality of the locals is why I’ll be coming back.

Two examples. On our drive to Monteverde we got a bit lost and were trying to make a U-turn on a narrow, difficult part of road. A random guy riding past on his dirt bike stopped, got off his bike, paused incoming traffic, and helped guide us through the turn. Roads in Costa Rica were pretty terrible outside of San Jose but it’s not really a big deal. Drive with a puravida mindset and you’ll be perfectly fine. On another occasion, we stayed at Hotel Koora at Monteverde. The staff gave my 5 year old a really cool wooden Coati toy. They also loaded us up a bag of water and snacks after learning we were heading out on a road trip to Manuel Antonio. Amazing.

The food was incredible. Nothing fancy but everything is fresh and a lot of attention is paid to preparation regardless of where you eat from Soda’s to the 4 star hotels.

I traveled with my five year old. He loved the trip and especially any component with a beach or pool. The guided nature hikes are a bit tough on kids. Really cool when they get to see things but it can be hard for them to spot things in the dense jungle. For kids especially I recommend the night nature tours. We used ​​Sukia in Manuel Antonio and they were terrific. Kids love holding the spotlight and trying to find eyes in the dark.

I got the impression that Costa Rica has a very complicated economy... with a large social/word of mouth culture. I wouldn't recommend doing stuff without e.g. a professional tour guide. Socio, our guide with Endemic Birds, was incredibly knowledgeable and great at trying to keep the kids entertained.

Brian with Serendipity Adventures did an amazing job with getting our itinerary setup. Everything flowed seamlessly. Hotels exceeded expectations.

Thailand was absolutely the highlight of our multi-country honeymoon experience. Every single day was unforgettable. The elephant sanctuary in Krabi is something I relive every day and need to go back to someday!! Railay Beach is absolutely breathtaking. It was such a cool experience riding up on the longtail boat! The Phi Phi Islands live up their expectation. And Patong was so much fun. Bangkok was a great way to end it! Seriously, best trip ever!!!

Hotel Reviews

Twin Lotus Resort and Spa

Ko Lanta

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Century Park Hotel

Makkasan, Ratchathewi, Bangkok

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bhu Nga Thani Resort

Krabi

This hotel was everything. At first, after you ride up on the long tail boat, you don't know what to expect. But once you spend time on Railay, it exceeds expectations. It was a highlight of my trip. The surrounding areas and beaches are just incredible.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Novotel Phuket Resort

Patong

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bangkok bike tour 5 hours - Joint in tour

Bangkok

Great way to see parts of the city you would have never otherwise explored! And the boat rides were an added bonus!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Speedboat Day Trip to the Phi Phi Islands

Phuket

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phuket - Phang Nga Bay round trip with Jame Bond Island

Phuket

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day 4 Islands Tour by speed boat - Join in tour

Thailand

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ao Nang Elephant Sanctuary Half-Day Tour

Thailand

I will never forget this day for the rest of my life. The elephants are so warm and friendly. I just wanted to play with them all day. The mud bath is so fun! I cannot believe we got to bathe them. Best day ever!!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Temple City, Grand Palace & Klong Tour

Bangkok

Our guide, Tanny, was the best!!!! We loved her. She is so knowledgeable, fun, and the best person. She made the tour!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Siem Reap was incredible! Angkor Wat is simply breathtaking. The mountain bike tour through the temple complex is the way to go. And sunrise is definitely worth the early wake-up call! Our tour guide for the week, Bun, was super friendly and knowledgeable. We really enjoyed him. And the hotel was beautiful!

Hotel Review

The Aviary Hotel

Siem Reap

Gorgeous grounds and beautiful pool. Our room was huge! Staff was super friendly. Also great location. Perfect stay!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Cycling the back roads of Angkor (full day)

Siem Reap

Biking the temple complex is definitely the way to go!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Honeymoon Surprise, courtesy of kimkim

Siem Reap

Thank you so much for the incredible dinner!!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunrise (and return to hotel for breakfast)

Siem Reap

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half day cookery class

Siem Reap

The chef and his restaurant were incredible. This was a highlight of Siem Reap for sure!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Apopo Landmine detecting rats

Siem Reap

Great learning experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Phare, the Cambodian Circus (Seat B - open seating in the rear half of the middle seating area)

Siem Reap

The show and performers were super funny and friendly! Great show.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trekking at Phnom Kulen

Siem Reap

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My husband had the most amazing time in Indonesia. We got to go on so many different adventures! I will never forget the Ijen Volcano hike to the elusive blue flame. And our boat cruise around Komoda National Park to see Komodo dragons was unforgettable! We seriously did things that most people never even dream of.... And our tour guides, as always, were fabulous!

Hotel Reviews

Plataran Bromo

Wonokitri

Absolutely incredible hotel and ride to the top of the mountain. I'll never forget our breakfast above the clouds. The views were insane. I wish we had more time there!

Authenticity & Character

Location

You can't even begin to realize where you're going until you get there!

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ijen Resort and Villas

Banyuwangi

Incredible hotel and incredible views. Staff and food was amazing. I wish we had more time there!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wapa di Ume Ubud

Ubud, Gianyar, Bali

We had the best NYE here! The NYE party at the hotel was so fun and so authentic. And we even had our own private pool in our villa. The resort grounds are to die for. Staff was amazing. Get the bubur ayam for breakfast! Best stay ever!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Private cruise trip in Komodo National Park

Labuan Bajo, Indonesia

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Gending Kedis

Jimbaran

Gorgeous resort. We had a two-story villa with a private pool! I wish we had more time there!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Mount Bromo

Mount Bromo, East Java

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hike to the Top of Mount Ijen Volcano

Ijen, East Java

Nothing like I anticipated but worth every moment!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer to Ubud

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Liveaboard Cruise: Discover Flores & Komodo

Komodo Island

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Liveaboard Cruise: Komodo dragons, beaches, snorkelling and manta rays

Komodo Island

The park is incredibly beautiful! Snorkeling was awesome.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Liveaboard Cruise - Departure Day

Indonesia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vishal was very knowledgable about Bhutan and helped me craft the ideal itinerary that balanced a lot of hikes, cultural sites, and relaxation. He was very flexible when we wanted to book our own hotels and helped to give advice and guidance on the best places to stay. Tek, our tour guide, was fantastic and really helped us understand Bhutan culturally and was extremely knowledgable about the flora/fauna, animals, and natural landscape of Bhutan. Sonam, our driver, was a great and we felt very safe with him. Overall, we had a great time and would highly recommend doing your trip to Bhutan with this crew!

Activity Reviews

Hike to Tigers-nest Monastery

Paro

it's a bit of a touch hike but so worth it!

Wangditse Lhakhang Hike

Thimphu

beautiful hike starting at the Dochula Pass with huge payoff at the end. a bit slippery/icy during the winter months, but still totally do-able if you be careful

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We really enjoyed the trip and wish could stay longer to see more of the beautiful place. We love the places we visited, the foods, the hotel and the guides. The guides ( Tu in Hanoi, Mr. Dzung in Hue And Hoi An, Mr. Minh in Hoi An, And Tony in HCMC were all very knowledgeable of the history of the places we visited. We learned so much about Vietnam and the culture.
Mr. Nguyen, our driver in Hue And Hoi An
Was very nice and helpful.

Hanoi is very nice city, clean with a lot of lakes and beautiful flowers.
Halong Bay is very beautiful, we couldn’t get enough of the scenery. Hoi An is a very nice city, and peaceful , we love our bike ride through the rice padi field , visiting organic Farm and had Bamboo boat ride along the water coconut tree.
Mekong Delta is another experience, we love the bike ride in the Village, seeing all kind fruit trees, visiting local local people making hand craft from water Hyacinth and Banana midrib. Then listen to the Vietnamese song. We love our Bamboo boat ride along the Creek.

I think overall Vietnam is very beautiful Country.

Dat did a very good job in combining sightseeing, history and eco tour. He was always standby and always there to help us with any questions we had. He made sure everything went smoothly and made sure we enjoyed our stay. He always checked on us to see if everything went well.

We highly recommend Realistic Asia , especially Dat as the Travel Specialist, who designed our trip.

We will sure come back to see more places in Vietnam and will asked Dat to design our trip again.

Cảm ơn Dat! Hẹn gặp lại

Hotel Reviews

Dal Vostro Hotel & Spa

Hanoi

Good breakfast And friendly staffs

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Halong Aquamarine Cruise

Ha Long

The door to the Balcony needs to be repaired , it has big gap.

Location

Staff

The staffs in the dining room were friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

ÊMM Hotel Hue

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Phu Thinh Boutique Hotel & Spa

Very nice room , but breakfast wasn’t that good. Shuttle bus needs to have longer hours.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Can walk to Old Town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed is very comfortable and spacious

Êmm Hotel Saigon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mekong Lodge

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore the History and Beauty of Hanoi - Full Day Sightseeing

Hanoi

Loves the lakes and the Museum of Etnicity

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tu is very friendly, fun and knowledgeable

Transport

Hanoi - Halong Bay (Aquamarine Cruise)

Ha Long Bay

Beautiful scenery. Shuttle from Halong Bay back to the hotel was not on time. The driver came very late.

Quality of Experience

Food

The egg coffee was very good

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The manager and the tour operator was lack of Information . They couldn’t give answer on the problem that we had. The tour operator wasn’t very knowledgable giving explanation on Hang Sung Sot cave. The Kitchen staffs were friendly.

Transport

The driver came very late to take us back to the hotel. We had plane to catch and have to ask the travel specialist to solve the problem.

Touch the History of Former Imperial Capital - Hue Full Day Sightseeing

Hue

Quality of Experience

K

Food

It’s home cooking meal, delicious

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mr. Dzung is very informative And knowledgeable . We learned a lot from him. Mr. Nguyen, the driver is very nice and helpful.

Transport

Hoi An Walking Tour

Hoi An

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cam Thanh Fishing Village Tour & Basket Boat Ride

Hoi An

Love the bike ride , visit to Oganic farm and the Bamboo boat ride.

Quality of Experience

Food

Love the Banana flower dish and the Phuong Bahn mi

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mr. Minh is very easy going and fun.

Ho Chi Minh City Highlights

Ho Chi Minh City

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tony is very knowledgeable and informative. We learned a lot about the History of HCMC.

Transport

Ho Chi Minh City - Mekong Lodge

Cai Be

Love the bike ride through the Village . Learned about the local hand craft and saw a lot of fruit trees.

Quality of Experience

Food

Love the fish and the Banana flower dish

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tony Will make sure we learned about life in Mekong Delta. He is very knowlageable about life in Mekong Delta

Transport

Continue Mekong Lodge - Ho Chi Minh City

Cai Be

Love the ride on Bamboo boat along the Creek, Listening to traditional music. Learn about the making of rice paper, rice pop , Banana candy and tried honey tea

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was a trip of a lifetime for my husband and I. Sabina developed the most action-packed 23 days in New Zealand's south island. We did all of the helicopter items, mountain biking, hiking, canyoning, jet boating, kayaking, and stargazing. Our cups were full by the end of the trip. In fact we didn't want to leave!