Kimkim Trip Reviews

Olman was very prompt and responsive to our requests and organized a good itinerary for us, a party of 3. All the hotels were great with very comfortable beds and good breakfast. All our Costa Rica guides were top rates as were the drivers. Only one main feedback is, we wished we were advised of the terrible traffic back to San Jose from Monteverde leaving around noon. We could have left earlier with private transfer.

Activity Reviews

El Silencio Volcano Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Great guide on history of volcano and nice short hike. Not outstanding beauty

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Río Celeste & Tenorio Volcano Rainforest Hike with Lunch

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Caño Negro Wildlife Refuge Boat Safari

Arenal/La Fortuna

The best activity with great guides and nice boat rides. Our main guide was outstanding in showing the wildlife..we saw very nice birds and different types of monkeys. The boat driver and guide were instrumental in these experiences. Food were great too!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Outstanding trip to Japan.

While 10 days was definitely not enough time, Angel made sure we got the most of it all. She even went out of her way to help us reschedule when we were feeling a bit overwhelmed to make a day a bit easier. All of our guides were excellent and we got the perfect balance of gardens, temples, shrines, and historical sites.

Hotel Reviews

Kyoto Tokyu Hotel

kyoto

Great place, cool feel.

Authenticity & Character

Cool restaurant, beautiful lobby area

Location

Close to downtown, easy to get around, shuttle to train station.

Staff

Helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless

Daiwa Roynet Hotel Ginza PREMIER

Tokyo

Good hotel. Delicious breakfast. Good location. Laundry machine that was easy to use.

Authenticity & Character

Okay but not very special

Location

Ginza, near good shopping

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice bathtub and overall spotless

Hakone Kowakien hotel

Hakone

Amazing place with onsen on the roof. Restaurant was good. Only thing that could potentially be a problem is that there are lots of families with kids.

Authenticity & Character

Amazing feel, very authentic

Location

Beautiful in valley with great views

Staff

Outstanding, went out of their way to help.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean, exceptionally comfortable.

the b asakusa

Tokyo

Great place but not quite as special

Authenticity & Character

Standard hotel

Location

Near downtown Asakusa which has a cool if a bit touristy vibe. May have been a bit harder to make it to other parts of the city.

Staff

Helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Breakfast buffet was a bit less impressive than some others

Osaka Excel Hotel Tokyu

Osaka

Really cool overlooking the city.

Authenticity & Character

Great rooftop bar and restaurant

Location

walking distance to downtown

Staff

Helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spotless

Activity Reviews

Sky tree and Sumida River Cruise

Tokyo

Neither of these were outstanding experiences. both felt very touristy without having the payoff. Tokyo in March was quite hazy so there were no views to Mt. Fuji etc. Long wait and very expensive for the sky tree. We actually liked seeing the view from the metropolitan building just as much and it was free.

Quality of Experience

Poor views, long lines, not very spectacular.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sam was amazing. kept us on track.

Transport

Convenient with metro and train.

Full Day Kinkaku-ji, Tea Ceremony and Gion District Tour (Private Guide+Public Transportation)

Kyoto

Absolutely amazing from top to bottom. Tea ceremony was the coolest thing we have ever done. The Zen garden was beautiful. The gion district was cool to see. The golden temple was beautiful and Noriko gave us the best tour of the Nijo castle with tons of history and culture.

Quality of Experience

Amazing tea ceremony and perfect timing with Sakura

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Noriko was the best guide we had. She was knowledgeable, personable and kept us on time despite our desire to stop and shop.

Transport

Good bus system.

Osaka Foodie Walking Tour

Osaka

Mediocre food tour. Only three stops and all with fried foods. Would have liked some more variety.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enjoyed our guide

Transport

Convenient metro

Spot Early-Blooming Cherry Blossoms in Tokyo

Tokyo

I really enjoyed working with Sam but it sometimes felt like we were just wandering without a specific goal. I think if we had taken opportunities to see the blooms on the way to other places, it may have worked a little better. Overall Sam was a great guide.

Quality of Experience

Needed a bit more direction

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sam was kind, funny and always respectful. It might have been helpful to have some restaurants in mind so that choosing lunch places went a bit more smoothly.

Transport

Fast and efficient metro. No real hiccups.

Full Day Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashi Tour

Hakone

A good day although we were quite tired from the days before. Mt Fuji was not visible unfortunately and it was quite windy on the mountain. The visit to the shrine was one of the coolest parts of the day. We also enjoyed the cruise across the full lake. It would have been better to do the ropeway at the end but that was our mistake.

Quality of Experience

It was a good day overall, just very hazy and windy.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Mako was kind and told good stories.

Transport

Great driver. Very convenient.

Full Day Nara City Tour, Overnight in Osaka

Kyoto

Another outstanding trip! Nara was worth taking a whole day. We loved meeting the deer, seeing the temples, and shopping in the downtown. Again, Noriko was an outstanding guide who gave us the historical and cultural background to understand what we were doing.

Quality of Experience

Amazing to see the deer and to learn some history. Sakura also made it special

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Noriko was the best guide we worked with!

Transport

Could have just gone Kyoto to Nara to Osaka rather than going back to Kyoto first.

Olivia put together a great trip for us. We had a wonderful time!

My husband and I are new to using a travel agent. We are used to doing it by ourselves, but we are getting older. Alexandra was very helpful and flexible throughout the entire process and helped us maneuver when we added our daughter to the trip. I would’ve preferred a little bit more transparency about the breakdown in cost. What was your commission rate? Is breakfast always included? Are the tips included or not? Didn’t want to double pay. It’s hard to optimize the price of the trip not knowing where you can improve on pricing. Having used KimKim for the first time, I’ll probably have better questions next time.

Dillon was our tour guide in the Cotswold’s However he was from Wales and I would’ve preferred more local information and history. He was more or less a driver for us for the day as opposed to a guide. He wanted to accommodate us where we wanted to go, but in a lot of cases, we didn’t know where to go.

Alex was very timely in all our transports. We were going to use him on our last free day to give him the business but he said it was going to be $60 an hour for his services plus waiting and an Uber we found out and used was $14. Could that have been an option for us through our entire trip?

The hotels were just as I asked for. Thank you.

Hotel Review

The Clermont London, Charing Cross

London

Very centrally located. Iconic.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hop-on hop-off sightseeing bus

London

Could we have booked this ourselves? They were all over the place. That type of information would’ve been helpful.

Bridgerton Walking Tour

England

He was a bit of a curmudgeon. Maybe he did this tour too many times and he was over it. The tour was not 2 1/2 hours but two hours. He wanted to stick completely to the Bridgerton highlights and no other questions were welcome. He didn’t seem too happy when he was touring us around

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Shakespeare's Stratford and Cotswolds Private Tour

England

See my comments

I cannot recommend the KimKim service or specifically Cory highly enough! She was attentive, creative, and clearly cared deeply about creating an extraordinary experience for us. She was incredibly responsive to all my questions and requests - both before and during our trip. She made the process of traveling to the other side of the world easy and low stress. I truly believe that without her help, we couldn't have possibly created such a perfect plan that allowed us to see and experience so much. Five stars all the way around!!

Our Japan trip had everything we wanted. We went to Tokyo, Hakone, Kyoto and Osaka. Our guides were knowledgeable and great company and gave us useful general help with our trip.

Morocco and Morocco Immersions were fantastic. Such a well planned and executed trip. The riads were beautiful. There were diverse experiences and activities. Particularly, Omar, the grand master tour guide and driver was absolutely phenomenal. He was friendly and easy to work and be with. He knew secret locations and experiences that only heightened the time spent on the trip. I highly recommend working with this team if you are a single traveler or a small group.

Pauline asked all the right questions to give us options for a perfect trip to Scotland. We loved all the tours and especially our Ecoventure boat tour in Cromarty.

Greg put together a very personalized schedule for our first ever trip to Japan. We had selected to visit Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto/Nara and wanted to see a mix of nature and culture. Our wish included to stay in traditional Ryokans, to experience a bath in a hot spring area and to have time for some hiking to explore the scenery. Greg tailored a perfect program for us with detailed descriptions for every day of our 10-Day trip. Besides lodging in amazing hotels and Ryokans, Greg took care of all train tickets, entrees to museums and guided tours. Links to Google Maps made the navigation and use of public transportation very easy. Throughout our stay we felt taken care of, with Greg checking in on us on a regular basis.
While I usually plan all of my vacations myself, I believe that Greg's knowledge and professional input provided us with a deeper and more authentic experience in Japan. I highly recommend his services to anyone wishing to explore Japan.

it was a busy itinerary but that is what we asked for

Audrey Benezech took all our requests and put together pretty much exactly what we wanted. A nice hotel in Avignon, small group tours each day, all the tour guides were excellent. only small thing that could have helped was when we needed to cancel a tour one day, by the time we figured out to put 011 with the number listed it was a bit late.
Audrey also helped by getting our train tickets for us, so everything was covered.

From the first time I reached out to KimKim and heard from Othman right through the trip, he was responsive, patient, helpful and kind. Our trip was amazing. Othman listened to what we were interested in doing, provided a highly flexible agenda, and yet he did so much more than just book things for us. For example, I don't think I would have booked excursions to both Blue Lagoon and Sky Lagoon but Othman did that and when I asked if doing Blue Lagoon right off the plane was the right thing to do, he pushed back (ever so gently) saying that it was a good tonic for jet lag. Boy was he right. His selection of accommodations was outstanding ... and again, he was very accommodating when I fluctuated between family rooms and two rooms. He checked in multiple times in the days before the trip and during the trip.

His ears were probably burning during the trip for the number of times my sons and I were singing his praises. I would absolutely use KimKim again. Also want to say that I thought this was an exceptional value for what I paid and the quality of service received.

Activity Reviews

Solheimajokull Glacier Hike

Iceland

This was really amazing ... and Elly our guide was terrific. She really read the group well; everyone was willing to be a little adventurous and so we got to use the ropes to see deep into crevasses. Lots of great information about how the glacier has changed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Can't say enough about how knowledgeable Elly was.

Sky Lagoon

Iceland

So we did this on our last night in Iceland and it was a really nice way to end our trip. It's different from Blue Lagoon but very very nice. The seven step path is what makes it stand out as different from Blue Lagoon. The view from the sauna step is especially beautiful.

Blue Lagoon

Iceland

We did this right after getting off the plane, which was Othman's recommendation. It is, as he said, a miracle cure for jet lag. I was worried it would be kitschy but it's a must do.

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

We really enjoyed this, especially Eddie, our guide who was a total character and an absolute hoot. The only complaint would be that the focus was heavily on getting photos -- which was great -- but it wasn't as adventurous as the glacier hike. Still, it was beautiful and a lot of fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Eddie was just such a character. Completely different from Ellie but very knowledgeable and just fun to be around.

Our group of 6 had a wonderful time in Costa Rica, first staying at the Hotel Los Logos in La Fortuna, then at the La Mariposa Hotel in Manuel Antonio. The rooms, staff and meals in both hotels were spectacular. All arrangements through Kimkim and Serendipity Adventures were flawless. The activists arranged through Serendipity, in La Fortuna, including zip lining, rappelling off of waterfalls and riding ATVs; all were great fun.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Los Lagos Spa & Resort

La Fortuna

Wonderful suite, excellent staff and delicious meals including a huge buffet breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Charming buildings and pools

Location

Beautiful views and central for day activities

Staff

Very timely when requesting shuttles

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms and restaurant were spotless

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

A gorgeous hotel centrally located in the town for walking to nearby restaurants. A big plus were the dozens of white faced monkeys who were everywhere.

Authenticity & Character

Clean lines and spectacular views of the Pacific

Location

Conveniently located to the town

Staff

Everyone was extremely friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

The entire grounds were spotless

Activity Reviews

Arenal ATV Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

We visited some pretty area that we wouldn’t likely have seen

Quality of Experience

Less driving on highways

Guides, Drivers and Staff

A very friendly guide

Transport

The ATVs were in great condition

Private Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Hike

Costa Rica

The Park walk was underwhelming. We saw more animals at our hotel.

Quality of Experience

Not worth the time.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Nothing

Transport

Nothing

Lost Canyon Waterfalls & Rappelling Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

Rappelling off of several waterfalls was thrilling

Quality of Experience

Our guide was extremely helpful and informative

Food

The local food was good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide pointed out special things in the forest

Transport

An open truck took us to the top of the canyon

Sky Tram, Ziplines & Sky Walk Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

I have a fear of heights but I was assured that I could zip line safely.

Quality of Experience

Each of the six lines was exhilarating

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very helpful outfitting me in my gear and explaining what to do

Transport

Nice lift from base to top

Sunset Sailing Cruise on the Brisa Elegante

Costa Rica

The ship was lovely and the crew were very friendly

Quality of Experience

Lots of fun on the ship and floating in the ocean

Food

The meal served was very good.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The staff couldn’t have been friendlier

Transport

The ship is in excellent shape

Our vacation was wonderful! I cannot thank Kim Kim and Serendipity Adventures enough for all of their guidance , support , and expertise! We didn’t have to need or want for anything. They were with us every step of the way, checking in, making sure everything was to our expectations and so helpful in answering all of our questions and making sure we were happy. Our guides were exceptional. I will use KimKim in the future for travel plans. It was so easy. I feel our vacation was above and beyond our expectations solely because we used KimKim. Holden put our trip plans together and was always available for questions. Wilmar and Serendipity Adventures were always checking in and making sure we were happy. Our two guides that stand out the most were Mariano for the LaFortuna area and Socio in Manuel Antonio. The best experience!!

Hotel Reviews

Arenal Springs Resort & Spa

La Fortuna

Beautiful views from our room. Breakfast was amazing! Friendly staff and clean rooms and wonderful amenities ! Beautiful location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Costa Verde

Manuel Antonio

Amazing ocean views from our beautiful room. We had monkeys on our deck that were fun to watch and a sloth that was in the tree right next to our room. It was so close!! It was an amazing experience.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arenal Hanging Bridges Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fun

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Arenal Volcano & 1968 Reserve Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

Mariano was extremely knowledge and friendly. We had a great time learning and seeing the sites

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Sailing Cruise on the Brisa Elegante

Costa Rica

Beautiful.

Quality of Experience

O

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

O

Transport

Ecological Park & Butterfly Garden Nature Walk

Arenal/La Fortuna

Fun to see all the beautiful butterflies

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private: Manuel Antonio Park Guided Hike

Manuel Antonio

We would not have seen most of the animals that we saw without our amazing guide Socio! I would not recommend this trip without a guide. The park was absolutely beautiful

Quality of Experience

K

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sukia Nighttime Nature Walk

Manuel Antonio

We saw lots of frogs! So cool

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Serendipity Adventures was the tour company assigned to us via Kim Kim. Holden, Mariana, Nancy and Wilman are all exceptional. They planned an amazing trip for us that suited our interests and ensured everything ran smoothly. Everything was extremely organized, punctual and communication was seamless.

Special mentions to: Alex and Rodney our drivers and tour guides Andres, Mallo, Stephanie and Olger.

I highly recommend booking your Costa Rica trip with Serendipity.

This was our first trip to Costa Rica and we only had a week- so tried to hit 3 of the major areas based on an already suggested route by the kimkim team. Worked out great! Really got a feel for the country and what we would do more of on the next trip. So glad I went with the local drivers instead of trying to rent a car. For the time we had, we surely would have lost time finding our way and the roads were quite rough in some areas. It was great to have a local driver who knew the roads and where to go - much less stressful than driving. All our drivers and guides were great. Manuel Antonio park and area was definitely a favorite due to sloths, beaches and beautiful views.

Hotel Review

Hotel La Mariposa

Manuel Antonio

Great views and services.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

TreeTram, Hanging Bridges & Zipline Adventure

Monteverde

Great overall experience at the park - bridge guide was very knowledgeable and zipline team made everyone feel comfortable and safe.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Manuel Antonio National Park Nature Hike

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arenal Volcano Hike & Paradise Hot Springs Experience with Meal

Arenal/La Fortuna

Hike was good - guide was knowledgeable and interesting. We had a partly day but views were still nice. Hot springs were ok - better pools than our hotel; but would do something else next time as most hotels have something similar.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Monteverde Cloud Forest Night Walk

Monteverde

This walk is very dependent on what you see. The night we went was not super interesting - bugs and a couple birds.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Adam did a fantastic job understanding what I wanted to do and translated that into a very practical plan. The activities, which included hiking volcanic craters, black sand beaches, glaciers, and waterfalls, whale watching, and snorkeling were all exactly what I wanted. Adam did a great job mapping out stopping points such that we maximized fun with relaxation. Even the last minute requests such as places to eat and geothermal pools were fantastic. We had the best steaks I’ve ever had at a Efstidalur Farm. It gave a whole new meaning to the phrase “farm to table” as we at our meal watching the dairy cows feed! Sumac, Ox and Moss was also a favorite/best meal experience. My favorite activities were the whale watching tour where we saw two separate orca pods and two different humpback whales. Ryan’s favorite activity was style Silfra snorkeling tour. We both enjoyed the geothermal pools and hiking as well, especially the Djupalonssandur black sand beaches and the Hraunfossar & Barnafoss waterfalls. I would love to go back and do many of the things we didn’t have time to do. Adam and Kim Kim were responsive, knowledgeable, and affordable. I highly recommend them and will definitely use their services again.

First time with KimKim and it will not be our last!

Our trip to Spain began with no planning other than a good value on plane tickets to Madrid. We approached KimKim and lucked into Coraima who took our blank slate and put together an amazing trip package that left us wanting more. Each day seemed to build upon our knowledge and enjoyment from the previous day. Our expert guides added an accelerated depth of both which could not have been achieved without them during our 8 day visit (way to short by the way):

-Irene, born and raised in Toledo, knew all of the short cuts
-Elena brought the Prado to life
-I will not attempt to spell our Grand Palace guide's name, she delivered more than just a "big house" by filling it with many fun royal anecdotes
-Avila and Segovia and all points between were handled expertly by Martin
-Lorena brought sun to a rainy day in Seville showing us the Acalzar and Cathedral
-Yohanna made us feel like family during our Triana Flamenco and Tapas experience. Is there anyone she doesn't know in that town?
-Carlos was a pleasure guiding us through Ronda and Zahara de la Sahara's rich history while finding us local treats and securing a Puento Nuevo view table by a fire for lunch on a chilly day

Our itinerary did leave some time for self-exploration, and we took full advantage of that time: Tapas, parks, Tapas, squares, Tapas, casino, Tapas, shopping...and Tapas. Averaging nearly 15K steps each day we actually lost weight on the trip. Accommodations were convenient, friendly and clean (Cetina in Seville, Regina in Madrid). Transports were on time with strong communication and friendly drivers.

Coraima and Lea were diligent in communication throughout the entire journey, they felt like angels on our shoulders!

Hope this comes off as a positive review, as it is meant as nothing less!

Before writing about Hakim, who planned our trip and who was amazing at every juncture, I have to highlight our driver Mohammed. Wow! Personable, knowledgeable, intelligent and caring. I felt like we were touring with our son. Really became fond of him. Mohammed provided the local insight we lacked on negotiations, local politics, and just navigating Morocco. He was always pleasant, always on time and always optimistic. He personally added to our enjoyment of the Moroccan adventure. I hope we will become lifelong friends. As previously stated, Hakim who organized the tour was also a star. If we had a question or issue, he was super responsive and helpful. His Riad selections were top-notched both in terms of the accommodations and staff. His, was a near perfect execution. My hedge here is due only to the fact that one Riad was a little bit below our standards. The others were exceptional. I would also like to spot light Saraa, our guide in Rabat, and Henyn, our Marrakech guide. Both were knowledgeable, informative and engaging. Saraa had an amazing wit that was equally as entertaining as her color commentary. Henyn was just smart. Kudos to KimKim on the quality of the team they’ve put together. Highly recommended!

We enjoyed our stay in Sri Lanka and especially found Nuwara to be a beautiful area and stayed in a lovely hotel. Yala and the hotel were also nice.

We all liked our tour guide and appreciated his level of knowledge and recommendations.

The amount of time spent driving was a surprise and would have made different decisions had I know. I also think it should have been communicated the first hotel was not at all a luxury experience. The service, food and room were all mediocre.

It would be nice to have helpful information proactively provided. For example the bathrooms along the highway charge to use them so having smaller bills would have been very helpful. Recommended tips for tour guide and safari drivers, clothing for higher elevation etc.

Activity Reviews

Yala National Park Jeep Safari

Sri Lanka

Quality of Experience

Wildlife was great including water buffalo, elephants, owls, deer and many birds. We did not see a leopard.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The driver was distracted by his phone especially the 2nd half of the tour.

Transport

Horton Plains National Park

Sri Lanka

Really the rated should be N.A.- We opted not to do this based on feedback from several people that the weather is iffy and no animals. Sounded like a nature walk but required 2 additional hours of driving.

Explore Nuwara Eliya

Sri Lanka

Safari in Udawalawa National Park

Udawalawe

Visit to Elephant transit home in Udawalawa

Udawalawe