Kimkim Trip Reviews

Kimkim was wonderful in planning our trip to Italy. They made a personalized trip that engaged the entire family. From our seven year old who hung on every word from our wonderful tour guide explaining about gladiators at the coliseum , to our teenagers who loved hiking the Path of the Gods, it was perfect for us. Our drivers were prompt and engaging and tour guides were extremely knowledgeable. The variety of activities meant something for everyone.

Terry spent almost 9 months helping us plan a 7-day and a 6-day trip, before and after 18 days in Norway and Svalbard. We were involved as much as we wanted, providing feedback on the numerous options available. We made our way through the various COVID restrictions put in place by Iceland last year and earlier this year and all of them were thankfully lifted a month or two before departure.

We’ve travelled a lot, having spent almost 30 years living overseas, but this trip has us totally convinced that Iceland is the most beautiful country in the world. Around every bend in the road and from the top of hills and peaks, there were spectacular views. Terry planned a diverse set of stops and activities for us, from incredible waterfalls, to a glacier hike, snorkeling the Silfra Fissure, hiking in Porsmork, a boat trip and tour to a bird sanctuary on Vigur Island, and a five-hour spa retreat at Blue Lagoon.

The rental car process was easy and with the daily link to Google map directions Terry sent that easily connected to the car’s nav system, we never missed a turn and the the timing between places was amazingly accurate. The hotels were comfortable and varied, but always to a good standard.

I have always planned our elaborate trips myself, but took a chance on KimKim, because I didn’t know Iceland at all. I hate to admit it but Terry surpassed my extremely high bar and we had a an incredible trip. All that’s left is going through the thousand photographs!

Our trip to Norway was absolutely amazing and life changing. The itinerary Julia set up for our family of 5 (grandma, parents, and kids ages 5 and 7) was just perfect. I communicated with Julia in early 2022 to provide some comments around what we were looking for - seeing the fjords, being outside and active, etc. From there, Julia took my feedback and made the perfect itinerary. Everything was so easy and convenient, and our favorite parts of the trip were undoubtedly items I never would’ve planned on my own. We are so thankful to Julia and the KimKim team and I would 100% recommend using them!

Some of our most notable trip highlights include:
1) our taxi boat with Captain Tor where he drove right up to fresh waterfalls for us to touch and let our kids catch some fish along the way
2) everything about Fjaerland Fjordstove Hotel (this is such a charming place with a wonderful staff)
3) our private hike in Fjaerland where our kids picked fresh strawberries and blueberries

Thank you Julia and team!

We had a wonderful trip, planned by Valentine. The service we received during the trip was superb, and very much appreciated. Our transfers were made on time and with good communication with us. The major contributor to the success of our trip was our wonderful guide, Olivia. Olivia was exceedingly helpful, gracious, flexible and knowledgeable. The heat this summer was an impediment; it was too hot to comfortably or safely do all that was planned. Olivia adapted. Our gite, with a view of Carcassonne was memorable, our unplanned tour of a Baroque church organ was a delight and a surprise, Mirepoix was charming, and the market in Toulouse was both beautiful and appetite satisfying. We were fortunate to have a wonderful cassoulet lunch in a beautiful garden, planned by Olivia. We all have many happy memories. Thank you.

Hotel Reviews

La Tour Pinte

CARCASSONNE

What a great spot. Pierre’s place is comfortable and superbly located.

Authenticity & Character

THE VIEW, the neighborhood

Location

Staff

Pierre was helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

AIR CONDITIONING!

Villa du Taur

Toulouse

Authenticity & Character

Loved the protected courtyard

Location

Staff

The staff was informed and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and welcoming

Activity Reviews

Toulouse Bike Tour

Toulouse

It was a great way to unwind from international travel.

Day tour to Medieval Villages : Albi & Cordes sur Ciel

Toulouse

Food Tour in the Belly of Toulouse

Toulouse

Fun, informative and tasty!

Angela was very knowledgeable and very helpful. She kept in contact with us and even arranged last minute schedule changes for us. Very pleased with entire experience.

Activity Review

Athens Highlights Mythology Tour

Greece

Very good tour. Interesting throughout.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall our Rockies Road trip (Banff & Jasper) was a wonderful and unforgettable experience. Our specialist Marie-Christine quickly understood what we wanted and tailored a trip plan to suit our needs, including booking hotels, rental car and the Banff Gondola ride (which was amazing!) .
The drive from Banff to Jasper and back was exhilarating. Even though we only stayed overnight at Jasper It was worth doing - the views of the Rockies on the drive were fantastic and we stopped off at several places en-route to see the sights such as Maligne Canyon, Athabasca and Sunwapta Falls and lake Peyto.
On the negative side, picking up the Budget rental car was not smooth Their rep (whose English was not good) said no cars were available for 1-2hours and actively tried to encourage us to try the other rental companies! Also I am glad we got a Parks Pass online for the duration of our stay on advice from a friend rather than buy as you go as suggested by M-C. It is cheaper and saved us having to queue at the highway checkpoints. Also it was not pointed out that you have to book online for a Lake Louise Excursion to get a slot for the park & ride. LL is so busy that we missed a morning slot while doing this process and, unfortunately , the day turned out to a damper in more ways than one as we were caught and utterly soaked by full a Rockies thunderstorm :( . Apart from this we were lucky with the weather.
We have returned with wonderful memories. If you are thinking about doing this - do it!

Hotel Reviews

Coast Canmore Hotel & Conference Centre

Canmore

Helpful staff. We enjoyed our stay there as a base into Banff (only about 30km away)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy access to H=highway to Banff

Staff

Prompt response for more coffee and tea

Cleanliness & Comfort

Layout of room.

Jasper Inn & Suites

Jasper

Beautiful Swiss style Inn Hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Our split level suite!

Location

View of the peaks from our bedroom window in the morning - breath-taking!

Staff

Friendly and attentive waitresses at the Inn's diner

Cleanliness & Comfort

The suite was presented to a high standard!

Applause Hotel by CLIQUE

Calgary

Good place to crash overnight. Well designed rooms.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to airport with free shuttle service

Staff

Man at reception (Shehzad) was polite and extremely helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The shower head!

Activity Reviews

Explore around Banff

British Columbia

Banff is obviously the main tourist hub town. On our first day we did not find the rep at the Visitor Information Centre helpful - he was more interested in selling us multi-day bus passes which was irrelevant since we had a car. Anyway we figured it out ourselves by the second day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See comment above on Visitor Information Centre

Transport

Availability of parking space (except Lake Louise).

Take the Banff Gondola to Sulphur Mountain

British Columbia

Super way of seeing Banff, Bow River Valley and the surrounding peakis.

Quality of Experience

The whole shooting match!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Staff are helpful and efficient.

Transport

Plenty of parking space next to Gondola station.

Gosh, Portugal was never on my radar till a few weeks ago. We spontaneously cancelled our planned trip to Ba Hamar and went in a different direction. Being familiar with KimKim, my wife found Pedro to be the most experienced/ highest reviews on the KimKim sight when it came to Portugal. We stayed in Lisbon for 3 nights at the Tivoli. Pedro scheduled our hotel, and a walking tour, as well as coordinated our driver around our schedule.
Then the driver drove us to Algarve. Pedro put us in the Vila Veda Parc resort, which, was the most picturesque place I'd ever been to...Period. This says a lot b/c people would say I'm a seasoned traveler, and I stay at 5 star hotels when we do travel. This was it. Vila Veda Parc.
The final destination was Cascais, where we stayed at the Miragem Hotel. Cascais was more international, vs. Algarve which was 100% touristy. Cascais had culture, little streets to walk around into where you can get "lost" but the center of Cascais is not too big to not be able to find your way a back to the hotel. We would 100% do this again.

So impressed! We really loved our trip and the catered attention to detail. We are so grateful. Thank you for a wonderful, well thought out itinerary!

We had a fabulous trip in Croatia. Sarah did a wonderful job taking care of all our needs. Logistics went off perfectly, from our car transports, hotel accommodations, dinner reservations, and boat rides. We loved Korchula Island and a special highlight was Leo our boat driver. He was so much fun and went above and beyond to make sure we all had the best time. Highly recommend KimKim and Sarah. We will be using KimKim again!

Had a great time in Italy with Maria and her crew! All of the arrangements, transfers, reservations etc were smooth. We loved all the tours and the amazing tour guides in Rome, Florence and Venice. We got to enjoy all of the sites on a stress free trip. Thanks to Maria and everyone at Storywalkers.

(Our local specialist was Katy)

Our family recently returned from the most memorable journey in Peru. Katy spent many months planning a trip that was exactly what we hoped for - very active and very informative! Our guide, Aldo Sanchez, was a wealth a knowledge on all things Inca and Peru related. His English was perfect and we thoroughly enjoyed his company. The first five nights we stayed in local accommodations along the way and each stay provided deeper insight into Peruvian culture. In addition to the wonderous hikes of Macchu Picchu, Huayana Picchu, Huchuy Qosqo, and a snowy Rainbow Mountain, we enjoyed paddle boarding with David on Lake Piuray, experiencing Lamay with Franco, Marta, and Matthew and climbing through the endless Inca and pre-Inca ruins. We will remember this incredible adventure forever! Thank you to the amazing team at KimKim for your attention to every detail and exceeding all expectations!

When you travel, help is most needed when you need to deal with the unexpected. During my stay, I had higher than normal internet connectivity needs, which were completely unrelated to our booking. Robi did everything to help me, including contracting services with local companies and offering me his own internet. This is just an example of someone who understands that your experience depends on everything you live during your stay and not just a list of prearranged services. I would encourage anyone that wants peace of mind to book with Robi any trip. Fun is guaranteed but, if something goes wrong, you can rest assured that there is someone always ready to go the extra mile to help you.

Our family vacation through Italy was wonderful. With KimKim's help there was something for each member of our family. We experienced tours that engaged everyone from our seven year old, our teenagers and ourselves. The experiences were designed with each of our interests in mind and tour guides were extremely knowledgable and personable. Everything from the amazing food tour and winery to the cultural experiences were carefully planned during a busy travel season.
There was confusion over a locale to begin one of our tours which Kim Kim quickly solved by ensuring we were able to join another tour an hour later and the problem was quickly resolved.
Our transfers went smoothly between cities and within cities and drivers were quick to explain details about locations and make suggestions on activities.
Thank you for your assistance in having a wonderful time with our family.
Kimberly & John Emmert

Karolina planned the itinerary for a 10-day scenic/hiking trip through western Norway for my husband and me in August 2022. Kimkim's excellent secure online communication system made it really easy to for me to send my comments as the itinerary was being developed. Karolina was very prompt in responding to and adjusting the itinerary per my comments. My only complaint is that after I approved and paid 100% for the trip (I think in June), it took a long time to get final confirmation of all my bookings. In fact, I did not get firm confirmation of all of my bookings for the trip until just a week before my departure from the US. Karolina was unavailable due to vacation twice during this period and said another associate would get in touch with me but that other associate never provided any updates. In the end, everything worked out and the trip went very smoothly. I was especially thankful that per my request, Karolina made the reservations for the electric charging station at Hotel Ullavang and for parking at P3 for our hike to the Trolltunga (a must as if we did not have the parking reserved, we would have had to hike an extra hour uphill). Also, much thanks to Julia who I was able to communicate with via Whatsapp during our trip with last minute issues or questions. Julia was awesome and responded almost immediately each time I Whatsapp'd her with a question. Thanks to the Kimkim team for a fabulous trip in western Norway!

With Julia’s help we had a brilliant road trip taking in fjord country at the end of a longer Scandinavian adventure. Each hotel she recommended was special in its own way although our favourites were probably our stays in Alesund and Aurland. Driving along high snowy scenery, approaching gerainger by ferry along the fjord and our trip on a rib boat were all highlights

Hotel Review

29|2 Aurland

Aurland

292 Aurland is a hotel based around what was a farm. Rooms are in converted farm buildings and each is individual. We found our rooms interestingly furnished and comfortable but we particularly liked the grounds which had lots of areas for having a drink or coffee in the glorious weather. We enjoyed the communal dining and the chance to swap stories with other travellers. Good food and wine and great staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Finnafjord Safari by RIB

Balestrand

Sam and his team were second to none. This trip was literally the trip of a lifetime!! From urban, to rural and private tours this trip had it all. It was well crafted to our personal wants and needs. There were several times we had a couple hiccups in plans and his team came through for us with flying colors!! We did hiking, village visits, wineries- you name it. Everything was organized, punctual, and perfect. I can’t recommend Sam enough. Just a wonderful host who knows the best of the best in Spain. I could write so much but just know, you are in safe hands! I would book a trip with this team numerous times over. Simply superb!!! Thanks Sam!

Our guide and travel guide, Robert Pinčević, was exceptional. From guiding us on early planning to closely managing our trip while in Croatia, his level of local knowledge and concierge service was 5-star. Robi helped my husband and I custom design a 10 day trip throughout the Dalmatian cost including Split, Hvar, Korcula and Dubrovnik. He understood the type of trip we wanted to create which was a mix of cultural experiences, outdoor activities and relaxing down time. He was really able to anticipate our needs based on the information we gave him and execute flawlessly. All of our transportation to and from airports/ports/hotels was seamless which can be a little be complicated and hectic during the busy summer travel season. Some of the highlights of the trip were excursions to Krka national park and a private boat tour of the Elaphiti islands off the coast of Dubrovnik. Robi also lined us up with local guides in Split, Dubrovnik and an excursion to Ston that were exceptional. By having a local, Croatian, like Robi plan and manage our trip, experience was elevated by removing much of the stress associated with travel, especially in a place we weren’t previously familiar with. Another element which deserves pointing out is that Robi was able to roll with a few last minute changes to our set schedule. If we required a little bit of a late start for a tour or wanted to move up the departure for the inter-island ferry, Robi was on top of it and made it happen. He was also avail to us 24/7 by WhatsApp for ongoing questions we had throughout the trip. Robi’s a very knowledgeable professional who helped us fall in love with such a beautiful country. We will definitely be back and would use him again in a heartbeat.

We cannot recommend this company enough. We went on a trip with a few adults and several children, and the experience they delivered for us was simply amazing. They focused relentlessly on making sure that everything would work for us, displaying a mix of knowledge, flexibility, patience, and attention to every detail that I have never seen. From the way they set up the trip, by asking for a copy of our passports so that when we could check in hotels fairly quickly, to the way that they paid attention to every single detail including bike sizes, helmet sizes, etc, this company and their CEO Robi were totally focused on making our trip a magic experience. They took us to places that we would not have discovered on our own, and that were not flooded by tourists. The plan was molded to our preferences, the execution was very effective and adapted flexibly to our evolving needs. Can’t recommend them enough.

We had a fantastic time in Colombia, and Wendy and our wonderful guides were such a huge part of that! Wendy did a great job of designing our itinerary and responding to our requests and interests, and each of our guides-- Andrea in Bogota, Andres in Medellin, and Oscar in Cartagena-- were warm, knowledgeable, and totally organized. As a single mom of 2, I'm usually the one handling all the logistics, tickets, emergencies, et cetera. With Kim Kim, I was able to relax and just enjoy an engaging, energizing vacation. Thank you!

Diego planned a great trip for us. All the details ran perfectly and we had a trip of a lifetime! Everyone we encountered was nice but two favorites that stood out were our driver for a few legs (John I think). And our guide for the Arenal Volcano was the best guide of all our hikes. The others were great too but he was our favorite! Thank you Diego.