Kimkim Trip Reviews

We were disappointed with the service from Kim Kim. The Nærøyfjord fjord itinerary that Ingrid chose for us routed us through the same fjord three times: Flam to Balestrand, then Balestrand to Flam, and then the first hour of the Nærøyfjord “tour” was through the same area for the third time. You called it a tour, but it wasn’t: there was no commentary or information given during the Nærøyfjord trip. On the Norled boats between Flam and Balestrand, there were announcements about towns we were passing, and they steered the boat close to various waterfalls along the way so we could get a view. On the Nærøyfjord boat there was nothing like that- we just passed scenery we had already seen (twice), then went around the corner, then got dropped off.

Then came the stop in Gudvangen. In the itinerary it says, “Map of bus stop will be provided,” but you did not provide a map. The instructions said to catch the NX450 bus and pay the driver. There was a sign near the boat dock that said “public buses,” but a man in the ticket office said we needed to go to the main road. In the pouring rain, I went to the bus stop on the street, but it didn’t have the Skyss logo or the NX450 schedule on it, so I walked back to the dock area. Worried that we would miss the bus on the main road if it came by, we took our bags to the road, in the rain. Then the bus came, and many people had advance tickets and got on (why didn’t you book us advance tickets?). The bus driver told us the bus was full, so we dragged our bags back to the dock area- still in the rain- and waited there. The next bus came well before its departure time, so we were able to talk to the driver. We finally knew for certain when we would be leaving, so we could relax and have some dinner.

When I mentioned this to Ingrid, she said, "I was honestly not aware that there would be a chance that it would be fully booked on the bus. " Of course there's a chance: if enough people show up.

The whole reason we booked through your service was because we didn’t want to book things ourselves and end up standing in the rain, not knowing where to go next. And yet, that’s exactly where we found ourselves, after paying Kim Kim a large sum of money. It was frustrating to go through that, when it could have been avoided through advance bus tickets or putting us on different transport.

We have a note for you regarding the Gone Paddling tour in Balestrand, as well. The weather was predicted to be rainy and cold the morning of our kayaking trip, and I called them about switching to their 3pm tour, but it wasn’t running that day. We went ahead and took the morning tour, and Gone Paddling had dry suits for protection against the rain. However, they didn’t offer any sort of gloves or headwear, like a hat or hood. You didn’t mention that we should bring a hood and gloves, and neither does their website. The dry suit kept us dry at first, but as we continued paddling in the rain, my wife in particular got very cold and needed to return to shore. I recommend mentioning to future clients that they need to bring their own gear in case of rain, besides the dry suit, and we’ve mentioned it to Gone Paddling, too.

Overall, we booked with you to make the logistics of our trip go smoothly. In the end, there were more bumps than we expected.

We've just spent a wonderful week travelling with Adventure By Design from Rovaniemi (Lapland) to Tromso (Norway). Our trip was all about immersing ourselves in the environment and taking beautiful day hikes. Elina & Sonja organised a great itinerary which gave us a taste of the different types of environment in the Arctic Circle. It wasn't till the end that we reflected how different each day was and how that made the trip so great! The hikes were well marked and really suitable for us in terms of difficulty and duration. The night in the wilderness cabin was a highlight- a great way to meet other Finnish hikers and have an authentic Finnish summer hiking experience. The accommodation varied: self-catering cabins (with sauna's) and hotels which were clean and comfortable and in great locations. It was easy to pick up food supplies (snacks, breakfast food) along the way. My partner's need for gluten-free food was NO problem at all in Finland and Norway. Everything is labelled. How refreshing! Gareth and Amanda were fantastic guides and we really enjoyed our time with them. Everything went smoothly, as planned, and we enjoyed every single minute of our fabulous trip. Highly recommended, and we look forward to coming back one day soon.

Our trip to the Norwegian Fjords was wonderful.
Until Oslo, our hotels were owned and staffed by local people who provided excellent and friendly service. Our rooms were all different, a good size, clean and colourful with interesting art works on the walls. Our rooms at the Augustin in Bergen and the Kviknes in Balestrand also had lovely views. All hotels were well sited for making the local area easy to explore. In Oslo, the Scandic Byporten was well sited but our room was very noisy all night and the hotel was a little grubby.
Our 2 guides, John in Bergen and Yunelene? [that will not be the spelling of her name!] in Fjaerland for the Mundal Valley hike were a highlight for us. They were each knowledgeable about their area and shared their knowledge and something of themselves as we walked these 2 very different places together.
Balestrand and Fjaerland were our favourite places to be. The scenery, the friendliness of the people and the peacefulness made it such a special time. When we arrived from there to Flam with its rushing crowds of people we were reminded of how lucky we had been to stay in Balestrand.

Had a wonderful time , missed flight due to weather and Kim Kim team was right on it . No way we could of experience all the things we did in a short time without their help. Would highly recommend !

After clarifying our travel dates, which were for this year and a late booking, Ivan made it all work! We were especially delighted with our stay at the Kviknes Hotel in Balstrand! The demi-suite had a superb view of the fjord; comfortable room and lovely balcony.
The 4 course dinner was served to perfection; the lamb was prepared just right; the entire dinner was beyond what we had expected from a large hotel. Our compliments to the entire establishment of the Kviknes. Personnel are polite, professional and welcoming.
Thank you Ivan for your work in making our short stay in Norway so enjoyable. The transfers in Oslo and Bergen were enjoyed, thanks to the personable drivers.
Job well done. We appreciate it!

Jesus organised my family the trip of a lifetime. I went with my wife and 5 children over 3 weeks. We arrived in Lima then went to Paracas, on to Cusco and The sacred Valley, then back to Lima and on to Mancora for some beach time.
All the local guides were excellent that Jesus organised. All transport was of good quality and prompt.
All went perfectly thank you Jesus !

This trip was absolutely magical! Ingrid listened to our interests and constructed a trip that allowed us to see a good spectrum of Norway and participate in activities we enjoyed. Ingrid is a great communicator and answered all questions in a timely and straightforward manner. She also gave us suggestions on places to consider for meals and activities during our free time in Norway. We felt like we had a good balance of free time and activities during our vacation. We could not be more pleased with our KimKim experience!

Overall, it was a great experience.
I was particularly grateful for our guide Oscar, and regret that he was not our guide at Machu Puchu.
I now know that I would need 2 full days in Cusco BEFORE rainbow mountain and would plan more down time for recovery between tours. The schedule was too aggressive for me and my needs.

Mily went above and beyond. The trip was fantastic. No problems and we had the best guides. Guido was the best we have ever had.

Booking our trip with KimKim was a breeze. André and Ingrid from the Ethical Travel team were extremely responsive and helpful with questions we had as we prepared for our trip. The itinerary they created for us was great and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip and Norway in general.

They also provided many great recommendations and options of what to do or see in each location, which we really appreciated. They helped take the hassle out of figuring out the best route, hotels to stay at things to see, etc.

Overall a positive experience with the team and reccomend to others.

Brahim was amazing. Everything that we discussed was delivered without problems. Drivers were courteous and punctual. I would have no hesitation in booking with him again. Kevin Pyle

This trip was a unique experience based trip that we enjoyed as a family and will treasure the memories for years to come!! It balanced lots of different opportunities to enjoy the fabulous nature in Peru, with the history and amazing sites. Add great company and guides and Peruvian food and it left us looking forward to a second trip to visit other areas in the country!

El equipo de KimKim y los especialistas superaron mis expectativas del viaje. El servicio de guías y personal de transportación son impecables. Todo corrió de manera organizada y a tiempo. Definitivamente satisfechos con los hoteles recomendados durante el viaje. Los guías eran muy amables y con mucho conocimiento. Muy agradecida por el excelente servicio de los guías David, Ruth y Mario en Peru y afortunados de contar con Aida y Gerson para el tour del salar de Uyuni en Bolivia. Definitivamente volveré a utilizarlos en mi siguiente aventura.
Gracias Kim Kim!!

Our trip to Jordan was excellent, exciting and quite dramatic. Everything went off like clockwork. We were met at the appointed times and places by our drivers without fail. All instructions were clear, and we were often given extra time just to be safe.

We were picked up at 7:45 am near our Jerusalem hotel and taken to the Border Crossing, where we were dropped off by our Israeli driver. Then after crossing we were met by our Palestinian driver, Haithan, and cossed into Jordan where we took the long drive along the Dead Sea to Petra. Haithan kept us entertained with stories about the people and customs of the area, stopped and let us take pictures with camels, showed us natural springs and gorges, and much more. His car was cool and clean and equipped with wi-fi, which made it nice.

Petra was a remarkable place to see. We visited Little Petra first then we went on to the main Petra at about 11 am. We chose to visit it at our own pace and to read the clear and informative signs ourselves. The natural rock formations were stunning. We went from a hot and sunny environment to a cool and shady one in an instant, preferring the latter.

Walking through the gorges was quite an overwhelming experience, and seeing the elegantly carved monumental buildings really moved us. To think that an ancient civilization lived there! The Nabuteans were very industrious people and we came to admire them. The primitive holes carved out of the caves and used for wine making and water storage and holding staircases and artwork were all eerily mundane. Stony remnants of the everyday labors of a long-vanished people surrounded us and we were mesmerized by them.

We unfortunately were there on a very hot day, and on our way out we were very very warm and could hardly wait until we reached the Visitor Entrance. The sun was beating down on us very hard, but we made it on foot without a donkey ride. We felt quite victorious!

We stayed at the Petra Moon Hotel, which was itself a dream -- a lovely boutique hotel with all the amenities. .After our exertions, we went out to dinner in the evening after on the rooftop at the buffet there. It was delicious and bountiful. The breakfast buffet was another delightful experience, with all kinds of bread, an omelet bar, fresh fruit, yogurt, nuts, dates, juices...everything! The service was wonderful. They held our luggage and called our driver for us because we did not have cell phone service. I would recommend this hotel to anyone.

Our driver picked us up on request at our hotel and drove us the two hours to Amman, with stops on the way, and dropping us off at our hotel, the La Locanda, another boutique hotel -- this one with a music theme. The rooms did not have numbers, but rather the names of a famous middle eastern singers or musicians. Our room was named Sabah Fakhri, a Syrian tenor. The next morning Azzam picked us up and took us to the Citadel and then we sat and had a relaxing tea at a restaurant that overlooked the main street. We wanted to get to the airport for our flight to Cairo that night so he obliged us and took us there. Jordan was a great trip.

But it wasn't over because we had to fly back into Amman from Cairo, then cross over the border again into Israel. This was a challenge, because it was a Friday and the Israel border closed at 11 am and our flight was scheduled to arrive at 9 am. But thanks to our tenacious driver Azzam, who picked us up at the airport (and said we got through in only 15 minutes!) and told us he was quite sure we would make it in time as he ferried us through the confusing mass of people on the Jordanian side of the border, we made it! Amjad picked us up on the other side of the border and drove us to the Jerusalem bus station and needless to say we made it to the rest of our destinations. It was quite an experience, that border crossing day. Sometimes we didn't know what was being said among the parties involved. All I know is Azzam said to take care of the bus driver, which we did. A couple on the bus behind us did not know what was going on, had shelled out a hefty "tax" to somebody and were quite bewildered by it all. Thanks to Kimkim I feel like we were quite spared. Thanks so much to Lena, who answered every email and every question I had. Mary

Our experience with Preeti and the kimkim service was excellent. Our 9 day trip to Iceland was our first family trip abroad and it couldn't have gone smoother. Once off the plane, our rental car was waiting and was all tricked out with wifi and plenty of leg room. Our itinerary provided by Preeti was excellent, we never felt rushed, yet there was so much they recommended we see. The guides were excellent, we did an ATV tour on black sand beaches and into a gorgeous valley (this was everyone's favorite), a snowmobile tour on a glacier (ok, but I'm sure much better in the winter without all the slushy runoff), walked into a glacier ice cave (also cool, but very short), toured a lava cave (very cool - and unusual), and did a horseback ride (this was not everyone's favorite - extremely beautiful scenery through hot springs and backcountry, but the black flies were incessantly swarming and biting and none of us are seasoned riders, so we were very sore the next couple days - lol). All our guides were informative, friendly and accommodating. The hotels we stayed at were all good in their own way, either great food, or nice room, Hotel Umi stood out as one of the best for both. We were all surprised how small the rooms were, and how stuffy most were. The weather when we were there was unseasonably warm, with most days in the low-mid 60's. The family's highlights were the waterfalls, especially Seljalandsfoss, driving to Vik, Skogar museum and Skogarfoss, ATV tour, Geysir - geysirs and waterfall there, the Kerid crater, Thingvellir National park and the fault line between the continental plates, driving through the lava fields up to the western coast, and laughing about signs for snyrting. We enjoyed every minute of our time in Iceland. I would use Kimkim again for planning our next big vacation. We could not be happier with our experience with Preeti and the amazing vacation she put together for us! It was very well planned and for a Type A mom, this is a huge deal!!! Thank you!

Our Greece vacation was everything we had hoped it would be. Beautiful locations and great food. Our guide dimitris for acropolis was extremely knowledgeable and a pleasure. Naxos sailing was wonderful. And our guide for kayaking was both safety conscious and very comical in his approach. Maria was an excellent hiking tour guide on santorini where she took us to a fabulous sunset view and also surprised us with food and drink for the magic moment. Dimitris and Kimkim was very responsive to all requests pre trip and tried to help customize our requests.
The things I would recommend is to book early to get the better hotel options and there were a couple of times we would have preferred to have our ferry transfers included vs searching for our own transfer at a couple of the island stops.
Overall it was a very memorable trip and I would definitely recommend Kimkim and the team again!

Excellent trip. Hotels were well selected, transfers were all in decent cars and activities all went to plan. Medellin for me was the best location with Salento a close second.

1. Pre-travel - fantastic
2. Arrival - we were conned by the money changer (Global Exchange at the airport) - to purchase a debit card (cost 299 MAD - non-refundable) - for safety reason - the lady try to push us to buy 4 cards (one each) - which luckily we declined but still lost 299 MAD for the useless card.
3. Muhammad Ruzaidi dropped out his wallet from the Airport door to the car.
Casablanca - Meknes- Fes - OK - expensive lunch.
4. 2 nights at Riad Norma - OK
5. Riad Norma itself - the room is old and musty with stale potpourri smell - would rather have a neutral smell in the room. Mdm Monique and her staff were very attentive though. Overall, very personal experience with super extensive breakfast.
6. Fes day tour - OK expensive lunch.
7. Fes to Chefchaouen - stop by at Volubilis - OK
8. Chefchaouen - optional guided tour - OK
9. Chefchaouen - one night stay at a very nice Riad Cherifa ( even though not as personal as Riad Norma) and nice breakfast.
10. Chefchaouen to Rabat - nice reasonably priced lunch at Mister Rotisserie. Rabat city tour - OK
11. Rabat to Casablanca - Casablanca city tour - OK
12. Stay at Odyssee Center Hotel - nice (relatively small) room - they were nice enough providing us with packed breakfast since we checked out at 6am. The front desk was not able to release the blocked 3000MAD fund from my Visa due to bad internet connection. As a result 3000MAD was deducted from my card - yet to get the reimbursement from them.
12. Casablanca to Airport - OK

Overall:
1. Driver - Muhammad - fantastic - punctual all the time and the van was very comfortable.
2. Overall food is quite pricey
3. Get back the missing wallet at the airport (fantastic - very amanah!)
4. Good support from kimkim

Incredibly, 5 months have passed since our trip to Norway and we still haven´t entered our review.
Maybe unconsciously we don't want to end it! But the truth is we´ve been talking about Norway and remembering it since we´ve arrived. 

It was a trip of a lifetime, so good that we´ve made a promise to go back, in summer to see the country's other season and in winter again because we truly loved it. 

The knowledge and understanding kimkim, and our local specialist Linda, provided along the way was invaluable and made the experience of planning the trip a wonderful thing. Since the beginning, Linda understood what we were looking for and most important she understood the way we like to travel. The going back and forward between the three of us with ideas and suggestions made the trip feel very much like our creation. It was a tailored made trip done by us, it was very special.

We arrived in Bodø then traveled to Lofoten, drove to Andenes, sailed to Tromsø and finally, we flew to the wild and fantastic Svalbard. We did see the Northen lights, the reason of our trip (5 times in 14 days), but it was much more than that. The road trip through the Islands, kayaking, horseback riding on the beaches, the snowmobile adventure in Svalbard, everything was memorable.

Thank you kimkim! Thank you Linda!

Rita and Eche

The trip was amazing!!! David arranged perfect tours for us. Tommas was an excellent guide.
Our trip was perfect because of David and his company.