Kimkim Trip Reviews

Nicolas helped us plan a wonderful trip to Cartagena! He was attentive and informative throughout the entire planning process and as a result, helped us put together an amazing itinerary. Everything from the hotel to the excursions to our informative tour guides, it was all perfect! If you really want to get a sense of the local foods, culture and cuisine, I would recommend a trip to the Barzuto market and cooking class that follows. Carolina, our guide and Chef for the day was wonderful in educating us on all the local products and cuisine.
Our trip was a truly a memorable experience and I would 100% use KimKim again!

We appreciate Amanda for her timely replies and great recommendations while working around our budget. She provided us with important tips such as the need for face mask due to dust and currency change opportunities. She made it a point to meet and greet us at the beginning of the tour and came to see us off at the end as well.

The entire trip was seamless. The guides and transport were on time. We especially appreciate that arrangements could be made for us to have the same guide and driver wherever possible. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay at Mata Chan, Panauti and Kasara Resort, Chitwan National Park.

White water rafting at Trishuli was good for beginners to try out the activity. It was rather mild and although the water looked muddy, it was fun!

Maya Devi temple in Lumbini is indeed worth a visit but staying overnight was unnecessary. Half a day would suffice. If there was a flight out to Kathmandu in the evening after the visit, it would be better as we waited all day for our flight back to Kathmandu in the late afternoon of the following day. We could have covered 1 more town or activity in that 1 day. The visit to the pilgrimage site would be better in the early morning or later afternoon as it was really hot at mid day.

Overall a well organised trip. We felt safe and didn't have to worry about anything. Great job, kimkim!! Thank you!

This was Pikey (Peekay) Peak trek We enjoyed this trek and the trip. The trail overall was a bit more off the beaten track with fewer other trekkers hogging the showers, the stove and the views - which was what we wanted. First two days uphill were harder work and weather. But we were rewarded with perfect clear skys for the views from Pikey Peak 1 & 2 (do both) which were fabulous. Actually enjoyed the trail back down more than the up, which is unusual. May have been the weather. Check out the monastery at JunBesi - welcoming and worth the detour. Our guide Chepal was knowledgeable about the area, reliable and helpful. Likewise Erin in Kathmandu. Whole trip went off without a hitch. If doing again - try to fly in and out of Paphlu. Take an extra rest day at JunBesi perhaps. Spectacular airport and the alternative is a hr drive to or from Kathmandu. Also quite interesting but once is probably enough.

Everything was great! Thanks Iris and Amanda for taking care of us and the seamless arrangements!

We loved every minute of it. If we had had more time, we would have like to get to know Buenos Aires a little better, but the time we had there was amazing. The Tango Show was excellent! Florencia was our tour for the city tour in BA and she was sooooooo knowledgeable. I believe she is a history teacher and she is an excellent teacher. Our favorite part may have been Mendoza, in part because Jael, our guide, and Carlos, our driver, became like friends and we enjoyed being with them immensely. Jael knew so much and helped us both with our Spanish. The lodging there was particularly memorable.....a winery with spa accommodations. Santiago was excellent as well.....our city and Valparaíso guide, Manual, was good, but my niece “adopted” our driver, Ramon. It was a truly memorable experience from start to finish and we can’t thank Axel enough for putting it together for us!

For the novice visitor to Morocco, kimkim Tours is absolutely the best choice. We lost time trying to get recommendations from friends of friends about what to do, where to stay, how to get there. So by the time I reached out to kimkim, we had a little more than a week to go before our vacation was to start.

From the moment our local specialist Brahim contacted me until we were delivered to the airport for our flight home, we had no worries. Brahim listened to what we wanted and tailored a package that exceeded our expectations. At the airport, our driver Yassine A. was waiting to take us to our hotel, but we didn't see him. A call to the kimkim after hours phone number got us hooked up, and convinced me that they are serious about resolving any issue, either real or perceived.

We chose the "Comfort" package. And were completely wowed by the kimkim selection for our lodging: Riad Norma. A short hike up the laneway leading to the Riad Norma was rewarded when our hostess, Monique Devaux, greeted us at the door. The Riad Norma is a stunning Moroccan mansion. Lovingly restored by Devaux over a three-year period, the riad felt more like a palace. Words fail me, so I'll let my photos speak for me.

We spent three perfect days in Morocco, one touring Medina Fez and days two and three exploring the ruins at Volubilis, meandering the famed blue laneways of Chefchaouen--aka "Blue City"--and people-watching in the square at Meknes. And at every turn, from our Fez tour guide Hafid B. -- a wedding singer -- to our private driver Yassine, to the gracious staff of Riad Norma and the hip boutique Riad The Petite Chefchaouen, kimkim had us covered. Even when my over-zealous explorer husband got lost in Chefchaouen, Brahim, my local contact, leapt into action, keeping me apprised of their progress and reassuring me that he would be found. , and he was, by our driver, Yassine.

I can't say enough for the professionalism of kimkim and their local partner, Orion Trek Voyages. The information packet was thorough and informative, even alerting us to local customs that would make our reception easier, such as guidance on dress codes. I wholeheartedly recommend their services, and will utilize them again on my next trip to Morocco.

I cannot recommend too highly the services of Lena and Into2Jordan. My husband and I spent two weeks in Jordan and as part of that holiday, enjoyed a custom-made 8 day itinerary based around the "10 Days in Jordan" suggested itinerary on kimkim. From the very first contact, Lena was so responsive, taking on board the sort of trip we were after and organising the whole thing for us, making sure to get it just right. The all-inclusive price was good value and included our accommodation, all breakfasts, some dinners, drivers, hikes with guides, and "extras" such as dinner with a local family in Petra and a jeep tour of Wadi Rum. Together with our Jordan Pass, it meant that we had pretty much everything pre-paid, which made for a really easy and stress-free holiday.

The trip itself went like clockwork and was well-paced, so that we never felt rushed. The drivers were all excellent and always on time, with a special mention for Haytham who went out of his way to help us understand Jordan and make sure we enjoyed our time in his country. Due to very unseasonal weather conditions, we were unable to do one of the hikes on the itinerary, and a refund was arranged and delivered to our hotel before we left Amman. This is the sort of customer service that really stands out.

Once we arrived in Jordan, Lena was contactable via What's App and she always got back to us as quickly as she could. A couple of items of feedback were dealt with appropriately and professionally.

We did a round trip from Amman visiting Jerash, Ajloun Castle, Mt Nebo, Madaba, Karak Castle, Petra, Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Dana, the Dead Sea and Bethany-beyond-Jordan. The two days spent at Petra were amazing, but exhausting, so finishing our trip at the Dead Sea was brilliant. It was by far the best hotel we stayed in and a very relaxing end to our wonderful holiday!

Thanks so much Lena for all your hard work over the last six months to organise such a truly memorable trip - it was fantastic!

If you want to take a trip - book with someone else - if you want to experience the life, culture and country - book with Kimkim TODAY! There is not a better organization who deeply connects with you and makes this the absolute experience of a lifetime! So much thought and time and care goes into the planning of your experience - I would never travel again without checking to see if kimkim is able to arrange my vacation! Every ride, every experience - everything - was amazing- I will never forget the Greek experience or Tasos and his amazing team!

Mindu, bacenta and our porters were so helpful and lovely for our hike! We definitely would recommend using Kim Kim, Amanda and our guides in Nepal to other friends and family. Thanks again for helping organize this trip for us as we were all so time poor in the lead up. Big thanks to Amanda for always answering our questions quickly and seeing us pre and post hike! It was a nice touch that we all appreciated!

This experience was seamless, I had no problems on this trip everything worked like clockwork. There were a lot of moving parts, Two days each spent in four different cities traveling from the vast plateau capital city of Bogotá to the verdant coffeescapes of Salento to the hilly meltingpot of Medellín to end off in the humid Caribbean coast of Cartagena: every move in Colombia had me feeling as if I were in a country more beautiful than the one I was in the night before. The more I moved away from the capital and the closer I got to the coast, the more obvious the mix, the more amazing the food and the more overt the differences. The tour guides were fun and knowledgeable - Ysabel and Carlos - the drivers were helpful - Ernesto, Carlos and Mauricio and the experience was amazing... Carolina of Oh La La was a highlight, touring the market and cooking together with her
fun team! Thank you to Nicolas and KimKim you deserve every star in my five star rating!

From beginning to end, Miha and Slotrips provided excellent service. He was patient with us in planning as we had numerous requests and were so overwhelmed at work that our response times were sometimes slow. Upon arrival, Miha made the whole trip so simple with the use of his amazing app!!! He equipped us with a phone with all the data that we needed and more. It was easy, and worked flawlessly! We cannot sing its praises enough! Miha and his team were always available to us along the way. Checking the weather for road closures, making sure we had alternatives for rainy days, answering our calls on public holidays. While we thoroughly enjoyed the adventure of taking an independent trip, we were always supported, felt safe and never felt alone. Miha really knows Slovenia and takes the time to get to know his guests so that he puts together a great itinerary. His recommendations were wonderful from the daily adventures (which included some frequently visited tourist spots but also many off the beat more quiet but super spectacular spots) to restaurants and accommodations.

Over all we had a great time. It started out bad. We were NEVER told we needed visas before we landed which is what is done in most countries. In fact 2 weeks before we were asked for a copy of our passports which would have been a good time to say by the way make sure you have your visas. It cost me a little over $700 and a lot of aggravation but we made it through. I had to get a hotel room in Singapore airport for another night and a new flight to Myanmar. The places were great and the 3 first guilds were great. The last lady was a little less so. All the drivers were good. but the guy in Bagan who we had for 2 days was above and beyond. Always cold water and cold towels. He should get an extra star. The hotels were top notch and it was a nice touch in Mandalay to give us the room with the extra service. Thanks. The next to last night at the lake we were going to be put into a room with no AC Bad move it was 90 in the shade. We were able to talk them into taking us to the next hotel which worked out better anyway The boat the next morning left from the hotel. The only other thing I would leave out is the horse buggy ride. It has no seats and is impossible sit in. Was really terrible. On the way home we had a hassle with air because we missed the flight in they cancelled the flight out and it took an hour on the phone and $90 to get our flight back less the ungraded seats I had paid for

Anne is an exceptionally good tour organiser and we are so very happy to have chosen her (via KimKim) for our 10-day Myanmar tour. Anne was away in Turkey when we were in Myanmar but she kept monitoring our tour progress (through the guides), stayed in touch with us and NEVER took more than a few minutes to respond to our needs whenever we raised any issues. The tour itinerary she put together for us was also great and it covered everything we wanted to see and more.

Of course no trip would be enjoyable unless the tour guides are good. All our guides (Yangon: Maung Maung, Bagan: Thinzar, Mandalay: Nay and Inle Lake: Naing) were very knowledgeable, passionate about their country and went out of their way to make sure we all had a great time. It was a pleasure to have such fantastic tour guides.

We highly recommend Anne/KimKim to anyone wishing to have an amazing Myanmar experience and exposure to a very pious Buddhist society.

My wife Anthea and I had never been to Sri Lanka previously so we had no real understanding of the country or people and really no expectations for the trip other than what we had heard from others.

However we have come away from our trip absolutely stunned, amazed and thoroughly satisfied, it is the most beautiful country and warm and friendly people and we have bought away memories that will stay with us for our life time.

We can not fault the engagement and support we have had from our liaison Sandun, he was prompt, listened carefully to what we were after, was always helpful with the questions we had and overall built for us a truly amazing itinerary!

Arriving in a new country for the first time is always daunting and full of concern however we were incredibly lucky to be met by Mr Dammika Bandara who we learnt was to be our guide for the trip. He quickly became a long life friend (!!!!!).....and look after us through the chaos of the Easter Sunday bombings, through driving us always safely across many miles or country side and busy roads, through always taking time to point out things of interest and having us visit places we didnt know existed, through sharing meals of friendship and finally a warm goodbye and promise we would be back and the opportunity to meet his lovely son!

We thank Dammika's family for sharing him with us for our two week journey and we hope one day we will get to meet them in person :)

There were many highlight places for us but none more so than Wild Grass Resort, Sigriya Rock, Yala National Park and Galle and Thropoban Pavilion Resort. Dammika and I conquered the Little Adams Peak trek!!! and Anthea and I adored our special dinner night at Mahoora Luxury Safari Park. We were incredibly lucky to view both elephants and leopards in the park and we loved our afternoon at the Galle Fort a Sugar Bar and Bistro.

We are absolutely going back again and exploring the north of the island!

Our trip to Peru was exactly how we wanted it. Kristy was amazing, easy to reach. She was always checking on us to make sure we were fine. The trip was well planned and well organized. We visited the places we wanted and the excursions were perfect and beautiful to experience. The locals are so friendly, warm. and loving. Peru is a place we would definitely recommend, book your trip with Kimkim.

My husband and I were excited when we made the decision to travel to Nepal for a trek and to explore the country, however, were having difficulty in figuring out the logistics on our own. We were so fortunate to connect with Kripa through KimKim.

We highly recommend working with Kripa. During the planning process, she answered all of our questions in a timely manner and was friendly/professional/helpful. She gave us all of the information we could possibly need to prepare for our travels. She helped us to plan the exact trip that we wanted, including time in Kathmandu and Pokhara, a four day/three night Trek and three nights in Chitwan National Park. When we got to Nepal, she met us upon arrival to introduce us to our guides. All of our guides and drivers were punctual, kind and professional. We had Tendu as our guide for our Trek, and he went above and beyond to make sure that we were comfortable and had everything we needed. His experience trekking was also very impressive. Kripa met us at the end of our stay in Nepal to check in on how everything went.

This was our first time using any type of travel company, and we found it to be extremely helpful. With all of the logistics taken care for us, we were able to focus on the experience of being in Nepal. We had a vacation that we will never forget and will hopefully be returning in the future for more trekking.

The whole trip was a mixed bag for me - and I will try and balance my feedback.
Planning - Amanda was very good and responsive giving me with multiple options. At most times she was able to understand me and tweak the plans to suit me. She would check on me from a time to time basis, ensuring things were on track which really made me feel looked after. The only part of miscommunication was that I assumed the individual guides were included which I realized after I reach there it wasn't.
Hotels (Amman, Petra and Dead Sea) - Petra and Dead sea the hotels were brilliant - the biggest advantage being right next to the sites. They were comfortable and provided more than what could need from a hotel, especially the Dead Sea Spa Resort (DSSR). DSSR had a sprawling site, multiple pools, easy access to the sea, great restaurant (and buffet) and a couple of good bars.
Camp (Wadi Rum)- surely one of the highlights of the trip. Khaled was a great host and ensured we were engaged. It was one of the best evenings of the trip - great views of the sunset, amazing slow cooked food!!
Driver/Car - probably the weakest spot - especially because he missed coming to pick me up from the hotel to airport on the way back. (to be fair- it was the first day of Ramadan and he may have had a poor sleep). My driver was chatty otherwise and would ensure that he was taking me to show things around as a local which a tourist may otherwise miss.
Price- Good value for money but if its more than traveler its much more price-efficient.
Arun

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our trip and are glad we used kimkim to create a bespoke travel plan! Almost every piece lined up perfectly and we were able to do and see so much more of gorgeous Colombia than we would have been able to do on our own. We would certainly consider using kimkim to organise future travels to up-and-coming holiday destinations.

We've copied the travel itinerary overview below to drop in some feedback for Nicolas and Tucaya to consider when making arrangements for future travelers.

Day 1: Transfer to Santa Marta - Transrubio in Bogota was fine, though the driver arrived at 6am, not 9am which caused some confusion. Al Caribe transport was perfect.
Day 2: Explore Tayrona National Park - Our guide in Tayrona was excellent!
Day 3: Relax on the Beach - We booked Tayrona Tented Lodges ourselves
Day 4: Exploring Minca - Though natural beauty surrounding Minca is breathtaking, but Minca itself is touristy and unappealing to us. Though Hotel Sweet Harmony is a nice place with helpful staff, we would have preferred to stay up in the mountains rather than in the town.
Fidel provided our transfer from Tayrona to Minca - honestly, he might be a little too eccentric for most travelers. He seemed rather loony and made us a tad uncomfortable.
Fidel also offered to take us on a quick ride up to the waterfall once we arrived in Minca. He then charged us $70,000COP which we know was way to much for a 10 minute drive anywhere in Colombia. It was really annoying to be ripped off by an agency that Tucaya partnered with and that we were already paying for transport and tours.
Day 5: Travel to Cartagena - The morning bird watching activity was excellent! However, it overran by 90 minutes so we were pretty hungry and thirsty by the end since it went much later into the morning than anticipated.
There was also some confusion with our transfer time to Cartagena. Given that there wasn’t much to do in Minca itself, we wanted to head to Cartagena right after the bird tour, but the driver’s time had been pushed back.
Once the driver arrived, the transfer was really comfortable and swift.
Hotel Santa Catalina was luxurious. In retrospect, we would have been happy to pay less and stay in a less nice hotel because this hotel was SO fabulous.
Day 6: Escape to Islas del Rosario - We did not like the service provided by Gente de Mar. They were late to leave the harbor and the day was so regimented it was hard to enjoy the beach because they kept interrupting with bells to do this or that. They were very pushy about getting paid early for the drinks we bought and made us get back on the boat at 3pm, so we really didn’t have much time there at all.
Furthermore, on our voucher from Tucaya it said there would be a lobster lunch and an opportunity to kayak. Neither of these things were true. No lobster, no kayaks.
Day 7: Free Day at Cartagena - We were glad to have this day to explore this amazing city.
Day 8: Explore Colombia's Coffee Region - Our transport all the way from Cartagena to Armenia went smoothly. The driver in Armenia was exceptional kind and helpful, we really liked him.
Bosques del Saman Alcala was fine, not great. There was music nearby playing really, really loud all night and we couldn’t sleep. The jacuzzi was dirty and not hot. The food provided was decent and the views spectacular.
Day 9: Explore Cocora Valley - This tour was excellent for the most part. However, Salamanca was very crowded and it was hard to appreciate the town or explore the stores with our guide hovering around the whole time. We would have preferred to just have a free hour there on our own before reuniting with the guide. Actually, we would have preferred to skip Salamanca altogether and spend 1.5 hours on our own in Filandia. That town was cuter, quieter and the people were so friendly!
Day 10: Visit a Local Coffee Farm - Prior to the coffee farm tour, we had a long morning just at the hotel which was boring. As we said, we didn’t think much of the hotel and we wished there had been something else planned for this time.
Finca Casa Vieja was fantastic, as was the lunch provided! This experience felt authentic and we learned a lot. We also enjoyed going into Quimbaya to the cafe to see the coffee culture in a local setting.
Transport to Bogota all went well. Our stay at Movich was very comfortable. Again, we could have stayed in a less extravagant place and saved money overall.
Day 11-14: The luxuriant Amazon Jungle - The flight to Leticia was fine and a representative from Calanoa greeted us. The community boat to the resort was quite uncomfortable.
The staff at Calanoa were really dedicated and attentive and the accommodations were reasonably comfortable given we were in the Amazon!

We did the following activities:
-Short daytime hike
-Long daytime hike
-Kayaking on the Amazon
-Tour of the reservation
-Monkey foundation island
-Nightime hike
-Sailing to look at dolphins
-Sailing around the island to look at wildlife and fish
All activities were quite engaging. In retrospect, I wish we had also gone to Puerto Narino. The food was pretty good, but it would have been nice to have some service there to buy snacks from the kitchen between meal times (hiking makes us hungry!). Between activities there isn't much to do, especially at the really buggy times of day when you can't be outside, but understandably this is part of the Amazonian experience.

Though we had a great trip, there were a few areas we were unhappy with. We had requested Spanish speaking guides and all of the guides were English speakers. One of the purposes of this trip was to challenge our Spanish language skills and we were disappointed to have English guides throughout. Given the prices we saw for things in Colombia, we feel the trip was quite expensive and we would have preferred to stay at some less luxurious hotels in order to save a couple hundred dollars. We had mentioned this to Nicolas prior to the trip, and perhaps he did adjust us down a level, but we could have gone done a bit further even.

Amazing trip to Nepal: the Muldai + Poon Hill trek was an excellent choice for our group (3 adults + 4 children, ages 10-14): it offers breathtaking views of the Annapurna range; a good balance between trekking difficulty to relax/chill-at-the-teahouse time; a variety of trail sceneries: sunny mountain crests with long vistas; lush river valleys; occasional patches of snow; small villages; tiny teahouses and spectacular views from Poon Hill (Muldai was cloudy, but worth the early wakeup and hike nevertheless).
Amanda's insight and attention to detail as we were discussing itinerary were invaluable; she met us at our Katmandu hotel and introduced us to Rajesh Darhel, our guide: Rajesh’s combination of patience, knowledge, responsibility and flexibility worked perfectly for all of us; his assistant Rabin B.K. Ghandruk made a great connection with the children, and together they found the right pace for everybody.
…..and then, at the last day of our trek, as we were starting to make our way back to Pokhara to catch a flight; when a traffic jam for the ages blocked the roads; when all flights were being cancelled due to heavy fog, and it seemed like we were going to miss our flight home from Kathmandu - that’s when Rajesh, with the support of Amanda and the Himalayan-Trails office in Kathmandu really made the difference: they took care of everything: Yes - we got back to Kathmandu very late (or – very early the next day…) - but we knew all along everything is taken care of, so we could just lean back and enjoy the scenery.
Thanks Amanda, Rajesh, Robin; special thanks to Probin, Sachin, Santosh and Nirajan.

Our Moroccan adventure began the moment we found kimkim to do our custom built tour that should have been 15 days in 8 days:))
Abdel was informative and available and able to answer all our questions queries settle our concerns.
Our guide was kareem who was able to speak and understand English and was ever willing to be at our side and fit in our eating and shopping schedules as well as the long drives and sight seeing . Kareem accompanied us from Marrakech to merzouga desert fez chefchaouen and then Casablanca.. everything was timeous and with the long drives on some those scary roads we felt safe . Even when driving in the sandstorm we were safe.
Thank you Kareem and Abdel for an awesome amazing experience.