Kimkim Trip Reviews

Everything was great - the pace was just about right for us - with more guidance and hand-holding at the beginning of the trip - when we needed it most! We had several outstanding guides - Sandra was wonderful in the hills outside of Florence, Francesca was outstanding in the Coliseum - she was studying archaeology and her enthusiasm was amazing - made a 4 hour tour seem like an hour or so...
Venice was incredible - the experience of getting off a train and jumping into a boat/taxi to get to the hotel was memorable.
Jessica and her team were always available via text - and when there were minor connections issues (driver late - we couldn't find each other) - they were taken care of within a couple of minutes - excellent support.
We didn't know what to expect from 'pizza school' - but it ended up being one of the highlights of the trip - I thought it might be a bit 'touristy', but it was a wonderful experience. Would recommend it to anyone.
The day on the Amalfi coast was great - our guide was wonderful - and did not make us feel hurried.
The only minor issue was that we had 2 different drivers that did not have the exact address of the hotel. In one case (at the beginning) in Florence - the driver let us off without verifying that we were at the right place - and in Sorrento, the driver pointed us to the wrong street - fortunately we insisted that he stay with us until we entered the hotel. Please make sure the drivers have the exact address of the hotel - instead of just the hotel name.

Please note that the hotel breakfasts were perfect - enough variety to satisfy anyone.

Hotel Reviews

Raffaello Hotel Rome

Roma

Nice hotel - closest to an older American hotel near the Train station and Coliseum

Authenticity & Character

Hotel was old-style hotel with heavy carpeting - quiet.

Location

All was OK - we just stayed the night before catching our plane

Staff

Very helpful - great breakfast staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

King Bed - English speaking TV stations!

Residenza D'Epoca Palazzo Galletti

Florence

Terrific location - Staff insisted that the A/C was working when it clearly was not. Great breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

The open courtyard to the center of the building and the patio.

Location

Close enough to walk everywhere - but quiet enough at night.

Staff

Better resolution of room/AC issues.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mattress was not great - A/C

Ca' Pozzo Inn

Venice

Authenticity & Character

A more modern hotel - tucked away - wonderful and clean

Location

Close to the train station - and close enough to Realto -too far from San Marcos square

Staff

Welcoming staff - breakfast attendant was perfect.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The cleanest hotel we stayed

Aenea Superior Inn

Rome

Small room - close to coloseum - Breakfast in a basket delivered to our room

Authenticity & Character

Size of the room - breakfast was just croissants - would have preferred a heavier breafast.

Location

Within about 5 blocks from Coliseum

Staff

Staff generally not visible - but good response to room setup fix (we were given a twin instead of a double - fixed immediately)

Cleanliness & Comfort

The size of the room made the room seem 'messy' because there was no storage.

Sorrento City Hotel

Sorrento

Rooftop balcony was the best thing about the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

We would have liked to have been able to sleep together -

Location

Too loud - not in the 'better side' of the Sorrento main square.

Staff

Breakfast staff and Rooftop Bar staff were great. Lobby staff were polite but disinterested.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Twin beds - with a bunk bed was not comfortable. Thin walls.

Activity Review

Private Colosseum Tour Including Roman Forum

Rome

Our 4 hour tour with Francesca was amazing. She became a friend during that time. Her enthusiasm was infectious - and helped us appreciate what we were seeing. At the end, we couldn't believe that 4 hours had passed - it seemed like an hour - maybe two. We are so glad we got to meet her.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Valentine did a great job in communicating with us in the mornings (as she is based in France). She picked beautiful boutique hotels with delicious breakfasts. We were very happy with her recommendations for tours and events to make our first visit to France incredibly memorable.

While in France, we felt like we were supported and in good hands if anything went awry (CDG strikes)

Lessons Learned:
- Pick half day excursions if you like to explore on your own. Full day tours are fantastic but although they don't last 12 hours it will fill up your day.

Hotel Reviews

Hôtel Lorette - Astotel

Paris

Clean rooms but shows its age. Floors are loud and shower is not setup for 2m tall Americans. Breakfast was delicious and front-desk service was incredibly helpful!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Villa Nice Victor Hugo

Nice

Updated rooms in great area of town. 0.4 miles to beach and 0.2 miles from the shopping/restaurant district. Number of michelin rated restaurants share the building with the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel CitizenM CDG

Roissy

Close proximity to airport! Decent food. Service top-notch.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Montmartre Local Gastronomy Tour

Paris

Amazing food tour. History and patisserie cannot be beat.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a wonderful trip to Portugal and Spain! All our accommodations were great and centrally located! All of our tours were wonderful with great and knowledgeable guides! The only issue was our driver from Lisbon to Porto! He was a horrible driver and I know Bill Moody has addressed that with you and you are looking into it!
Overall a wonderful experience!

Hotel Reviews

BessaHotel Liberdade

Lisboa

Great hotel! Breakfast was amazing! Great location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sé Catedral Hotel Porto, Tapestry Collection By Hilton

Porto

Very nice hotel! Roomsca little small and hard to get hot water! Breakfast was amazing!!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

7 Islas Hotel

Madrid

Rooms were great! It was a little noisy due to bars on the street below open until we hours of the morning! Breakfast ok but often food was cold!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Gran Hotel Havana

Barcelona

Great location! Breakfast was delicious with much variety!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Tour of Barcelona & La Sagrada Familia

Barcelona

Laura was an amazing tour guide!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lisbon Roots, Food & Cultural Walk

Spain

Quality of Experience

Food

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

Private Day Excursion: Sintra, Cascais & Estoril

Spain

Good day! Tour guide was good but did not have as much knowledge as we thought he would have!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer {{start_location}} to {{end_location}} via Coimbra

Spain

Terrible driver! Did not speak a word of English! Did not know where has going and did not take us to the correct area of Coimbra! Very scary drive for us!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Privately Guided Visit of Porto

Porto

Quality of Experience

Transport

Day Excursion to Douro Valley: Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Great day! Visited two remote wineries that were amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tapas Culinary Experience

Madrid

We were given the wrong time to meet and missed the 1st part of the tour! We called and guide got us for the rest of the tour!!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

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

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Train Madrid to Toledo, Guided Visit of Toledo, Train Toledo to Madrid

Madrid

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marina was exceptionally helpful and responsive in working with me to plan this 2 week trip. We visited Lisbon, Évora, Funchal (Island of Madeira), Porto & Cascais. All of our daytime tours and intercity transportation came together like clock work. Our hotel properties at each stop were well located and provided comfort with nice amenities. Everything was great but we especially highly recommend a visit to Madeira. We won't hesitate to use KimKim for our future travel planning.

We had a wonderful trip with Morocco Immersion Tours & Adventures! When booking, Sharon was quick to respond to all of our questions and help us create the perfect itinerary for our week in Morocco.

From start to finish, everything was perfectly planned and we got to do and see everything we set out to. The local guides in each area (Marrakech, Tinghir, and Kasbah Tamnougalt) were all very knowledgeable, happy to answer questions and patient with picture taking. At each Riad (Riad Nesma in Marrakech, Chez Ichou, and Kasbah Itrane Tamnougalt) and the desert camp we were provided with delicious food and attentive service. If you decide to do a desert overnight at the wonderful Palais des Dunes Luxury Camp don’t miss out on leaving camp in the evening to do some star gazing - it can’t be beat! Additionally, on your way out of Ourzazate, visit Taman’Art Space, a unique artist’s collective founded by the incredibly talented local artist, Aissa Joud.

What made the trip special was how wonderful our driver, Mahmoud, was - you truly couldn’t ask for a better person to show you around such a beautiful country. From Marrakech to the Sahara and back, Mahmoud went above and beyond to make us feel welcome, introducing us to fantastic music (we are now gnawa fans for life), and teaching us so much about Moroccan and Amazigh culture. Mahmoud did an amazing job getting us from place to place safely, connecting us with local excursions and making sure my dietary restrictions were understood (i.e., celiac) when we stopped for meals. If you are lucky enough to visit Morocco, you will be twice as lucky if you have Mahmoud as your driver. Not only did we have a fantastic trip, we gained a wonderful friend as well!

It was a once in a lifetime trip that we will never forget and we can’t wait to come back!

Hotel Reviews

Riad Nesma Suites & SPA

Medina, Marrakech

The entire staff was incredibly kind and helpful, the Riad itself was stunning and maintained so well and the food is delicious!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Chez Ichou

Dades Gorge

What a beautiful Riad! The food was incredible, every detail in the design of the hotel was flawless and the staff is so kind. The rooftop pool provides a wonderful place to view the stars at night as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais des Dunes Luxury Camp

Merzouga

I didn’t know camping could be so glamorous! The beds were comfortable, the food was great and the service was impeccable!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dades Valley to Merzouga Camel Trek via Todgha Gorge & Tinghir

Morocco

Definitely a tourist activity but don’t miss out! The desert and sunrise and sunset is so gorgeous and the stars at night are unbelievable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Marrakech

Marrakesh

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Marrakech to Dades Valley via Ouarzazate

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Agdz to Marrakech via Ait Ben Haddou

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Merzouga to Agdz

Morocco

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Margoth was incredible during the planning process, selecting destinations, hotels and even restaurants according to our preferences. On site, her team was amazing in making the logistics completely seamless and were always available within a few minutes for any question we had, regardless of place and time. The guides were fantastic, the transfers on-time, comfortable and safe Unforgettable holidays were we had to think of nothing else than enjoying ourselves, from beginning to end.
Muchas gracias por todo !

My husband and I had an amazing trip to Ieland. We loved this way to travel. We had the expertise of a travel agent and the autonomy of traveling alone. Jen had highlighted the best attractions and gave options so we could make the trip our own style as well as judging how we were feeling each day. I have to say the guest house exceeded our expectations.
All in all one of the best way to travel I have found I would definitely have KimKim plan another trip for me anytime.

The whole trip was perfect! It was everything and more! Chris planned the perfect trip and all the kimkim staff was with us the whole way through! I will definitely use kimkim again. I can’t imagine why i would plan a trip without them after this!!!

I have done similar bike trips in The Netherlands, on Mallorca, in Portugal and in Italy. The trip in Croatia, handled by Robi and Daniela, was, BY FAR, much better and more personal than any other bike trip I've taken. The level of service is beyond belief. The individual care and attention were much more than I had expected. Wonderful exposure to the wine industry in Croatia along with wine tasting. City tour of Dubrovnick by Antea was PHENOMENAL!! The recommendations for restaurants and the arrangements for activities were all wonderful. If anyone tells me they are going on a bike trip to Croatia with any other company, I will tell them to cancel their trip and rebook it with Kimkim, Daniela and Robi. First Class, in every sense of the word. Thank you so much to Daniela and Robi!!!!!

I contacted kimkim on March 23, 2022 and Angela promptly responded. Just as she did for the coming months and throughout our vacation. I laid out the kind of trip we wanted and Angela put it together perfectly, working within our budget to maximize our experience. In Naxos we stayed at a small family run hotel, in Santorini we had a fantastic Caldera view, and in Athens we were steps from the Acropolis. All were amazing! We went sunset sea kayaking and took and catamaran cruise in Santorini! We have memories that will last a lifetime! Angela was there every step of the way to help plan, advise, and navigate the planning and travel process. It was a truly fantastic experience!
Thank you Angela!

Hotel Reviews

Sweet Home Naxos

Naxos

Small family run hotel. Great breakfast and location. And the absolute nicest owners. The best hospitality I've ever had.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Thirea Suites & Studios - Adults Only

Oia, Santorini

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Urban Frame Hotel

Athens

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Discover Scuba Diving in Naxos

Naxos

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Black Waters Sea Kayak

Greece

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Catamaran Sunset Cruise

Santorini

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private transfer from Athens int. Aiport to Hotel

Greece

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Acropolis Afternoon Tour

Greece

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great trip and amazing guides throughout our time in Chile!! Highly recommend!

We had an amazing trip to Iceland. Rinolda, our KimKim specialist was super helpful and responsive, and created a plan that was perfect for us, even though we started planning really late.
Everything worked perfectly, the hotels were very good, and the whole process was very simple and straight forward. Best of all, we got to Iceland, got in the car, hooked up our phone - and off we went.
Rinolda sent us to some amazing spots and incorporated our interests into the plan perfectly.

Thank you Kimkim and Rinolda!

We had an amazing time in Fiji, Liz really made the itinerary smooth and no-fuss. It felt very effortless to travel from each destination to the next so we were able to enjoy the trip stress-free. Thank you for planning an amazing trip for us, we are already excited to go back to Fiji!

Hotel Reviews

Matamanoa Island Resort

Mamanuca Islands, Nadi

This was my favorite hotel from our Fiji trip. The staff was amazing, everyone was so kind and went the extra mile to make us feel welcome. They got to know us by name and even remembered our preferences. We felt so sad to leave! The view of the beach was amazing, we spent every morning snorkeling. The reef is immediately accessible and visible, just 20-30 feet away from the shore. The feel of the hotel is extremely relaxing. There is one restaurant but the food is excellent, I never felt tired of the options because the menu changed everyday.

Authenticity & Character

The staff is so friendly! They take the time to learn your names and chat with you everyday.

Location

The island feels remote and private. It’s a quiet and relaxing location.

Staff

Enoke, Kevin, Bai, Naomi, Aquila, and so many others were all so special. They are extremely kind and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean, our room was spotless.

The Palms Denarau Fiji

Nadi

A good transit hotel, extremely close to the marina.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort

Sigatoka

As honeymooners, this resort was not ideal for us because it caters to families with children, but nonetheless the quality of our stay here was excellent. There’s plenty to do, the staff is excellent, and the Sundowner restaurant in particular has great food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Waterfall Tour

Fiji

We really enjoyed our first outing on our trip to Fiji! Our guide, Esther was so personable and kind. It felt like hanging out with a good friend. She was enthusiastic showing us around the village. Once we got there, we partook in a lava ceremony, then we did a horse ride to the waterfall. The trail was beautiful and we were able to swim in the waterfall for a bit. Esther personally made us lunch, it was so sweet of her! We really enjoyed this trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Esther was amazing!

Transport

Tivua Island Day Cruise

Fiji

This cruise was so much fun! The crew was so talented and entertaining the entire time. They were high energy and very friendly. We arrived at Tivua and had our own little cabana to relax in, clear waters, and access to an open bar and snorkeling gear. My husband and I learned our first scuba diving lesson and it was amazing to experience the reef for the first time here. Highly recommend this cruise!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sunset Dinner Cruise

Fiji

The cruise and the crew were amazing, but the experience was a bit of a zoo. It was crowded on the deck and many of the people aboard were very loud and rowdy (not the crew, only the guests.) it wasn’t relaxing and hard to enjoy because of this. It was hard to enjoy the sunset because of how crowded the deck was. I didn’t like the dinner that was served, it was buffet food.

Quality of Experience

Food

I wish the cruise wasn’t so crowded. I didn’t enjoy the buffet food. It wasn’t a relaxing experience.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Great time and it wa a great having the support throughout the trip! Will use again and recommend

Hotel Reviews

Ayoba

Santorini

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Vouliagmeni Suites Athens

Vouliagmeni

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to the airport but nothing else

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Plaka Hotel Athens

Athens

Wonderful experience there!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Acropolis view

Staff

Very nice and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Acropolis & Athens Mythology Tour

Athens

Amazing! Our tour guide was great and so personable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Caldera Cruise & Volcano Visit

Santorini

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I always like to wait a little bit after taking a trip to really think about the trip and give a review. The trip and itinerary put together by Robi and Kimkim was 5 stars and one of my favorite vacations I have ever been on. First, Robi was terrific on working on what we wanted on our trip from length of trip to hotels, to sights, etc. There was a lot of back and forth and I was always presented with multiple options. We had never been to Croatia so we were open to many suggestions, and it was perfect. Second the communication was top notch, any time we were going to a new city, Robi would whatsapp all details, even down to where to turn on a street, how early to be there, restaurants, etc. At no time on the vacation did we feel stressed as he setup everything perfect. Our trip was Split-Hvar-Korcula - Dubrovnik (with side trip to Kotor). The team he worked with was 5 stars with extra shout outs to Antonio in Split and Baldo in Dubrovnik. If you are wondering about using Robi and Kimkim, I highly recommend it for a special memorable trip.

As for sites, everyone is different, but renting a boat in HVAR and going into coves and swimming was terrific and beautiful, and the same happened in Dubrovnik and Robi was the captain and it was terrific also. Dubrovnik lives up to the hype. Kotor was incredible and you should ask for Baldo as a tour guide. In Split took a trip out to the Krka waterfalls and was a great trip. The day trip to Ston on the way to Dubrovnik was a great stop, from walking the walls to the oyster trip, to the salt plant. Be upfront with Robi on what you want and him and his team will find it, so enjoy Croatia

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Marul

Split

Great little hotel, the staff was terrific. It is not fancy, but the attention by staff and location make it great. Would stay there again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy walking distance to old town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Devecchi rooms

Hvar

It is more of a B&B than hotel, but that is ok. The rooms and location were terrific. If you want staff to be around, this is not the place for you, but it was great otherwise. The staff was there in the morning for breakfast and cleaning up and were great. But not in the afternoon. Great views in old town overlooking the harbor.

Authenticity & Character

Location

In old town and easily walkable anywhere

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Marko Polo

Korčula

Overall very good hotel. Great breakfast and great staff. Only downside is that no lunch served on site so when we arrived had to immediatley go out. Rooms were terrific and spacious, not something you always get in Europe

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Goodbye Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Baldo was on time and terrific

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pelješac penisula and Ston- triple atraction - from Korčula

Korčula

Great little town, and terrific Ston walls. Robi was terrific with information

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arrival in Split and transfer to accommodation

Split

Antonio was great on picking us up...easily identified

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit to Hvar and exploring the Old town

Split

Hvar was exactly what we wanted, the ability to relax on the beach and get out on a boat.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dubrovnik and Elaphiti islands - Lopud and Koločep private boat trip

Croatia

Seeing Old Town Dubrovnik from outside on a boat is worth the trip alone. Robi was terrific in listening to what we wanted to see..

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Montenegro day trip from Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Baldo made the trip terrific. So much knowledge about Montenegro and communicative on what we were seeing. Kotor was beautiful and the climb up the mountain might be tough, but the payoff with views was worth it

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Baldo was great

Transport

Service was great. Samir and our guide Adnan made it a memorable experience and we did everything we wanted!! There were a couple of days where we were on a tighter deadline but that’s absolutely fine as we crammed so much in. Our local driver recommended spur of the moment Red Sea visit which we wouldn’t have seen on our original plan so key suggestions like this would have been useful but we made it anyway. Everyone was so helpful, even when our luggage was lost they did everything possible to get it back quickly. Overall recommended to everyone out there

Chris was excellent. It was very nice to have someone make difficult restaurant reservations and answer questions during our trip. Naxos was an excellent choice of islands to visit which was selected by Chris for us. We also really enjoyed the catamaran sailing trip in Santorini. The crew on the catamaran were very friendly and the experience was very classy.

Hotel Reviews

Athens Manor Houses

Athens

Excellent convenient location and very high quality. The staff was very accommodating and friendly. It can be noisy if your room faces the street which is extremely busy with foot traffic.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cyano Suites

Naxos

Amazing location and a beautiful property. It was very nice to have such an attentive and friendly owner to help us out. This is and ideal location to stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The view was incredible

Staff

The owner was awesome

Cleanliness & Comfort

The place is spotless

Belvedere Suites Santorini

Santorini

Very nice quiet spot close to everything but a beautiful oasis in a busy spot. The breakfast was nice but the service can be slow at times when everyone comes down at the same time. Not a huge issue but the room had no iron or ironing board and the coffee was only instant coffee which I felt was low scale for a higher end property. We had a room with the bedroom upstairs which was nice but the stairs are pretty steep and could be dangerous for people that need to go use the bathroom during the night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The afternoon and evening managers were very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Traditional Village & Family Home Cooking in Naxos

Naxos

The host was extremely nice and we had a great time. It was a unique experience a we met some really nice people. It was nice walking around the little village during the tour, very beautiful location.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Welcome to Athens!

Athens

Our walking and food tour was very nice. It was nice to have our private tour guide Jo who gave us an excellent experience.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Discover Santorini

Santorini

Our guide Hercules was very nice. The wine tasting and tour was very nice. We enjoyed the visit to Akrotiri but it would have been nice to have a guide to explain the site in detail. We were told that we could have a professional guide at an extra charge.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Platinum Morning Caldera Cruise

Santorini

This is a must! A beautiful way to end a fantastic vacation. The experience was very relaxing and top notch.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kimkim's associates in Australia, first Jasmine and later Hugh, helped us plan a wonderful 30-day vacation in Australia. Jasmine worked up a candidate itinerary and we worked with it, tweaked it, and fine-tuned it for several months -- way back in late 2019 and early 2020 for travel in August and September of 2020. But then COVID happened. We tried again in 2021, but Australia still had not opened up to tourism and didn't open up until 2022. We picked it up again early this year (Jasmine had moved on and we were turned over to first Jay and then Hugh with Global Tours Specialists). We worked with them to make a few additional adjustments to our itinerary and Hugh did all the bookings and reservations for our time in Australia. There were some struggles with Australia's recovering tourism industry, but Hugh did a wonderful job handling the challenges. In the end everything worked out almost flawlessly. One of our lodgings (Alice Springs) was a disappointment, but there were no alternatives to be had due to a big auto show that sucked up all available lodging the weekend we were there. We were lucky to get anything, but Hugh found something for us -- better than nothing.

The vacation itself... Wow! We covered lots of ground (literally) from Melbourne to Adelaide, then by rental car to Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, on through the Outback to Uluru and Kings Canyon, and on to Alice Springs. After a couple nights there we flew to Darwin (a few days there), then (by air) to Cairns where we rented another car to explore the Atherton Tablelands and the coast up to Cape Tribulation (including Port Douglas, Mossman Gorge, and the Daintree Rainforest). Our stay in Cairns included a day out on the Great Barrier Reef. We then flew to Sydney for a few days before our trip home.

We spent quite a bit of time on this trip traveling by car (about 2 weeks in the Outback and 6 days around Cairns). This was a lot of driving (roughly equivalent to driving from our home in Southeastern Washington to Chicago!) but what a great way to see the country! We loved it! It gave us flexibility to stop (or not stop) whenever we wanted, stay as long as we wanted, and take little side trips whenever we wanted. We were a bit apprehensive going in (e.g., out of touch in the Outback, long driving days, risk of adverse weather conditions, and driving on the left side of the road), but it all turned out perfectly. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

All lodgings that were suggested by Jasmine, Jay or Hugh were all excellent (except as noted above). The Flynn Hotel in Cairns was particularly exquisite! Highly recommended (book one of the "09" rooms!). Our room at the Mantra 2 Bond Street in Sydney was really an apartment. Probably overkill, but we enjoyed the space.

Breakfast at the hotel was included on most days and usually was full... very full... breakfast from a buffet (needless to say, we tended to overindulge).

Jasmine and Hugh set up eleven tours for us over the course of the vacation. We enjoyed all of these, but our favorites were the small group ones (e.g., the Melbourne City tour, the Melbourne Lanes and Arcades tour, and the Sydney City tour). The two city tours were just the guide and the two of us -- this was ideal. The big coach tours (Kangaroo Island, Barossa Valley, Uluru, and Kakadu National Park) are not really our cup of tea but this might have been the only practical way of getting a guided tour of some of these sites. Two of these tours (Kangaroo Island and Kakadu National Park) were full days and involved a lot of time on the bus getting to and from the sites -- almost too much time relative to the time we spent actually visiting the sites.

Prior to our travel we set up a WhatsApp chat with Kimkim (actually, with Hugh and his team in Australia) for real-time support during our trip. We did have a few issues that came up along the way, but through this chat we could get their help and they were alway very responsive. Things alway got resolved very satisfactorily.

Generally we prefer vacations where we "park" somewhere for a long restful stay. This wasn't one of those trips. We didn't see any way to give Australia some of the justice it deseres without a lot of traveling. During the planning phase, we tweaked the itinerary to ensure that we had at least two nights at each location (with three or more at several of them). The only exception was the one night we stayed in the Daintree Rainforest. Now we have some good candidates for our "long restful stay" type vacation should we return to Australia!

All in all, this was a great experience and it was a real pleasure working with the team at Kimkim and Global Tour Specialists. They were very patient with us and very adaptable to our preferences and desires. I highly recommend a Kimkim vacation if you want something designed especially for you with help from a local specialist who can provide recommendations where to go, where to stay, and what to see. However, be prepared to spend some time with them to make sure they know what you want out of your vacation and don't be afraid to let them know if something isn't just right. They are there to work with you and are really good at it.

This review is long overdue but this was, by far, the best experience I've had of any tour I've had or been on in my life.

Communication:
From the get-go, Eduardo was extremely responsive to any/all of our questions. His responses were immediate and thorough.

Patience:
We were a difficult group to coordinate since there were 6 of us - all with varied levels of comfort and ideas of fun. Eduardo, took all of this in stride - regardless of last-minute changes or peppering him with questions - he was so incredibly patient with us! He should win an award for this - truly.

Helpfulness / Consideration:
Outside of just being extremely responsive and patient, he always took our questions and feedback into consideration to come up with a few varied options.

Tours/Guides:
I loved all of the guides Eduardo paired us up with - our absolute favorite guide was Pablo - who showed us around Lake Atitlan. Not only was he knowledgeable but he was also adaptive and he has quiet confidence throughout the tour. Everyone seems to know him also! We felt like we were walking around with a celebrity! He allowed us the time to review different spaces and took us to places we likely never would have seen or encountered without him. We only got to meet with Alex briefly (<1 hour) but he has great energy which is infectious! He's great as well

Driver: Antonio is THE BEST. He is so kind, so patient, and so helpful. Even though he didn't know how to speak a lot of English we were able to communicate with him a bit and he was so warm and thoughtful. In once instance, we were trying to get into the house but had issues getting into the gated community - Antonio spent a good 20 minutes working with us to get in touch with our friend who owned the home. Even if he was frustrated (I would be!) he never showed it and was so patient.

I know there must be SO many things Eduardo must have done behind the scenes that our group didn't even see to make our stay great. He even came by the house to sync with us on plans - he got us COVID testers to come to the home.

Again, I couldn't recommend this service or the team we met in Guatemala more. It was THE BEST tour experience I've ever had!

We overall had a wonderful experience on our trip to Athens, Santorini and Mykonos planned by Antonis. The coordination of transport and excursions made the trip very well worth it. Every excursion planned by Antonis was very fun and worthwhile. We had Zakia as our local guide for tour through Athens and Delphi. She was incredibly knowledgeable, funny and kind which made our tours very enjoyable. Due to winds, we were unable to get to Milos as planned for our trip and Antonis was crucial in helping us navigate changes with transport and accommodations. We were so appreciative for having easy, reliable contact with him every call and text. When we return to Greece we will be sure to work with Antonis again.

Hotel Reviews

Athenian Callirhoe Hotel

Athens

The staff were kind and helpful. We found the rooms to be clean and well maintained but slightly small unless upgraded to an executive suite.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Tzekos Villas

Santorini

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easily walkable and accessible to Fira as well as bus station if needed. Nice to be away from where all the major tourist walking happens.

Staff

Maria at the front desk was incredibly helpful and did work to upgrade us our last night to sister hotel Asma Suites which was much more comfortable.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms were sparsely furnished with non functioning lamps and lack of decor to be comfortable. Room accommodations did not seem fitting of a 4 star hotel.

Ilio Maris Hotel

Mikonos

Ilio Maris was very comfortable and clean. We loved the pool which had great lawn chairs and pool floats that were very fun! The breakfast in the morning was also a good variety to start the day. The hotel allowed for a quick easy walk into town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Magnificent Athens

Athens

Zakia was a wonderful tour guide of the Acropolis and some surrounding sites of Athens. She was so kind and knowledgeable. Seeing the sites with the history and background surrounding the area supplied by Zakia made the experience much more enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Catamaran Sunset Cruise

Santorini

The sunset cruise was a wonderful experience. The amount of other travelers on the boat is small enough for everyone to enjoy their time as they wish. The balance of swimming and relaxing on the catamaran while taking in the sites was perfect. Staff were great and the food provided was very tasty.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sailing Yacht Cruise to Rhenia Island & Delos

Mykonos

We had a blast on the boat cruise! Our favorite was the time swimming around Rhenia island. It was very interesting touring Delos island as well.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport