Kimkim Trip Reviews

My partner and I had a great time in Egypt and Jordan. I was very particular on the itinerary and Ibrahim accomodated everything. It was a tad bit difficult on communication during planning but it all worked out at the end. The guides were very knowledgeable and professional. Drivers were kind and demonstrated safe practices. Ibrahim connected us to Hajaat tours for Jordan and they were amazing. We had one English speaking driver who took care of everything during our entire time in Jordan. Ibrahim and his team took all worries away and helped us focus on enjoying the trip. I accidentally left the phone in the car in Aswan and realized after our cruise took off. The guide, Muhammad, coordinated and made sure the phone came to Luxor when we arrived there. The price is reasonable and all lodgings were clean.

Wonderful! Plain and simple, our trip to Argentina met and exceeded my expectations. The planning and the execution was nearly perfect. The guides could not have been more informative and accommodating. Gabie, in Bariloche was simply amazing! Her background and knowledge was very impressive. In summary........Viva Argentina!

what was planned by Eloise our guide, was brilliantly put together. I had an idea of the places where to go and with a little tinkering between ourselves Eloise came up with, for us, a perfect tour. Everything was smooth from the moment we were picked up at the airport, to the moment we were dropped off for our return. Knowing that everything was booked and paid for when we arrived at each accommodation, and tour meant there was never a concern with any payments. The only thing we had to concern ourselves with and put our hand in our pocket for was where to get something to eat and drink on each day. The only blip was that our trip to Milford Sound was cancelled due to bad weather, but the weather is beyond anyone's control.
Highlights for us was Lake Tarawera and the thermal beach, Akaroa for penguin watching, which turned out to be a quaint little town also, and whale watching in Kaikoura to which the company concerned upgraded us to a helicopter flight so we had an added bonus to boot.
All in all the tour Eloise put together for us was just what we wanted and if I am ever to go back to New Zealand, I know who I will contact; Eloise, watch out for my next call !

We used kimkim travel for a recent trip to Peru over 9 days. Our initial apprehension about planning a trip with 6 adults and 6 kids ( ages 3 through 10) was unnecessary, since Kristy and Liz took all our constraints into consideration, and helped put together a great plan for the group. We had a variety of places we wanted to visit - the rainforest, Machu Picchu, the Sacred Valley, Lima, Cusco. Apart from international flights ( that we booked ourselves) and 2 days in Lima, they helped plan activities, domestic transport, flights, hotel bookings and tickets to attractions. Highly recommended for travelers ( especially families with young children) who do not want to struggle with local language challenges, ticket availability at attractions, and local transport needs. Special shout out for the accommodation plans - all the hotels / lodges we stayed in were comfortable, and suited our requirements well! (Hotel Dazzler in Lima, Hilton Garden Inn in Cusco, Del Pilar in Ollantaytambo, and family run lodges in Manu National Park)

Cusco Journeys ( Jaime and Lucho) picked us up from Cusco and gave us a great experience over 2 nights and 3 days. They ensured we had good local immersion - home cooked meals ( breakfast and dinner), taking us to "non-touristy" locations and helping us to shop local as well. The kids had a great experience at an animal rescue center, and looked forward to the interesting details Lucho shared about various birds. Jaime took us through the local culture and history and provided interesting anecdotes about events. We thoroughly enjoyed their company!
Suggestion for improvement for this part of the trip : Wish we had been warned beforehand about the bad roads + long drive to Manu national park. We were on the road for the better part of 2 days, and though we had a good experience at the end, would have prepared better if we had known earlier.

Andean Travel handled our trip through the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu. Alexandra, our guide through the Sacred Valley, answered all our questions very patiently, and she was a treasure trove of information! Also, she was a great hit with the kids since she brought them locally made dolls. Javier was our guide at Machu Picchu; in place of the usual 2 hour tour, he was with us for 4 hours and made sure we didnt miss any aspect of the historic location. Excellent experience!

All in all, would highly recommend Kimkim since they work with the best. Would definitely use their services again!

Our experience with KimKim was outstanding! This was our first time using KimKim and we will definitely use them again! Amanda - who helped us set up the trip - was a wealth of information, and patience! And her follow through was unsurpassed, including checking in with us several times during the trip. Akram - our driver - was outstanding! His love of Jordan came through everyday and we learned a ton from him, including the history, culture and politics of Jordan and the surrounding countries. We were lucky to have both of them involved in our trip!

Pradeep was excellent! He was a joy to work with and really helped to bring my vision alive! I would be happy to work with him again! We had a great time! He was super friendly and very helpful!

Just returned from a 12 day trip to Myanmar. Our host/guide(s) Jack et al were great. We were met at all of our destinations by a guide and driver. Accommodation was very comfortable, several with lots of character/history. Highlights were:

1) Boat Trip from Mandalay to Bagan on a small river boat that had 7 cabins. We really enjoyed ourselves. It was very relaxing and we got to see lots of activity along the river with a few stops for land tours here and there.
2) Bagan. We spent two days in Bagan. The first day was with a guide who showed us some of the more notable pagodas and also took us on a tour of a local farm village which we enjoyed. The second day we were on electric scooters and had lots of fun exploring around the place.
3) We flew from Mandalay to Heho and then got driven to Kalaw which is a small town in the foothills (elevation around 5000 feet). We stayed in a hotel that was at one time an English school. From here we rode bicycles for three days through the hills and ended up at Inle Lake. We had good quality Bianchi hybrids and the local driving population were very respectful to bike riders.
4) Inle Lake is very cool and where we encountered the most tourists. We enjoyed visiting the Inle Horse Club (where you can ride horses if you like) as well as the Red Mountain Estate Winery. These two venues are very close together and the winery is very well done. We also went around the lake in a long boat for a day which was a lot of fun.
There are a few cautionary notes for travelers to Myanmar. We took US $ which are readily accepted everywhere. However, at the airport money exchanges, if the bills were not in mint condition, they would not accept them. This includes any writing on the bill or the slightest tear. Secondly, our credit card company cancelled our card when we initially tried to pay for our trip. A lengthy discussion ensued between me and the credit card company but they indicated that there was a computer algorithm which was responsible for the cancellation and it could not be over ridden. Fortunately KimKim offered us an alternative payment through a wire transfer.

First of all, the assistance Yassine provided from the day I made contact with him was fantastic. He worked with me to build a trip that would meet all of our needs and the response time was immediate and the details provided were perfect to enable me to make decisions about our trip.

Secondly, our driver in Morocco, Hassan, was so incredibly sweet and basically worked for us 24/7 to make sure we saw everything we wanted to see, made sure we were always well taken care of and was always honest, cheerful, and gracious.

Thirdly, the accommodations were spectacular, from the cozy spot in Chefchaouen to the lavish Dar Roumana in Fes and Riad Bellamane in Marrakech. The rooms and service at each location were above and beyond our expectations.

Our favorite spot was Chechchaouen, were we hiked to the Spanish mosque at sunrise, returned to our hotel for a lovely breakfast, and then toured the city. Hassan provided us with a guide at the last minute, Youssef, and Youssef was a local who spent 2 hours with us touring the medina and explaining everything about the gorgeous blue city.

Our stop at Volubilis was an unexpected delight as well--we spent an hour walking through the well preserved ruins of an ancient Roman city with no other tourists around. A lunch of delicious couscous on an outside terrace at a hillside restaurant in Moulay Idriss completed this stop en route to Fes.

In Fes, we had a delicious meal at Dar Roumana and a full day tour where we saw all of the key sights. Finishing the day at a Hammam, followed by a delicious dinner at Maison Blanche/MB and a drink at the gorgeous rooftop of Hotel Sahrai completed our visit to Fes.

The long ride to Marrakech was a bit more than we expected, but the scenery was interesting and we made it a beautiful Riad and went off exploring the medina--much more commercial and crowded but still interesting. The restaurants and cafe scene is much more active in Marrakech, but it remained our least favorite spot due to the crowds and overall tourist feel and carnival aspect of the famous Djema el Fna square. The YSL museum was a highlight, and we went first thing in the morning and beat the crowds and enjoyed seeing his designs and info on his incredibly creative life.

I highly recommend booking with Yassine if you want a completely no-hassle trip with all details taken care of, as well as the flexibility of a private service at the highest level.

Kimkim has been very helpful in organizing the trip while able to offer the best value for money service. Daiana has been very responsive also for small details. Huellas Del Desierto has been able to organize a short trip that was at the same time able to touch the most amazing areas in the time. The most beautiful one being the Altiplanos Lagunas.

Dear Anne,
We had a wonderful, without any glitch, well planned Holiday in Peru.
Initially we wanted to visit only Matchu Pitchu, but as we started interacting with Anne, we were encouraged to add many other places and we are glad that you suggested it!
The trip was very meticulously planned and executed. Our itinerary was shared with us with all relevant details, our tickets were printed, guides arrived on time, pick up driver arrived on time and the estimation of time was correct so the we could always adhere to the timing.
The best part was the Guides who were well informed and good people, who shared lot of information and gave us insight into the places as well as into other matters as well
Peru is quite a large country and offers many different options. The tour generally required a reasonable fitness since on many days you end up walking quite a few kilometers
The altitude issue was well planned , starting from lower to higher in gradual way which helped
All in all we had a very good trip and coming all the way from India was totally worth it
Thanks Anne, the support team of peruvian Soul, other agencies and all
Regards
Manoj M Vaidya

The trip was well organized and everything went smoothly.

We used Kimkim for traveling in Colombia in Nov-Dec 2019. All was great! Communication, punctuality, service, transport, guides. Thanks to Natalia!

Everything was great! The best island was El Nido for us so i think it would have been nice if we had stopped there first!The overall trip was a very unique experience!

My trip to Zimbabwe!

The trip over all was great! I was able to complete every activity mentioned in my itinerary and my favorite moments during this trip was the Devils Pool Swim and the 2 day camping Safari in Chobe National Park. We spotted well over 150 elephants and a whole pride of lions in their natural habitats! Truly an experience I will never forget.

There were however, some hiccups in that every activity I attended (helicopter flip, devils pool swim, boma dinner) asked me for a voucher number to track my booking however I was not provided this information and was unable to help them find my specific booking, in one such case the activity was booked under the name "Elgin Africa" the company name instead of my name. Thankfully, the facilitators were quick to respond and were able to figure out my booking details. I was in regular contact with Jamie and Deb (Kimkim Agents) to voice any concerns I had and they were very quick to respond.

When traveling to Zimbabwe, keep at least $300-$400 USD cash on you for transfers and visas, this of course depends on how long your trip is. I was advised to keep $200 USD on hand for visas and transfers (for a 6 day trip) and burned through that quickly on visas alone. As a Canadian traveling to Zimb, our visa fee is $75 USD for a single entry. During my time at Victoria Falls I had gotten a KAZA visa as well ($60 USD) to travel to Zimb. and Zamb. for the devils pool swim with the assumption that this visa will also allow you into Zimb. from other neighboring countries. This is not the case, if you travel to Botswana (Chobe National Park) with the plan to get back into Zimbabwe, you will have to get another single entry Zimb. visa ($75 USD). They also do not accept USD at the Botswana border, only pula. The drivers are very helpful and will take you to an ATM to extract however much you'll need in pula, but it's something to be aware of.

Over all, despite the bumps along the way, I had a great experience!

Had a ton of fun. All the recommendations for restaurants were on point. The Wine tour was a little underwhelming. That is pretty much my only criticism of the vacation. Thanks for everything !!

All of the guides were incredibly accomodating and lovely. Hasan in particular was delightful. It would have been nice if a bit more commentary was volunteered. The site where we stayed in the desert or Wadi Rum could have had slightly cleaner bathrooms, but it was generally wonderful and a glimpse into an entirely different world.

KimKim was fantastic! The remote planning process was simple and seamless, working within my budget to optimize my time spent in Morocco. Megan’s itinerary hit all of the major highlights with some hidden gems along the way. This included a night in the majestic city of Chefchouen, a hidden cafe here and there, and a tour of the biggest garden in Marrakech. All of the guides were knowledgeable and respectful. At no time as a solo traveller did I feel pressured or unsafe.

Omar my driver was also sensational! He had remarkable driving skills for the chaos of the city streets, the winding curves of the mountains, and the blind turns of the medinas. He was not only able to safely get me to where I needed to go but was able to entertain and delight along the way. He was even considerate enough to invite me to meet his mother in Ouarzazate, and he purchased a birthday cake for my birthday in the Sahara! My trip was truly made extra memorable by his presence.

The guide, Cristin was amazing! He made my trip special and unforgettable. I have memories that will last a lifetime. The trip was perfectly organized. The food and stay were well orchestrated. I would recommend this group to anyone visiting Ecuador!

Truly a trip of a lifetime and an experience that will always stay with us.
Nepal was always a destination I've wanted to visit. Sangita was an almost pleasure in lining up a trip that covered all you would want out of a trip. Always available, plenty of recommendations.
The entire experience was seamless. A perfect mix of culture, food, history, adventure & relaxation.

Sangita & Bipin are wonderful warm & welcoming. The ideal host and can easily tell they love what they do and go the extra mile. When I travel I look for those unique experiences. We are very grateful to Sangita & Bipin for showing us their country, traditions and the time we got to explore Nepal.

We felt that warm hospitality of feeling at home while being away. A lot of thought, care & personal touch went into the experience. Well organized, spaced out and perfectly fitted.
Each stop had it's own unique feel & charm. The trekking was an incredible experience and definitely something we'd like to do again.

We really enjoyed the welcoming dinner & Farewell dinner with Sangita & Bipin left us with a warm fuzzy feeling at the beginning & the end. I highly recommend Sangita for booking your trip to Nepal! Truly a gem of a trip & unforgettable time in Nepal.

Thanks so much for a trip of a lifetime

All the best from Canada - Namaste :)

This was our second trip to Costa Rica and Randall did a great job of organizing exactly what we wanted this time around. There was only one glitch when a river rafting trip was cancelled at the last minute, but Jimmy Villegas immediately found and booked an alternative tour rappelling down waterwalls which turned out to be a real highlight of our vacation.