Kimkim Trip Reviews

This was just a spectacular experience and Bruno was so helpful and responsive. He did an outstanding job of making our trip enjoyable and smooth.

Activity Reviews

Mljet National Park Day Trip

Croatia

Explore Split and Diocletians palace

Split

Dubrovnik - Departure day

Croatia

I think everyone (Francisco, Ricardo, Andre, Nelson, Diego, another Andre, Joao (and Daniel) and Claudia - all of whom were phenomenal in their treatment of 3 ladies visiting Portugal for the first time. Each and every one of them engaged in thorough and pleasant conversations teaching us about their country and sharing stories of great interest to us all.
History lessons accompanied by a genuine desire to let us learn about Portugal and its peoples were carefully and easily given.
I cannot say enough about the welcomeness felt by all and the easiness to get around with help from our Portuguese guides.
It was a trip we will recommend to many of our friends. Pedro listened to all of our needs and fulfilled them all. His constant check-in of how things were going made us all very cared for! Thank you so much and we look forward to visiting your beautiful country with beautiful people once again.

Hotel Reviews

The Noble House

Evora

Architecturally magnificent with an antiquated feel. Plenty of room to relax in a somewhat small setting. It has a lovely small courtyard in front to sit and breakfast can also be taken outside on the deck. Very quiet!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Madalena by The Beautique Hotels

Lisbon

Small but unique in all its lovely working personnel. We were welcomed with open arms and always being accompanied with directions, our personal needs, restaurant suggestions and information etc. Truly a home away from home......Helpful in every way! Breakfast crews were delightful...... We would recommend Madalena highly....also location was perfect!

Authenticity & Character

Attention to detail.....

Location

Easy to walk everywhere from there!

Staff

All of them.....so very willing to help in any way.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Comfortable rooms and clean!

Pestana Porto - A Brasileira

Porto

Great location and lovely rooms. Dining on the sidewalk or inside had an interesting menu and staff was extremely cordial.

Authenticity & Character

Feeling of old and new.

Location

Easy walk to the river and train station.

Staff

Attentive!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Easy access to amenities and bar...plenty of room for two.

Pestana Cidadela Cascais

Cascais

Magnificent art work in large open lobby with a library to sit and ponder how they made this fortress into lovely rooms with outside sky views. Very interesting and easy walk to the beach and town . Hard not to like Cascais and where it is but the fortress sealed our fondness.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service

Portugal

The views, the driver, the winery and wine! A relaxing day in the vineyards of Douro cannot be missed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ability to talk to the driver and hear easily the stories of Duoro Valley.

Our trip was amazing! We saw 3 cities, Rome, Florence, and Venice and each one was just as amazing as the others. All of our transfers went smooth, our hotels were fabulous, and our tours were great. It was the perfect balance between scheduled tours and time to explore on our own. One tour guide in Venice named Valerio Coppo was phenomenal. He went above and beyond. His tour of the islands of Murano and Burano were exceptional. So personal! Could not recommend more. Livtours also did a fantastic job. We had one of the Colosseum in Rome and one in Florence (which was a food and wine tour ) which happened to be just my husband, myself, and the tour guide.
Our other tours were great as well. Evyenia and Harris did an excellent job with our itinerary. Would highly recommend. We were so pleased we are going to start planning next years trip with the KimKim agency.

Activity Reviews

Colosseum & Roman Forum Tour

Rome

Pasta & Tiramisu Making Class

Rome

This was fun! If you already know alot about cooking and baking, you might be a tad disappointed but all in all it was a fun experience.

Florence Food & Wine Tour

Florence

Had our very own private tour guide, just my husband and I. It was very nice! Tour guide was great.

Half-Day Murano & Burano Islands

Venice

Wonderful! Valerio Coppo could not recommend more.

Local transfer in Florence

Italy

Private Sunset & Aperitivo Gondola Ride

Venice

We could not be more pleased with the trip that Marta arranged for us to visit Portugal. From our time in Lisbon, our spectacular hike along the coast in the Sintra Region and our final days in Porto, we were consistently impressed with the high levels of service, the lovely accommodations and the ease of executing the trip as planned via the travel App. We were able to stay in touch with Marta the entire time and she was always available to connect with us if we had any questions. We found the Tour group for our hike to be exceptionally kind and flexible. We had a possibility of poor weather and every day; the team was willing to reschedule pick up's and or modify our trek so we could avoid any issues. The GPS App for the treks was very easy to use and we were able to follow along the paths with confidence. We want to say a special thanks to Marta as she was EXTREMELY helpful to us as we had to delay our trip slightly. She graciously helped us to reschedule all of our plans and we could not have been more grateful for her patience. We have used KimKim in the past and we will absolutely use them for our next trip.

We were impressed and very pleased with each contact we made ...The trip was planned beautifully. We loved our hotel accomodations. We were so impressed with Portugal as a whole. The country works so well...health care, environmentally sustainable, education...a relaxed friendly affordable country

Hotel Reviews

Madalena by The Beautique Hotels

Lisbon

excellent location...excellent service..delicious breakfast...lovely room

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pestana Porto - A Brasileira

Porto

Great location...excellent breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Noble House

Evora

Pestana Cidadela Cascais

Cascais

Wow..What a beautiful hotel Great location..modern and cool

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Historic Odyssey Walking Tour of Lisbon

Lisbon

We loved it and our guide was excellent

Quality of Experience

Immerse Yourself in the Portuguese Culture by Experiencing a Fado Dinner

Lisbon

It was wonderful...the music was beautiful

Quality of Experience

Food

Unveil the Fairytale Villa of Sintra with a Private Driver Service

Portugal

We loved our driver Nelson..we enjoyed the entire day with him. He was excellent...great smooth ride..relaxed..beautiful playlist of music

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Porto's Historic Odyssey on a Private Walking Tour

Porto

Andre was very nice and informative

Quality of Experience

The Flavors of Port Wine - Sip & Discover

Porto

We were surprised it was private tour...It was wonderful...and tasting was great..served with delicious cheese

Quality of Experience

Seamless Discovery - The Ultimate Douro Valley Experience with Private Driver Service

Portugal

I was concerned at first that Andre had a cold but he explained it was just an allergy. He was a fast driver but drove well. He was very engaging and gave us an excellent all day tour. We enjoyed getting to know him and share stories

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Indulge in Elegance on a Guided Winery Tour Infused with Tastings and a Delicious Lunch

Portugal

We were again surprised it was a private tour...It was excellent. What a beautiful vineyard and winery....so beautiful. We LOVED our lunch

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Scenic Voyage along the Douro River aboard an Exclusive Boat

Portugal

It was beautiful..hot and just beautiful country

Quality of Experience

Step Back in Time with a Private Guided Tour of Évora and the Bones Chapel!

Portugal

It was a beautiful town and our guide was calm and interesting We had a little mix up in the chapel of Bones..too crowded for us...and we lost our guide for a while..waited outside..It was nice

Overall we had an amazing experience planning and participating in our trip to Morocco where we visited Rabat, Chefchaouen, Fes, Merzouga, Boumalne Dades, Marrakech, Essaouira, and Casablanca. From start to finish KimKim and it’s affiliate Original Travels accommodated our wishes and succeeded in meeting our expectations.

This was the first time that we used a travel agency to plan a trip and relinquished the planning process to another. It was really nice to not worry about anything. Our trip was 16 days long, with 8 different accommodations, 6 different tour guides, 8 different major stops (not including all the wonderful places in between), 1 amazing driver (Karim), and an impromptu neighborhood get together. Each place was completely different and exciting. Having never been to Morocco, we were blown away with the kindness of the people and the beauty of the country.

Our accommodations were 5 star hotels, luxury tent, guest houses, or riads with delicious breakfasts that met or exceeded our assumptions with one exception. Riad Perle D'Eau in Essaouira was clean and the rooms were large but overall the hotel is aging and was not on par with the rest of our accommodations. Once you’ve stayed in amazing places you definitely can feel the difference. The breakfast was mediocre too. It would have gone a long way if our rooms overlooked the ocean instead of a staircase and another room.

In Fes we stayed in a beautiful Riad where the shear beauty of the open air lobby meets you at the door. The stage is definitely set when you arrive to a traditional tea service. Upon showing us to our room we were overjoyed with my sisters room and were told that the hotel had “upgraded” us to an upper floor. There was no comparison to how much nicer her room was. If we had not seen her room we would have been happy in our accommodations but her experience was definitely different. We asked to be moved and they were unable to accommodate us. When traveling with others, you want the rooms to be the same not glaringly different.

We signed up for many workshops and truly loved learning how to make the many exports Morocco is known for. We walked away from each experience appreciating the amount of time, effort, and skill put into each piece of pottery, leather goods, food, brass and copper, blanket, and rug.

The only one that did not meet our expectations was the babouche shoe workshop in Marrakech. We were supposed to fully make a pair of shoes to take with us. Even though we learned the steps to making a puff puff and shoes, we were unable to make our own. At least 3 hours need to be set aside to accommodate this class. Originally we were scheduled to do this in the morning followed by a food tour. Both the food tour and the workshop were rushed and therefore not as we had anticipated.

I would not recommend the winery tour outside of Essaouira. (we were scheduled to tour the facility, wine taste and luncheon there). We chose to continue on to Essaouira and Original Travels took us to a wonderful restaurant on the beach where we enjoyed a glass of wine and a delicious seafood meal.

We rode a camel, sand surfed, took a kite surfing class and a cooking class, had a message, a facial, 2 Hammams, hiked in the Atlas Mountains, and participated in a balloon ascension over Marrakech. These activities enhanced our overall experience.

Each stop we made, each place we visited, each person we met left us with a true appreciation for Morocco. Thank you KimKim and Original Travels for an exceptional once in a lifetime experience.

Hotel Reviews

The View Hotel

Rabat

Wonderful first stop. Enjoyed the treats awaiting our arrival from the airport. Breakfast was delicious!

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful new hotel

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Maison Arabe Hotel

Marrakech

My favorite! Enjoyed the 1946 hotel steeped in history. If it’s good enough for Winston Churchill it’s definitely good enough for me. Afternoon tea and cookies is a wonderful way to end your day.

Authenticity & Character

Beautiful hotel and delicious food

Location

The neighborhood was a little run down but a quick walk to the square.

Staff

Remembered our name every time and was genuinely happy to see us each afternoon

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lina Ryad & Spa

Chefchaouen

Riad was perfectly located. Simple accommodations with a very helpful staff. Breakfast was delicious. Tried our first Hammam here and the private pool. The Hammam is not a luxurious spa like experience but definitely an eye opener and my skin never looked better.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais Amani

Fès

Upon checking in the staff showed us to our rooms. My sister’s room was on the main floor with a beautiful open floor plan overlooking the Riad’s open space. We were told that we were upgraded to another room. Unfortunately this room didn’t feel like an upgrade but of a switch to accommodate another. Our room felt dark where the bathroom was separated between the bathing area and facilities right between the seating area making the room feel cramped. To be fair we probably would have been happy with the accommodations if we hadn’t seen the other beautiful room.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tiziri Luxury Camp

Merzouga

Loved visiting the Sahara Desert. I would recommend visiting for only one day since there isn’t enough to do for 2 days. I would not take guests to a pool that isn’t up to the same standard as the camp. The pool where we were dropped off at was still under construction and shouldn’t be used.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Rihana Dades

Douar Aït Ouffi

Loved our stay here. The hospitality and food was superb.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Perle D'Eau

Essaouira

The rooms were large and clean, unfortunately they looked into someone else’s room and a stairway. The Riad is dated with a mediocre breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms do not have airconditioning so having to close the drapes to preserve our privacy made the rooms uncomfortable.

Hôtel & Spa Le Doge

Casablanca

The Art Deco hotel takes a minute to get used to. My sister’s room was so outlandish that they moved her to a different room where she was very comfortable. The staff was fabulous and the breakfast was delicious.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Transfer to Essaouira & Argan Oil Tour

Morocco

Enjoyed the demonstration and walked away with a better understanding on how the oil is made. More of a stop to purchase quality products.

Quality of Experience

Half-day private tour in Rabat

Rabat

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Chefchaoeun

Chefchaouen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very informative

Transport

A Drive from Chefchaouen to Fes via Volubilis, Moulay Idriss & Meknes

Morocco

Loved all of our stops and really enjoyed our stop at Volubilis.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Karim did a great job getting making stops and adding adventure throughout the day.

Hike through Berber Villages

Morocco

Loved spending time with our guide and his lovely wife. They were incredibly welcoming!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Taxi was definitely an adventure on its own.

Dine with a local family

Morocco

The dinner was delicious! Unfortunately, the wife was so tired that we felt like we were an inconvenience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family pottery and mosaic workshop

Morocco

We loved this activity! We really gained an appreciation for all the work that goes into the art of mosaics and pottery.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Traditional Henna Party

Morocco

The artist was extremely talented in her craft.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Brass Etching Workshop in Fes

Fes

We didn’t have a workshop but we did take a tour of the brass making area and saw the experts at work.

Quality of Experience

Fes to Merzouga Sunset Camel Ride via Midelt & Erfoud

Morocco

Wonderful day! Lamb lunch was an adventure and loved meeting the monkeys! Riding a camel was an experience in itself. Two hours with rain, wind and sand felt like authentic once in a lifetime ride.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ensemble Artisanal (Handicraft Centre) in Marrakech

Marrakesh

Highly recommend a visit. Quality merchandise priced reasonably without the stress of bargaining!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full-day guided tour in Fes

Fes

Loved our guide Hafid! We felt like we were in great hands from start to finish. When bargaining let him help you. We overpaid at the leather store because we tried to do it ourselves. We learned a valuable lesson and got much better as our trip progressed. He spent two full days with us and we enjoyed it immensely.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Boumalne Dades to Marrakech via Ouarzazate & Aït Benhaddou

Morocco

I loved all of our stops… it’s a long day!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Desert Adventures in Erg Chebbi

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Erg Chegaga Desert Adventure

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Merzouga to Boumalne Dades via Tinghir & Todra Gorge

Morocco

Le Jardin Secret Gardens Tour

Marrakesh

We ate lunch her which was a beautiful spot to take a break!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marrakech - Full Day Tour

Marrakesh

Great job acclimating us to the city and giving us wonderful history information.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hot Air Balloon Ride

Marrakesh

What a wonderful way to see Morocco! This was my sister’s first ascension and our 3rd.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking Class at La Maison Arabe

Marrakesh

Great class start to finish! My husband that doesn’t cook loved it as well. We ate the food that we prepared and it was delicious.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Marrakech private food tour

Marrakesh

Unfortunately this was at the end of the day and we felt rushed. We did enjoy the main meal but could have gone with Karim and had the same experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Create your family's 'Babouche

Morocco

We only had 40 minutes to have a small demonstration about puffs and Babouche shoes. While informative, it was not what we expected.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Carpet Weaving With Berber Women

Morocco

Demonstration and 5 mins each weaving.

Quality of Experience

Moroccan Hammam Retreat at La Mamounia

Marrakesh

Excellent!

Quality of Experience

Wine Tasting at Domaine Val d'Argan

Essaouira

They didn’t know we were coming so we moved on to Essaouira where we had a lovely lunch on the beach.

Quality of Experience

Private Kitesurfing Lesson Essaouira

Essaouira

Our instructor was thorough and knowledgeable. We ended our lesson with a better understanding of the sport and a desire to continue with lessons.

Quality of Experience

Essaouira to Casablanca via Eljadida & Safi Coastal Route

Morocco

Uneventful drive. Seeing a sheep on top of a car being transported and a camel along the road was our highlight.

Architectural Elegance: A Journey through the Hassan II Mosque

Morocco

Beautiful Mosque and a must see since it’s the only one in the country that you can go in.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Off-The-Beaten-Path Casablanca for Early Arrivers

Casablanca

Our trip wouldn’t have been the same without Karim our exceptional driver. From start to finish he was instrumental in getting us from point A to Z with wonderful stops in between.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

It’s amazing how much stuff we got in one car.

Our experience of using KimKim was excellent from start to finish. Everything was planned according to what we wanted. There are things that we have learnt from the experience and would ask for differently when we plan a holiday using KimKim again (which will most definitely do).
Thomas was always on hand and responded positively.
Le Clos des Pommiers Guest House - this was a beautiful guest house and ideal for our first night's stay. Although the hosts spoke little English they were extremely welcoming and went out of their way to secure us a reservation for dinner.
Hotel Le Relais Saint Michel - although not the best hotel we can understand why it was chosen with its vicinity to Mont Saint Michel. Mont Saint Michel was certainly an experience not to be missed, if a bit touristy! The guided tour with Samuel was informative and he was extremely knowledgeable about the area. (It would have been useful to know that you needed a pin number to gain access to the hotel).
Hotel Le Sozo - this was a quirky hotel close to the centre of Nantes, which was a lovely town.
Hotel Anne d'Anjou - this was a lovely hotel in an excellent location. Saumur was an interesting town. The tour of the vineyards with Amelie was fascinating and it was definitely worth doing.
Le Folie Saint Julien Guest House - this was a lovely guest house and the hosts were welcoming, although the location was not ideal as going anywhere involved driving. The tour of the vineyards was not as interesting as the previous one, it felt more like an opportunity for selling wine.
Chateau Tour - this was one of the highlights of our tour. The tour guide Nicolas really made the tour come alive, he was one of the best tour guides I have ever come across.
Hotel Le Pommerais - this was the least favourite of our stays. The hotel wasn't great and nowhere near anywhere to either eat or have a stroll. Although the Le Folie Saint Julien wasn't in the best location, the charm of the accommodation made it worth it, Le Pommerais didn't have this. Also we visited Le Mans on a Monday and virtually everything was shut (not KimKim's fault as this is typical of French regional towns).
Grand Hotel Luxembourg - a great hotel in a perfect location. The tour of the Omaha Beach was inspirational, our only criticism was that it was geared towards Americans, but nonetheless we certainly learned a lot.
Overall this was an experience not to missed, ,the travel plan met what we had asked for (which was sketchy). In the future we will know to be more specific about our requirements.

Activity Review

Loire Valley: Châteaus de Chambord & Chenonceau

Amboise

The was the highlight of our tour of the Loire Valley. Our guide Nicolas really made the tour come alive. He was the best tour guide we have ever had the pleasure of meeting.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Enthusiasm and knowledge of his subject

Transport

Thanks so much to Randall and team for designing our holiday to Costa Rica, and being so responsive to any requests or changes we had. It was our first time using Kimkim and they were very patient and understanding. They recommended a great mix of locations and activities for us and we managed to fit a lot into 2 weeks. All of the transfers went really smoothly and we felt really well supported throughout the whole trip. Pura Vida!!

Hotel Reviews

Jaguarundi Lodge

Monteverde

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Activity Reviews

Canyoning Tour

Arenal/La Fortuna

Monteverde - Hanging Bridges Guided Hike & Zip-lining tour

Monteverde

Guided Hike in Arenal Volcano

Arenal/La Fortuna

This was my first time using KimKim and was phenomenal in many ways. It was like having a personal guide with me and my group of 8 friends throughout my entire birthday celebration.

They set up a personal chef, photographer, five days of transportation and excursions.

The only thing that I am not totally favorable about is the lack of transparency in the pricing model. I had a friend to cancel and hike I understand the no refund policy after thirty days, we all know that all excursions can be cancelled and refunded up until
About 48 hours before the trip.

But, I will let that go because everything was planned out perfectly and took allllllllllll the stress away from me. Any issues that we had Ximena and Melina were only a WhatsApp chat away. I honestly rate these ladies 7 stars!!!!!!

Leslie did great on the planning but was often slower for someone who lacks patience (me), but once the trip was handed over the Ximena and Melina the responses were within seconds. This brought me so much comfort and my group was amazed at how responsive they were at all hours!!!

Activity Reviews

Mexican Dinner Party!

Nuevo Vallarta

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset in a Sailing Boat

Mexico

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

City tour & Tequila Tasting

Puerto Vallarta

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

from organizing to the real trip, everything is going smoothly

Every guide we had was special, as was each of the tours we partook in. We especially enjoyed boat ride to the Zingaro Reserve. Boat company the Lionel Ritchie was great!
We thought Lorenzo Capraro delivered a wonderful guided tour of Agrigento.
We loved Professor Onofrio Prestifilippo at the Casale of Villa Romana.
Our tour of Ortigia and the Neapolis Archaeological Park with was amazing with Fausto Mignelo
Our tour with Marco Saprenza was awesome on Mt. Etna.
We enjoyed the energy of Lara Guida Turistica on our very rainy excursion through Palermo.
All of our Hotel professionals were very capable, we especially loved Hotel Failla’s accommodation.
Overall we were very pleased with all the arrangements that were made by Marianne. It was especially comforting to be able to reach out to her whenever we were not sure of a given situation. Of course our drivers were timely and very professional as well.
We will definitely recommend Kim Kim and hope to do another excursion in the future ourselves.

Our trip planned by Johanna was fantastic! The hotels were all lovely, the food tour in Lima led by Amy was lots of fun and our drivers were all friendly and safe drivers. The highlight of our trip was our guide for Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley and Cusco. Flor was an amazing guide-knowledgeable, resourceful, accommodating, considerate, and fun! Without a doubt she made our trip an experience of a lifetime! I have already recommended Kimkim to family and friends planning adventures around the world!

We had an amazing trip to Italy and Greece thanks to the help of KimKim and our specialist Harris.

Starting in Sorrento we had a peaceful stay right along the bay. Enjoyed wine and pizza and the local beaches.

Next we traveled to Athens where we had an amazing staying in Plaka District. We then finished the trip in Santorini where we enjoyed days by the pool and amazing Greek cuisine.

I would recommend KimKim to anyone looking to travel abroad and see the world in more detail!

Our guide Dennis, and our driver Surya were excellent. Also, at Ecolodge in Bukit Lawang, our guide Zul and the assistant, Jat were a very good team for finding orangutans and birds.
The trip overall was exciting and mind-broadening.

Hotel Reviews

Ecolodge Bukit Lawang

Bukit Lawang

Hotel rooms very basic, not in a bad way, but because the hotel is ecologically -oriented, some features, such as no hot water for the showers, may not be good for everyone. It was fine for us.

Authenticity & Character

Very committed to the environment

Location

Great place for orangutans

Staff

Friendliness, and helpfulness

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Emerald Garden

Medan

Clean, decent pool, good breakfast buffet.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Closer to airport if just staying there for the convenience before flying out.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sinabung Hills Berastagi

Berastagi

Very short stay so hard to say, but was very clean and nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tabo Cottages

Sumatera Utara

Nice location, nice rooms, good food, staff very friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Trek in Gunung Leuser National Park

Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra

Orangutans very easily seen. Our guide and assistant very good at spotting and identifying birds, which is not usual for them, we felt, but they were very open to helping with the birds.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trek Leuser Park - Day 2

Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra

same as day 1

Trek Leuser Park - Day 3

Bukit Lawang, North Sumatra

same as day 1

Quality of Experience

Sunrise Mount Sibayak Trek & Travel to Samosir Island

Indonesia

Long drive but good driver, good sights.

Travel from Bukit Lawang to Berastagi

Indonesia

Good driver, interesting sights.

Travel from Samosir to Medan Airport via Pematang Siantar

Indonesia

Long but good driver, interesting sights.

We first planned to go to Morocco in 1998 ..... it's taken a while but we've just finished an amazing trip. Starting in Marrakech, over the High Atlas to Boumalne Dades, the desert of Erg Chebbi, across the middle atlas to Fes, the beautiful Blue City of Chefchaouen and flying out of Tanger.

All this time we were in the very capable hands of Samir who’s genuine passion for his country and Berber culture was an unexpected bonus to the trip. It was a pleasure to meet him and be able to learn just a little about Morocco and it’s people. I am a nervous traveller yet he managed to make the long drives a relaxing delight with his safe and assured driving.

We had a great experience. High lights would be exploring the desert and wondering the streets of Chefchaouen at sunset. If we had a little more time I would have loved to explore the high Atlas Mountains and see more of the wilderness of Morocco. Maybe next time. Tips for Marrakech and Fes medinas with guides. Do a little homework first so you know exatcly what you want to see, eat and buy. It does feel that the guides ( more so
In Fes ) are really just on a tour of things to buy ( with a commission ) so it's worth knowing what you really want to do and being firm , but sincere about it with the guides. The medinas are somewhere to get lost in but somethings that's half the fun.

Altogether a wonderful albeit 24 years late and a big thank you to Samir.

Amazing! It was our first time going with kimkim… was a little nervous, having never used a travel consultant online to do our bookings before. But every little detail was well thought out and paced out. We had a great balance of activity and relaxation. Norway is spectacular… Flam is a must see.
I would totally recommend KimKim… thanks so much Julia for planning the perfect holiday.

Tomaz worked tirelessly to organize our trip the way we wanted and Grand Cuvee Tours managed it. Given the complexity of the trip for 3 countries over more than 2 weeks there were a few snafus which were well managed by the GCT team, but in all everything went extremely well. Italy was awesome and some of the hotels we stayed at were fantastic. In particular, the guide we had at the Uffizi gallery was very helpful and knowledgeable and the lady who guided us around Salzburg easily adapted to what we wanted to see and went out of her way to ensure we managed our way through the atrocious weather. We also had some great drivers, including Vincenzo who managed our visit to Pompeii and had an infectious sense of humor. This was the first time my adopted daughter visited Europe and she loved every day of it. Thank you everyone who helped make this a memorable vacation.

Greece was so amazing that I really do not know where to begin. First, KimKim and Chris were incredible. Chris took the time to talk to me and my wife and really try to understand the type of trip we were after - we wanted to explore on our own, sail on a small boat and see all the sights but not be with a big group.

He put together an 18 day extravaganza that included local guides in Athens (Thanks Apollo !), a car rental with us driving around Greece to Delphi, Olympia, Nafplio and all the amazing sites in between. We had lunch with an amazing family of olive oil makers, we toured a winery (that our local guide in Athens suggested), incredible accommodations at each city (we stayed in Galaxidi, Katakolo and Nafplio). The driving was easy and fun and gave us the flexibility to do what we wanted. We made a circle around the Bay of Corinth, returned to Athens and flew to Mykonos. In Mykonos we hopped on a 40 foot sailboat.

We sailed with naxos-yachting.com and had an incredible crew - shout out to Akis and Anna. They took us to Delos, Paros, Naxos, Schinousa and Santorini. Each port was mind blowing and after 4 days of sailing, they are friends for life. They had so much local knowledge and got us off the beaten path - we hit restaurants that only the locals use, we jumped off cliffs, we swam in caves and at one point we found ourselves sitting on the front porch of an old couple's house, laughing and drinking some homemade liquor with them - us not speaking a lick of Greek and them not speaking a lick of English - amazing.

We ended the trip with a few restful days on Santorini - we had wine tour, a boat ride through the caldera and more amazing accommodations - Santorini is like a movie set.

We travel a lot and expect small things/inconveniences to pop up. Honestly, did not have a single one. Every time Chris had planned a driver - they were there on time and professional. Every flight - we had our tickets, transfer etc. Every hotel, they were waiting for us. Unreal.

All in all, one of the best trips of my life.

Hotel Reviews

Athens Manor Houses

Athens

The accommodations are great, the staff super nice and the breakfast was spot on. The location is perfect as we could walk to everything. The only negative for me was the street noise in Athens but even with that, it was great.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

As an American who lives in the South, I was wishing for stronger AC.

Ganimede Hotel

Galaxidi

Beautiful place. My wife and I ended up with a very large room that had a kitchen, bath and upstairs loft. The Breakfast in this place is crazy good. Staff was super. I honestly felt like I was staying in someone's house.

Authenticity & Character

Felt like someone's home - in a good way.

Location

Town is small but we could walk to both harbors in less than 3 minutes. The town is wonderful to walk around.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Orizontes View Hotel

Pyrgos Ilia

Clean, crisp, modern, spacious, great AC - oh, and the view !!!!!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

3Sixty Hotel & Suites

Nafplio

Nafplio is a must see. While I tell everyone that the people I met in Greece were the nicest people in the world, the staff at this hotel topped the list. The young ladies that worked the desk and the breakfast area were delights. They were super helpful, took care of getting our laundry done, hooked us up with suggested beach spots and kept the ice buckets full (which in Europe is amazing). The rooms were large, big ceilings and great. The food at the restaurant (breakfast was included) was great, so good that we stayed for dinner one night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Small beautiful town and this place is right in the middle of it all.

Staff

THE MOST HELPFUL

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great rooms and great AC

Activity Reviews

Acropolis & Flavors of Athens

Athens

Apollo was our guide and he did a great job answering 1,000 questions, giving us insight into the ruins and, best of all, giving us tips for the rest of the trip. At his suggestion we hit a winery "Up in the Clouds" and had one of those unexpected great days.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lunch with Olive Grove View

Greece

This was an "optional" but suggested event. We had a group of 6, I called on our way out of Delphi and they said just swing by. HOLY COW - we had one of the best meals, olive oil tasting, discussions with locals on the whole trip. 6 people 4 bottles of wine and all the food you can eat - $140.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

At sea in the Aegean

Greece

Naxos Yachting - Akis and Anna were our crew and they were wonderful.

Quality of Experience

Local folks with local knowledge.

Private Santorini Wine Tour

Santorini

Great tour of a couple of wineries - pretty standard stuff. Our guide Elsa was very sweet and knowledgeable. The dinner after was great food but we were the only people in the place so the atmosphere was a lacking.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Quality vehicles - very comfortable.

We had an amazing trip! With Deborah's coordination, expertise and knowledge, she blended our request for traditional African cultural experiences and off the beaten path adventures. We visited Johannesburg (Soweto, Cradle of Humankind, Sterkfontein Caves), Safari in Kruger Bush, Cape Town coastal tours (including lunch with Nicky Gibbs!), Paternoster (Penguins, lunch at Wolfgat), Cederberg, (Rock Art), Franschhoek (Wine Country), National Parks (both Western & Fossil), Victoria Falls, then onto the Grand Finale on the Chobe River Boat. Transfers went smoothly, as with every hand-off to a new wonderful Tour Guide. Would highly recommend her to personalize your next adventure. We can’t thank her enough!

We were late getting started on planning our trip to Turkey, but Berat stepped right up and got us all squared away in just a few days. We had some ideas about what we wanted to see and she put them together in an itinerary that made sense, with a good balance of travel and sight seeing each day. We had been warned away from Troy, but our guide, Erdem Keseli, did a great job of interpreting the site and the museum, as he did for the other sights we visited (Gallipoli, Assos, Pergamon, Asclepion, and Ephesus). We enjoyed the hotels Berat selected, especially the Sunset Boutique Hotel in Assos where we had a great view and the best breakfast! The last night of our trip in Sirince at the Hotel Manolian was disturbed by the loud barking of the street dogs, though there's little the hotel could do to prevent that. It was otherwise comfortable and well located for wandering the streets of the village. Overall, everyone we interacted with on our trip, guide, driver and hotel staff were warm and welcoming and we are already dreaming of our next trip to Turkey!

Hotel Reviews

Sirkeci Mansion Hotel

Istanbul

This is a charming hotel in a wonderful location for exploring the sights of Sultanahmet in Istanbul. The staff were very kind and helpful and breakfast was delicious. The view from the rooftop terrace at night is magical.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Doubletree by Hilton Çanakkale

Çanakkale

While clearly a chain hotel, this hotel is well located and clean and has all the amenities one might want. The staff were very friendly and breakfast was good. The bed was very comfortable. It is outside the central part of Cannakale, but is along the water with good restaurants in walking distance.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Assos Sunset Boutique Hotel

Çanakkale

We loved this hotel. The room was charming and the staff were wonderful. The view from the terrace was spectacular. Breakfast was the best of the whole trip - a whole selection of traditional Turkish breakfast foods.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Hera

Bergama

This is a charming hotel in walking distance from the commercial center of Bergama. It was quiet and comfortable and the staff were very welcoming. Breakfast was good, but since it was the day after our spectacular Assos Sunset Boutique Hotel breakfast, it wasn't quite the same. There is a charming courtyard where you can relax with a drink any time of day.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Discover Byzantine + Ottoman Istanbul

İstanbul

We enjoyed all the sights on this tour. It was great to have a guide who was able to get priority entrance for the Palace and the Cistern so we didn't have to waste time waiting in lines.