Kimkim Trip Reviews

My hopes for an epic trip to China and Japan were realized thanks to
蒋海丽 (Heidi). She gave me alot of her time and energy to help me plan the trip, and she was with me every step of the way during the trip.

I was a little anxious about traveling to China on my own but Heidi was a reassuring influence as I planned the trip with her through convos on KK Platform and phone calls. Typically, I would send her a lot of questions and she always answered promptly with great options and solutions.

The several tours arranged by Heidi were excellent, especially the tour guides. She selected great hotels for me and booked the train rides I needed to see both countries.

Halfway through trip planning, I needed to switch from another Asian country to Japan. Heidi sent me an itinerary and plan for Japan the very next day!

It is always good to balance a review like this with some positive criticism, but I have none. I am so pleased with how smoothly the trip played out, which allowed me to experience both countries to the max. Thanks again Heidi!

Activity Reviews

A Glimpse into China's Imperial Past: the Fobidden City

Beijing

Angela tour guide in Beijing Wu Qiong (Angela) really took care of me in my visit to Beijing. She is an outstanding tour guide, reassuring, and very fun to be with. If you like to grow and learn about the history and culture of China, Angela is like an encyclopedia. Angela led me on two unforgettable days in Beijing, which covered the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace and the Great Wall. Angela made sure to ride the gondola with me at the Great Wall, which was a scary ride for me. When not touring with her, she recommended and arranged reservations in interesting local restaurants when I was not on the tour. The time with Angela in Beijing went by way too fast. I could have spent many more days exploring the city with her and learning from her.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Highlights of Shanghai with Yu Garden and the Bund

Shanghai

JJ, Shanghai tour guide During my tour of Shanghai, JJ (ChenJie陈杰) shared her incredible insight into China and its relationship to the rest of the world. I will remember those experiences as much as the Shanghai that she introduced me to. Although it was a whirlwind couple of days in the busy city of 25 million people, JJ made it all enormously fun and stimulating. JJ always let me set the comfortable pace for me. I appreciate so much how she was so flexible and creative when I asked for changes in the itinerary. There was so much to see and talk about and think about, and JJ made it all very easy. Go see Shanghai for yourself, and try to get JJ for a guide.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We spent a wonderful 10 days in Colombia looked after by Michael and his team at Chaska Travels.
A special mention about our guide Marylin in Bogota who went that extra mile to look after us personally especially when my wife and daughter were a bit under the weather. All the tours and travel arrangements went without a hitch and frankly there was no part of our trip that we had any negative experience. We loved Colombia as a country, its people and of course its amazing Geography.
The highlight of our trip was our stay at the Sofitel Santa Clara where we could not have asked for more. The service and facilities were wonderful.

All three of our guides were very responsive, knowledgeable, and friendly. I would highly recommend them.

Berat was very available for any changes that we made along the way. She was easy to contact and always followed up in a timely manner. I t was a very good expereince. Thank you
Gina Suozzi

We had a truly spectacular 7-day trip to Portugal early November 2024 -- our first not only to Portugal but to Europe. We credit the success of our trip to Pedro, who was the local specialist who consulted with us to truly understand what would work best to meet our needs. In our case, it was a balance of experiencing Portugal, its people, its history, its cities and more leisurely sights at a comfortable, low key pace that wasn't too overwhelming for us.

We arrived in Lisbon early on a Sunday morning, were greeted by a wonderful driver (Rui) who recommended some of the key places in the city and near our hotel (including several of his favorites). Our first stop was the Heritage Avenida Liberace hotel in Lisbon, which was a perfect and lovey location up the hill from downtown, a perfect place for exploring the city. The hotel was beautiful, filled with beautiful design inspiration. We were most grateful for the lovely and thoughtful welcome basket of wine, snacks and aromatic soaps Pedro had left for us. We strolled the city on Sunday, and were ready to do more on Monday when we were greeted by Rita for an amazing tasting tour throughout the city.

Rita introduced us to many favorite foods of Lisbon, and shared so many stories about the city and its history! Her thoughtful and delicious tour ended at the Time Out Market, where they were actually filming an episode of a Chef's show. Later that evening, we immersed ourselves in Portuguese culture by experiencing a Fado Dinner at Mesa de Frades, a delicious and moving experience we won't soon forget.

The next day, we were greeted by Helio, who was the main driver for the next several days of our visit. He was incredibly warm, flexible, knowledgeable and helpful! Funny, too. We visited the fairytale vila of Sintra and toured the Pena Palace and Gardens. Later in the day, we drove down through coast and returned to the Heritage hotel via Cascais. We had a most delicious lunch (Hello proactively made reservations for multiple meals on our behalf) of seabass and other local delicacies.

On our second day traveling with Hello, we traveled to Porto (via Obidas and the awe-inspiring Nazare, where Hello also proactively reserved a lunch of seaside delicacies (the tuna was amazing!) for us. We checked into the NH Collection of hotels in Porto, another centrally located hotel inviting many adventures on foot.

We were greeted by Bernardo for an historical walking tour the Porto . Talk about an incredibly passionate and knowledgeable tour guide! We would highly recommend Bernardo.

The next day Evol greeted us at the hotel for a day trip to the Douro valley, including a boat tour in Deltatur and a memorable and delicious lunch at the Quinta da Pacheco. Both are must-sees! Evol was a wonderful driver who shared many stories and tips about the Douro Valley and the sites we were seeing, and made a special stop so for photo opps, doubling as our photographer (thank you, Evol!).

We re-engaged with Helio on our final full day in Portugal, when he met us in Porto and drove us from the city all the way down to Cascais, via stops in Coimbra. We said a grateful farewell as we hiked into the Cascais Miragem hotel -- the views were spectacular and left us wanting to return to Portugal for more on a future visit!

Finally, Andre greeted us the morning of our last day and made sure we were all set for check in at the hotel in Lisbon. Another comfortable and pleasant drive and conversation about Portugal.

On last note of gratitude, Pedro used WhatsApp to manage our expectations with the perfect amount of detail a day ahead. He was always at the ready to respond to questions and requests, no matter how small or seemingly trivial.

Adam our travel consultant was very approachable and very knowledgeable about Portugal which made planning the trip easy and satisfying. The drivers who transferred us around were all quite accommodating and very efficient and easy to communicate with . There were some excursion options that we were interested but not available thru KimKim , which forced us to book outside of their app. Overall, a great experience.

This was our first time using KimKim and appreciated the ease in which options were provided by the local specialist, Vicky, and how we were able to provide input. During our trip, we reference the on-line itinerary several times a day. Vicky was a joy to work with and was available seemly 24 hours a day. She made multiple changes to our plan and responded to questions very quickly.

Hotel Review

Harbour Rocks Hotel

The Rocks, Sydney NSW

Nice boutique hotel and centrally located. However, the room we ended up getting was extremely small. Literally couldn't open up two suitcases at the same time.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Sunset Dinner Cruise

Sydney

The cruise was nice - food was decent. The duration of the cruise was perfect (not to long - my personal preference). The "sunset" part of the cruise didn't really exist -- the sun was still fairly high in the sky when the cruise ended.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Blue Mountains Wildlife Full-Day Sights and Hiking from Sydney

Sydney

This was one of our favorite activities during the trip. We asked for and got a private driver that was very friendly and knowledgable. The hike in the Blue Mountains was the best!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Bike Tour

Sydney

This was a great way to see a lot of Sydney in a short amount of time. The only complaint we had was that the final part of the tour was through a heavily congested (by pedestrians) trip on the boardwalk by the harbour. My wife and I both felt a little unsafe during this and I'm sure we totally annoyed numerous pedestrians. Probably could be easily solved by starting the tour earlier the morning.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

McLaren Vale Wine Tour by Bike

Adelaide

Totally glad we did this tour - BUT felt a little unprepared for the skill level/fitness needed for the tour. I'm sure the "mountain biking" aspect of the tour was at the low end of average of skill/fitness for mountain bikers - but I felt a bit terrified during part of the tour (sharp rocks, narrow tracks, steep hills). I'm a semi-fit 60 year old that bikes quite a bit (albeit not mountain biking) and was pushed from a fitness perspective to complete the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

DOLPHIN SANCTUARY & SHIPS GRAVEYARD KAYAK TOUR

Adelaide

We saw dolphins (which was great!) though they were from quite a distance away. However, I was really looking forward to seeing the ship graveyard and picked this tour because of it. The tour guide decided to cut the ship graveyard from the tour - because he said we spent too much time looking for/viewing dolphins. We did have a nice trip through the mangroves. The tour guide was very monotone and did not speak very loudly. I'm sure most of the people on the tour gave up on trying to hear him - he seemed oblivious.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Laneways of Melbourne

Melbourne

This was a big surprised - but we loved it. We never got the sense from reading the tour description that this was actually a tour of graffiti in alleys. Loved the artwork and the chance to see some sights you normally don't see walking through a big city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private and Customised Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles Tour

Melbourne

Really have mixed feelings about this tour. We loved the sights. We had a private driver. The mini-van we were in was a bit run down. Both my wife and I had trouble hearing the driver due to the road noise from the van and the driver not speaking loud enough. The driver wouldn't stop talking even after we told him we couldn't hear him. We told him a couple times to save his voice and stop talking, but that didn't stop him. Since about 60% of this tour is driving, this became awkward at times.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The van we rode in was run down. Windows didn't work in the back. Very loud. The tour operation should consider an intercom system (very common) or something to make driver more audible.

Kuranda Scenic Railway Gold Class and Skyrail Rainforest Cableway

Australia

One of our favorite activities on our trip to Australia. Both the railway and cableway were outstanding!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gold Class VIP Great Barrier Reef Cruise from Cairns by Luxury Superyacht

Cairns

The boat ride was very rough and I learned that snorkeling isn't for me (neither of which is the fault of the tour operator). Many people we sea-sick for the entire cruise. We paid extra for the Gold Class VIP treatment with a private stateroom - and very happy we did this. The staff was wonderful. The food good.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Daintree Wanderer Tour

Australia

Another highlight from the trip! We had a private driver who was very knowledgable. He actually walked with us on many parts of the tour which was nice. Never felt like his presence was intrusive. Newer mini-van. The only part of the day-long tour that was a bit of a dud was the one hour Crocodile Boat Tour. There were no crocodile sightings. The boat driver said that he had had several trips out with no crocodiles to be found. I don't think the other crocodile tour operators were having any better luck.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Planning and booking our bucket list trip through Kimkim was so easy. Thank you, Amanda, for answering our questions with knowledge, compassion, and grace!

We started our trip in late September and did run into some late monsoon season rain that made trekking in some place difficult. Guide Bire's experience, energy, and gentle encouragement got us through some tough days and made it all worth it (seriously, give that man a raise!). Porter Tez was so attentive and kind. They're a great team! Trip highlights were the beautiful remote villages of Shyala, Samagaun, and Samdo. Thank you Kimkim!

Thank you so much for facilitating our memorable trip to Morocco. We had a great time and appreciate the beautiful "riads' that you booked for us. Hakim, the local specialist did a fantastic job and Hakim, our driver/guide did a great job ensuring that no one is left behind and making sure everything was on track. They made our trip truly one for the road!

Everything is on schedule and the weather also cooperated. If there's any room for improvement, it was the Hamam. Perhaps, one can book where all the locals usually go. The Hamam we experienced looks like one meant for tourists. The food tour can also be suggested on the first day and not on the last day.

Overall, I am very happy with how our trip to Morocco was and I can only express my gratitude and that I look forward to having future trips curated by your organization. I will also recommend this to friends who like to visit Morocco. Thank you!

This was a celebration trip – celebration of 25 years of friendship and we - Gail and Aru - picked the land of Fire & Ice! Both of us having experienced Kimkim earlier, decided to go with Kimkim.

Our trip to Iceland was planned by Veronika from the Unforgettable Nordic. The initial part of nailing down a broad itinerary was a smooth process. Where it got tedious for us was when it came to planning the details. For example – we were specific in mentioning that we wanted a hotel with an elevator and a room of a particular size. All these details and more were overlooked. Veronika’s attention to detail and responsiveness was poor, at best, and it required a considerable amount of our time to ensure that all details were attended to. Further, we noticed a few planning glitches, information gaps, a general quality of oversight and a lack of regard for our collective & individual budget. She needed to have a far more in-depth knowledge of us, our abilities, our needs and what we want to do before she could fulfill what Kimkim actually promises – a customized trip. The amount of time it took for us to push her to get things done, we would have spent it better if we planned this on our own given that almost all the trips she chose are online anyway for people to make their own choices.

Thankfully, about a month prior to the start of our vacation, we were informed that Veronika is no longer with Unforgettable Nordic and we were assigned to Connor. Connor was an absolute delight to work with. He was informative, responsive, on-the-ball, quick to handle itinerary changes/ requests, clear in his communications, offered an opinion when needed and has a wicked and lively sense of humour! It was an absolute pleasure to have Connor partner us on this critical phase of our vacation and we enjoyed interacting with him. We were both relieved to have ‘on the ball’ Connor, especially since many of our activities were cancelled and needed rescheduling and reshuffling and he handled all these changes efficiently.

In terms of ratings, we would divide it:
For the portion with Veronika, my rating would be 1.5/5
For the portion with Connor, my rating would be 4/5

Some feedback for Unforgettable Nordic & KimKim:
1. Creativity of the itinerary: The portion of the itinerary from Unforgettable Nordic (Veronika) was standard tourist fare. Many of the interesting activities added to the itinerary were a result of our own research. All the tours were available through Viator, Tripadvisor or other such online spaces. We being seasoned travelers know this. Kimkim loses significant for us since it provides nothing new. So to actually have us as customers again Kimkim will need to up their game.
2. An escalation process/request a change of primary contact: Despite our initial discomfort, we had no way to escalate or discuss our issues - we (the customers) had to endure the poor levels of service with no place to complaint. This by any service standard is just poor customer management. Unless Kimkim does some quality control customers will dwindle.
3. More transparency: For a few of the experiences, we were booked for the premium level. We certainly did not mind. But it would have been appropriate to check if we’d prefer a standard or premium ticket for our experiences. The point is we weren’t aware that we had a choice.
4. Our experiences with service on Kimkim for Japan and Vietnam (separate vendors) were awesome. That experience led us to book Iceland with Kimkim. But the standards of service were much, much lower.

Overall, we had a beautiful trip. But it was seamless, primarily due to the level of attention and follow-up we did to the itinerary. If it wasn’t for us being on top of the itinerary, we would have experienced many glitches on our travel. As also, Connor’s contribution at the end – his on-ground coordination really helped us.

Hotel Reviews

Eyja Guldsmeden Hotel

Reykjavik

Great stay and service. Very friendly staff. Small rooms, but beautifully done up.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Superb

Cleanliness & Comfort

Gerði Guesthouse

Höfn

Basic. But good. Tiny rooms - ok for a night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dogsledding Mosfellsdalur

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ultimate Icelandic Night—Northern Lights Hunt, Cozy Blankets & Local Treats in Reykjavik

Reykjavík

We did not see this properly

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

2-Day South Coast Tour: Waterfalls, Ice Caves and Glacier Lagoon (Day 1)

Iceland

Reykjavík Food Walk

Iceland

Icelandic Lava Show Reykjavik

Iceland

Golden Circle Super Jeep and Snowmobile Tour

Iceland

This was our first trip with KimKim. Some highlights:
- Trip planning was super easy and they were very flexible to match our needs
- Hotel locations and hotels themselves were excellent. In both cities, the hotels were an easy walk from all the places we wanted to go and close to restaurants/shopping/public transport
- the guided tours in Barcelona and Seville were fantastic. Special shout out to Noah in Barcelona for the food tour. It was just the two of us with Noah and honestly it felt like we spent the evening with a good friend. Our other tour guides Alexi in Barcelona as well as Miguel and Mariam in Seville were excellent as well.
- due to some internal miscommunication within KimKim, our tour for the Alcazar was not booked. They let us know, refunded our money and offer another complimentary tour with Mariam which was excellent
- prearranged transportation is a huge value add as landing in a foreign country and not knowing the language makes navigating public transport challenging. On our return, the pickup was at 4 am and we were grateful for the prearranged ride
- The call with our planner Adam prior the trip was very valuable as he ran through the itinerary and answered common questions (how much cash do we need to carry, how much to tip, what type of weather to expect etc)

Downsides:
- The missed tour of the Alcazar though handled well, was a big miss. It is one of the marquis attractions in Seville and one that we will likely not see again
- Most of the tours are available from TripAdvisor or Viator at lower cost BUT the trip planning and co-ordination needs a lot of prep work if you do it your self

Fantastic trip to northern/northwest Spain. Logroño in La Rioja was beautiful. Our guide Ameli took us on a personal tour of the wine country including a stop in Laguardia. It was a beautiful day/evening. Next on to San Sebastián. We loved our accommodations at Maddiola just outside the city on the beautiful coastline. Our tour the following day to Biarritz, Bayonne and Saint Jean de Luz was lovely and nice afternoon lunch in Bayonne with our guide ( Iator?) who was very informative. We really enjoyed our pinxtos evening tour with Gorka in the historic district of San Sebastián. One of the many unforgettable highlights! Our boutique hotel in Bilbao was vey nice and convenient and the city was beautiful. We visited the Guggenheim museum, rode the funicular, explored the historic district and thoroughly enjoyed our walks throughout the city. Our next stop was San Vicente de la Barquera. This was a nice break from the more populated Bilbao. Love the change of pace and apartment style accommodations in the national park. Our host Martin gave us great advice on alternative hikes in the Picos de Europa as weather was threatening and we had an enjoyable drive to and afternoon in
Potes after a nice morning hike along the Nansa River. Our next stop in Ribadeo was also beautiful along the coast and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay and the scenic coast in this area including the impressive La Catedrals beach! On our way to Santiago we made an extra trip to A Coruña which was gorgeous walking along the coast trail to the monument and we did the same previously in Santander where we hiked around the palace. Santiago was wonderful, our hotel was perfect location and we love the vibrant, historical city with all the pilgrimage vibe. Our final destination Vigo was spectacular including ferry ride and hike to Cies Islands. Overall we loved the trip, accommodations were great and as expected with convenient locations but also variety of experiences. Rental car worked out well and no concerns or problems with travel, parking or tolls. Thanks for planning a great trip, Alba!

8 Days in Iceland! This was our second trip my husband and I have booked through KimKim and we really enjoyed it! Gummi did a great job planning our itinerary and was extremely responsive when we had questions or needed to tweak our plans. We travel a lot and using Gummi and KimKim really saved us time by booking hotels and activities and planning our route. This was a road trip, starting and ending in Reykjavik. We had a fairly aggressive itinerary and a lot of driving but we were able to fit everything in and are looking forward to another Iceland adventure. Loved the glacier hike and ice cave adventures, stopping at many beautiful beaches, waterfalls, cliffs and other geologic features of this unique landscape!! We loved riding Icelandic horses on the beach near Vik. We stopped at 3 different geothermal pools -- Sky Lagoon, Secret Lagoon and the Blue Lagoon. Each had its own unique vibe and definitely worth a visit. We were surprised at what an incredible foodie town Reykjavik is - Gummi provided restaurant recommendations for the city and smaller areas as well. The tasting menu at Fish Market in Reykjavik is spendy but not to miss! Our hotels in the outlying areas all had very good restaurants, too. There were a few days when we rolled in late and it was nice to be able to head to the dining room for a great meal - without having to get into the car again in search of dinner. We did have a couple of reservation mixups at two hotels but we called Gummi and he got things sorted out speedy quick. Things happen on trips, I get it, but the key is having a super-responsive travel agent who can fix the problem in a heartbeat.

Activity Reviews

Sky Lagoon - Experience the seven-step Sky Ritual

Iceland

What a fun experience! The 7-step ritual was unique! The outdoor setting and infinity pool view was gorgeous. Loved having a swim-up bar!

Quality of Experience

Solheimajokull Glacier Hike

Iceland

Beautiful area! We felt safe and well-taken care of. Fun going up and down - the crampons were easier than I expected. The only problem with these types of events is that there are always one or two people who maybe don't have the best fitness level for this type of activity. Our guide really wanted to be accommodating to all the guests but we ended up stopping a lot- and we were a little concerned! It's a good hike just to get to the glacier and then an uphill walk in crampons. The glacier ice was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Icelandic horse riding tour

Iceland

Fun, fun, fun! These shaggy little horses were so cute and friendly and well-mannered. The guides did a thorough demo before we set off. It was fun going along the black sand beach and lots of photo ops. My only wish is that we could've had a longer ride, but we had other sights to stop at and a drive back to Reykjavik that day so it worked out fine.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Crystal Blue Ice Cave

Iceland

Another great glacier walk! Guide was thorough but he could've used a helper as a "tail gunner" to keep an eye on everyone from the rear. As it was, Connelly and I took on that roll. The guide clipped in an older woman in our group to ropes anchored in the ice.

Transport

Phew! Our guide/driver knew the back road but it was rough and he drove (what I thought) was too fast. Lost of turns - i was feeling a little carsick in the back of the van on the way back to the parking lot.

The Secret Lagoon

Iceland

This was a lower-key outdoor pool experience than Sky or Blue Lagoon but equally enjoyable. Loved the gravel bottom. There were foam pool noodles that were fun to float around on.

Quality of Experience

Lower key than Blue or Sky Lagoon. Enjoyed floating around with the pool noodles - loose gravel bottom felt great under foot.

Great trip. Fantastic accommodations. Trek with chimpanzees and gorillas are unforgetable.
Great safaris. The itinerary was great. Bright ( the driver ) was very efficient, always on time and knowledgeable

Hotel Reviews

2 Friends Beach Hotel

Entebbe

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mihingo lodge

Great hotel also, felt like in a safari lodge again

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pakuba safari lodge

Murchison falls national park

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Twin lake safari lodge

Felt like in a safari lodge like in a movie. Exceptional place

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Isunga lodge

Kibale

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Gorilla Leisure Lodge

Bugambira

Great hotel again, fantastic place

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Murchison Falls Morning game drive

Murchison Falls National Park

finally saw a leopard

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Transfer Murchison Falls to Kibale National Park

Uganda

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local lunch at Tinka’s homestead

Kibale National Park

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Game Drive in Queen Elizabeth National Park

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kazinga Channel Water Safari

Queen Elizabeth National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local Community Tour with the Batwa

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rhino Trek

Uganda

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Murchison Falls Cruise and Hike

Murchison Falls National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Drive to Queen Elizabeth National Park

Uganda

saw several leopards again!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ultimate Gorilla Trekking Experience

Bwindi Impenetrable National Park

Fantastic interaction with gorillas

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Top of the falls trek

Murchison Falls National Park

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chimpanzee Trekking

Kibale National Park

fantastic interaction with chimps

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our primary driver Younes was amazing. He was very capable, respectful and caring. We enjoyed our tour guides from Rabat, Fez, and Volubilis. Our guide for Marrakech was good but we were under the weather and hence the tour was less impactful.

After our trip and speaking with other travelers, we would have done a differ ent itinerary. We did not like Marrakech as it was very touristy. We would have appreciated input from Yassine that we should spend 2 days in Merzuoga and dropped the amount of time in Marrakech to 2 x 1/2 days which would have been plenty.

Hotel Reviews

ONOMO Hotel Casablanca Airport

Nouaceur

Riad Almazhar

Rabat

Room was small

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Dar Laura

Fes

Staff was very nice in a good location and nice rooftop. One challenge is that it can be loud if there is a large group having a late dinner.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Luxury Camp Chebbi

Merzouga

So surprised the tent was so nice. One thing is that the generator is on all night. Can easily hear the humming

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Caravane

Ouarzazate

Nicest hotel. Downside is that it is further away from the center

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Riad Sabah

Marrakech

Nice facility

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Odyssee Center

Casablanca

Big hotel. Only 1 water bottle, 1 towel, minimal service

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Exploring the Imperial City and Medieval Medina of Fez

Fes

This was an amazing city.

Overnight in the Sahara Desert

Morocco

Loved it. We wished we stayed 2 nights. Too short

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring the Medina and Historical Sites Of Marrakesh

Marrakesh

Spent too many days here. 2.5. Very touristy city. Way too many scooters in the Medina and city. Didn’t like seeing monkeys in chains or plastic items from China being sold to tourist Food was very good here

Food

Joao was amazing, before and during our trip to Portugal. Helpful, knowledgeable, quick to respond, kind, always on time, adaptable...great all around.

We booked a duplicate trip that my sister in law and brother in law had already planned and reserved. We accompanied them on the trip. All our guides were fantastic and knowledgeable. We usually do not book tours, and was very impressed with our guides and small group tours.

Hotel Reviews

Casa Montani Hotel

Rome

The hotel was very nice and secure. Comfortable accommodations and had space to hang up clothes . It was located a bit far from some of our destinations but was definitely a walkable route to them. The light breakfast provided was delicious and was at our door within 5 minutes after requesting it. However, we got bored with having the same each day. Would have been nice to be able to substitute an item or two. Was only provided with a menu on the first day.

Authenticity & Character

Charming and authentic to the area

Location

Close to restaurants and shopping

Staff

The introduction we received on check in was helpful. The breakfast staff was very quick

Cleanliness & Comfort

Imperial Hotel Tramontano

Sorrento

This hotel is beautiful inside and out. There are lush gardens out front to enjoy day and night with seating, pool with food/beverage service. We enjoyed an amazing buffet breakfast daily, and evening cocktails, all with an amazing sea view at the hotel restaurant. Our room was beyond expectations; a two level accommodation with a gorgeous view of the sea from both floors. We opened the large window to let in the warm sun and light breeze. Plenty of wardrobe and drawer space for our clothes.

Authenticity & Character

Hotel was elegant and was well maintained.

Location

This hotel was centrally located and had access to many sites, shops and restaurants.

Staff

All staff we encountered were friendly and helpful with any questions we had. We also had our clothes laundered and they came back professionally clean and smelled amazing! Kudos to the porters, front desk staff, cleaning staff and wait staff that made our stay extra special.

Cleanliness & Comfort

The entire hotel was extremely clean.

Hotel Orto De' Medici

Florence

Great hotel located near city center. Walkable to many sites and restaurants. Beautiful architecture. Great breakfast buffet. Room was very small and not much wardrobe space to hang or unpack clothes. Beds were extremely firm which I like, but was not my husband's favorite. We arrived on a Friday night and was given a complimentary beverage at the bar. Was disappointed to find out that the bar was closing for the season that evening. The only other negative comment is we requested laundry service and due to the holiday the hotel staff said there would be none during our stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Near city center

Staff

Everyone was friendly and were given a great recommendation for dinner.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Locanda Leon Bianco on the Grand Canal

Venice

We had a wonderful room that had a Canal view. Even though it wasn't a grand Canal view it was still extremely nice view. Delicious breakfast buffet and the scrambled eggs were outstanding! The Staff is friendly and made sure we had what we needed. We had to leave very early on our last day due to flight arrangements and the staff provided us with two breakfast bags full of breakfast goodies that we were able to eat most of throughout our flight home.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very close to all shops and restaurants. We could walk anywhere from this location.

Staff

Very friendly and made sure we had everything needed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Our room was very clean each day!

Activity Reviews

Colosseum & Ancient Rome Tour with Roman Forum

Rome

Our guide was not only knowledgeable, but he had a sense of humor and a great personality.! (I wish I could remember his name.) Although the tour was lengthy, it was not overwhelming or boring. He gave us plenty of time to take photos and tour a little bit on our own.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Crypts, Bones & Catacombs: An Underground Tour of Rome

Rome

We learned quite a bit about The Roman catacombs and the history behind it. Enjoyed our guide who was very knowledgeable and friendly. Nice drive thru Appian Way and past Circus Maximus.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mini Private Rome Tour in Golf Cart

Rome

This was a perfect day for a golf cart tour because it was raining. Our driver/guide was great! We had lots of laughs. He was knowledgeable on all the sites he showed us. He even gave us a surprise visit to the Pantheon which we really appreciated!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pizza School at Agriturismo

Italy

A must do when in Italy. Enjoyed meeting the family who owns the farm. It was a fun, delicious and authentic experience!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Highlights of the Vatican & Sistine Chapel Tour

Rome

Thankfully we had skip the line tickets and tour guide. Guide was very knowledgeable and was helpful when visiting this site. So much to see and was a bit overwhelmed with so much to look at.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Storywalking Experience in Castelli Romani

Italy

Our contadina breakfast at Ornesto's vineyard turned out to be a very special experience. He not only shared his vineyard, food and wine but also his life. The views were beautiful and food and wine were outstanding. We walked the vineyard and got an in depth tour/understanding of farming/wine making. We made a life long friend. We didn't want to leave and actually stayed longer than our schedule called for.

Quality of Experience

Food

Everything was homemade, delicious and plentiful.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ornesto makes sure you enjoy your visit

Transport

Our driver was patient with us, as we extended our time there, which cut into our next destination which was a self guided tour.

Naples to the Amalfi Coast or Amalfi Coast to Naples - Pompeii en Route

Italy

Our train arrived late but arrangements were made to have our driver remain with us and tour was not shortened. Cool place to learn about Pompeii history and to view Mt. Vesuvius.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

St Mark's and Doge's Palace Tour | Semi-Private

Venice

We were tapped out of tours and historic sites by this point. St. Mark's church is beautiful and the square definitely has a lot of history. Tour guide knew her history and provided many details.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Gondola Ride Venice & City Stroll

Venice

We were looking forward to the gondola ride but was disappointed. Our gondola driver wasn't dressed in authentic attire. He was wearing plain street clothes. Assumed he would speak about points of interest but that didn't happen. He was nice to us and maneuvered the gondola safely. Tour was supposed be 30 minutes but ours over in 20 minutes.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Storywalking Experience: Full Day Tour of the Amalfi Coast with Limoncello Tour & Tasting

Italy

The Amalfi coast, Positano and Ravello are gorgeous and breathtaking. Nature's perfect gift. We had a tour with Chef from La Bonita del Capo. Gave us a tour of his lemon, orange and fruit trees/vines. Made limoncello in a small group with tasting. Had a full lunch with all courses. Delicious!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Giotto Tower, Dome & Piazza del Duomo Monuments - Only Tickets

Florence

Wow.. incredible architecture. Loved the walk up the 440 steps to the incredible view. Only negative is once we got inside church, the staff didn't allow us to stop to view the church and were a bit rude about it. It wasn't busy so not sure why I couldn't stand there for one minute to look at the beautiful inside of the church. They hurried us outside.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

See comments above. This was a self guided tour.

Florence Art Tour: Uffizi & Accademia

Florence

Learned a lot about the history of Florence and the periods of art history. The highlight was seeing the statue of David..., a gorgeous piece of art.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very knowledgeable and can tell she loves the arts!

Transport

Best of Tuscany tour: Siena, San Gimignano and Pisa from Florence

Florence

This was an all day tour. Saw beautiful countryside driving to Siena and Tuscany. Enjoyed walking through the streets in Siena and learned more about their history. Wish we had more time in San Gimignano, it's absolutely beautiful there. Touring a family vineyard was awesome and the lunch served was delicious as well as the wine. Had to ship some wine back home! Pisa was a nice ending to the day.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was our guide. She was awesome and gave us a ton of information about these regions!!

Transport

Rome Street Food Tour

Rome

If you are a foodie or not, highly recommend a food tour. It was fun walking through different neighborhoods to learn about their specialties Started at a bakery and had sampling of baked goods, then onto another to have sweet and savory Marizotto, enjoyed Supli, pasta , wine and lastly stopped at a gelato shop. We even went to a local butcher/market and sampled a variety of meats and cheese. Everything was delicious but it was a lot of food for me in a few hours. My husband enjoyed what I could not!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

She was wonderful and very friendly. We felt like we made a new friend!!

Transport

We walked to our destination. But it was a wonderful walk to the meeting point for the tour.

Exclusive Capri Boat Tour by Sorrento

Italy

This was an amazing and unforgettable tour and day! Breathtaking scenery and awesome tour guides. We got to take canoe into the Blue grotto. Took a chairlift ride to the top of AnaCapri with more breathtaking views of the other grottos, rocks and lighthouse. Boat tour gave us close up views of all and we even saw a waterfall!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our boat guides deserve 10 stars!! They ensured we saw all the sights that make this coast so beautiful. Great personalities and fun people. Would repeat this tour.

Transport

It was a short drive from our hotel, which was a nice change.

The organisation, transfers and guides, accommodation, quality of the activities and everything about the trip was just sensation!.. would highly recommend !

Hotel Review

Hotel Continental

Sorrento

Fantastic facility, Amazing staff, centrally located and great views across the bay to Mt Vesuvius!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Colosseum, Roman Forums and Palatine Hill

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

AMALFI AND POSITANO DISCOVERY BOAT TOUR IN A SMALL GROUP

Sorrento

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Family trip to Norway!

I reached out to kimkim to get an idea on how to plan our trip. I was put in contact with Eliise, one of kimkim’s local specialists. She was always quick to respond and came up with several options on excursions for my group. It took us several months to finalize our trip and Eliise was there to guide us from beginning to end. She was open to our suggestions for hotels too.

Fenne was great to work with as well. Always quick to follow up and respond. Rufo the local emergency contact was amazing. He was extremely patient and quickly to follow up with questions and suggestions.

Thank you all. We definitely could not have planned this trip without your assistance and guidance.

Our trip started with a few hiccups all related to KLM which had nothing to do with kimkim. We arrived into Oslo spent a night there and started our train ride to Bergen early the next way. Best idea. Although the trip started early in the dark we enjoyed a lovely local breakfast on the train. The attendant in the cafe was friendly and helpful. As the sun rose and the beautiful scenery came to view we were all left speechless. The colors, the clear water had us escaping from Houston. We changed trains in Flam and enjoyed more scenic rides all the way to Voss. Unbelievable is all we can say.

We finally made it Bergen. Checked into Scandic Byparken. Hotel was ok. Apparently they have an old section and a new section. Some of my group ended in the new section which were bigger and better rooms. I would definitely pick another option for the hotel. Breakfast was good though. We took the Fjord cruise. Spectacular doesn’t even describe our experience. The stories of the trolls 😀 and the views were unbelievable. We returned and enjoyed an amazing meal at the wharf near Bergen Brygge. The freshest seafood I have had in a long time. Even tried the local fish soup. Very tasty.

We took the tram to the Seven Mountains. It was quite windy up there but again spectacular views if the city. Completely surreal.

Next day we took a flight to Tromso. The Paris of Norway. Radisson Blu was a great hotel.

First stop was Magic Ice. It was a cool experience, but you could tell it was a common tourist attraction. Nothing very impressive. There were some pretty nice sculptures.

At the recommendation of staff at Magic Ice we went to dinner at La Famiglia. Do not go there. The food was extremely salty and very basic flavors. The best item was their reindeer burger. Everything else was subpar. Not worth the money we spent.

We were scheduled for the Winter Fjord Cruise on a yacht but had yo cancel. Half our group got sick due to food poisoning. It sounded like a great trip.

Our next excursion was the Aurora Dinner Cruise. Going into the cruise we were informed that there is a low chance we would see the Northern Lights since it’s been a cloudy day so our hopes were not too high. Meal was good and the tour guide was really entertaining. The cruise staff took good care of us. About an hour into our trip the captain spotted the special clouds. We all went upper deck and to our surprise got the opportunity for some light Northern Lights. After a few minutes they were amazing. We were so happy to have experienced the Northern Lights. We returned back after completing our meal.

Next morning was our trip to feed the reindeer and get to know more about the Sami culture. Tried the reindeer soup. Different. Needed some flavor very bland. Our local tour was great. Loved the stories he shared.

We came back to the hotel and rested to prepare for our Northern Lights chase. We drove for about 2 hours out of Tromso and made our first stop. Again concerns with the weather preventing us from finding the Northern Lights. Our first stop we waited around and saw some lights, beautiful but not spectacular. The crew was waiting to hear from other team members if they were finding anything. Unfortunately they hadn’t had any luck. After enjoying a local warm drink of Ribena and cookies our tour guides decided to head towards Finland. We were about 1 1/2 hours away from Finland. We got there and watched the sky. After about 20 minutes what we saw left us speechless. The dancing of the lights across the clear skies and it was beyond imaginable. We were able to check off an item off our bucket list. I can still feel what I was experiencing when I saw the lights. No words can describe that feeling. You just have to experience it. And it was time to head back after enjoying the lights dance around us after a couple of hours.

We started our morning leisurely the next day. Took the taxi and rode the cable car up the mountains. It was cold!!! We enjoyed a light snack in the cafe and headed out to look at the amazing views. Tromso did not fail either. We came back down and visited the local cathedral. It’s a beautiful church. That evening we had scheduled a trip to the sauna and did the arctic plunge. What an exhilarating feeling and experience. You should do it once.

We found a restaurant close by and enjoyed some tasty tapas.

Unfortunately our last day in Tromso we had scheduled the whale safari. The trip was cancelled due to weather. Thankfully kimkim issued a full refund on the excursion. We ended up having a free day and spent our time shopping and exploring the city. We went to the oldest pub in Tromso and enjoyed some good ale and tried Aquavit.

We had dinner at Mathallen. Amazing experience. Food was fresh and flavorful. Make reservations early. Seating is limited.

It was time to return back to Oslo and head back to Houston.

Overall it was a great experience. Thank you kimkim for the memorable experience. Will definitely work with you for our future adventures.

Next time we plan a trip we will be more mindful of the early activities. It was a vacation for us so doing things a bit more leisurely would have been nice. We felt we were on a tight schedule.

Hotel Reviews

Scandic Byparken

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotell Bondeheimen

Oslo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Norway in a Nutshell Tour

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mostraumen Fjord Cruise

Bergen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fløibanen Funicular Experience (Tickets Included)

Bergen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ice Gallery Experience

Tromsø

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Winter Fjord Cruise in Tromso

Tromsø

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Northern Lights Dinner Cruise

Tromsø

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Key goal - see the Northern Lights, unfortunately we didn't see them as we had hoped with swirling shapes of color and only saw a weak light through our camera lens on 21 Oct 2024. Seems that we missed a great light show on the day we arrived in Tromso, 19 Oct but we didn't have anything scheduled that night. The rest of the trip had cloudy nights with poor sightings. Even though our goal had been the Northern Lights, Norway and it's people definitely made up for it with the country's beauty and the people's hospitality

The following are snapshot reviews by category to help future travelers, especially seniors like us

City Tours -
Private tours are very helpful to adjust endurance as needed. Our guide Lena in Oslo did that because the weather wasn't good for walking and we bought tram tickets to a location where she was able to show us non-touristy areas which is what we requested. There was some confusion with our guide in Bergen, itinerary listed Synnove and when I texted her to confirm, she said she wasn't scheduled but she did get back with us and told us Thomas would be our guide. He met us at our apt but was puzzled as to why we would start our 2 hr walking tour in the outskirts of town when he usually started them in city center. We ended up having to buy tram tickets to get to the city center where Thomas started the tour which of course was less than the two hours but Thomas was very good and actually stayed a little longer. If outskirt accommodations are scheduled, notify travelers and guide to have a plan for transportation and sights prior to starting the tour. Private city tour in Tromso was ample time

Scheduled Tours -
Nutshell Tour - our favorite. Due to the length of time to do it in one day, staying overnight in Flam was a great idea and we think you should recommend it to all travelers. As for the luggage transfer to the hotel in Bergen, the luggage transfer did work but the problem was it not being delivered on time at the Bergen Apt due to logistics issues.

Fjordsafari - 2 hr 15 min was too long for us, very cold and windy, would have preferred a one hour tour
Aegir Viking dinner - too bad we didn't catch it in time but neither of us drink beer, so the 5-course beer tasting with the sampler dinner could have been switched to just a traditional dinner but the atmoshpere made up for it

We had requested a longer stay at Voss but once we arrived we were too tired and found out that an earlier train could be taken by requesting it to the conductor on the earlier train. This would be a good note to advise travelers, that based on availability, they could move up their scheduled time

Hardangerford Express in Bergen - enjoyable relaxing cruise, limited eating and shopping locations during off season
Coastal Scenery Safari in Tromso - conflicting notes on where to meet, Radisson or "from Oct @ Bus Terminal Prostneset but this was resolved by checking with KimKim
Northern Lights Expedition in Tromso - 21 Oct, due to rain sat in mini van for over an hour before getting out to go to down to the fire and wait for the lights that didn't happen. The walk down the wet, slippery embankment was a challenge for these seniors but thanks to two wonderful helpful passengers, we were able to go down and back up to the mini van.

Aurora Husky Visit - still no Northern Lights, excellent staff and our favorite meal on the trip. Tour was listed as "Small Group" but it was actually a full bus with about 40 passengers

Private Transfers - all excellent and very helpful to these seniors

Hotels -
Oslo - Hotel Bondeheimen, good location for walking to key sites and public transportation
Flam - Flamsbrygga Hotel - good location
Bergen - Bjorvika Apartments - good accommodations but logistics to receive keys and not in city center was an issue
Tromso - Specialty Stay-Standard Apts - comfortable accommodations but hike up the hill from the reception area was another challenge to these seniors but we made it. Very friendly staff that helped us at check in with out luggage and offered great waffles between 5-7 pm
Alta - Glod Aurora Domes - interesting change to a typical hotel but not in city center and had to order dinner to be delivered from a restaurant because we arrived too late for their dinner. Our disappointment again was no Northern Lights but we felt this area had too many lights from the office area, to the adjoining buildings making it not very dark
to see the lights even without lights in our dome. We found out later that they offered off site Northern Light Expeditions, so maybe notify passengers of this option

Our disappointment of no Northern Lights continued after we left Norway and stopped off in Iceland for 7 days.....hard to believe, but again no Aurora Borealis..... maybe next time. Thanks to all the staff at KimKim for making this a wonderful trip and we'll certainly contact KimKim again once we decide where we want to go on our next adventure

Alicia & Gloria