Kimkim Trip Reviews

This trip was incredible. While I may have been able to book this trip on my own - this was WAY easier. They picked great hotels that were closer to the sights. The igloo experience was something that changed my life. It was one of the best things I ever experienced. The only thing I wish was a little better info for the buses and trains - that is my only complaint. But this was a 10/10 experience and would highly recommend to anyone.

Hotel Reviews

Hotell Bondeheimen

Oslo

The Bondeheimen hotel was a pleasant surprise. The location was great and I didn't have to venture very far to get to things. Overall, I was very pleased with this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Radisson Blu Hotel

Tromsø

The Radisson Blu Hotel was also well located. However, there were some communication issues regarding my stay on the night of the ice dome experience. I wasn't initially informed that I still had the hotel room for the night, which would have been good to know beforehand. Other than that, the hotel was pretty good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

From Bergen to Oslo scenic train route - Bergensbanen

Norway

The train experience was generally okay, but there was a bit of confusion due to some work being done on the train tracks. I had to transfer to a bus at some point which was unexpected. I think it would be helpful if there were some checks closer to the trip to ensure everything is running smoothly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Spend the morning in the ice domes and transfer back to the city

Tromsø

The ice dome experience was hands down the best thing I've ever done. It was just incredible. There were some communication issues regarding how I was supposed to get there and whether or not I had to carry all my luggage. But other than that, it was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aurora Husky Visit

Tromsø

The husky visit, was not my cup of tea. I felt a bit sad for the dogs that were there.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Northern Lights Hunt by Bus

Tromsø

The northern lights were very cool, I would have preferred doing another activity like this one versus the husky visit.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall Kimkim planned our trip well! We enjoyed ourselves, had good activities and had time to rest too.

- Transportation between cities was great. We felt safe with the drivers, and they were on time.

- Arenal: we wish the volcano hike was longer. The choice of Baldi hot springs was great.
-The chocolate and coffee tour was good too.

- Puerto Viejo: The Cahuita hike followed by snorkeling was our favorite activity of the whole trip.

- San Jose: we wish our bus had left earlier so we could get to San Jose earlier and see more of the city during the evening.

- The bedding situation was just OK. Beds were not comfortable and some were unstable on their bases. The 2 beds in San Jose were full size beds, not queen size. They definitely were not suited for 2 people per bed.

Hotel Reviews

Montaña de Fuego Mountain Resort & Spa

La Fortuna

The view to the volcano at this hotel was perfect! Breakfast was good! The beds could have been more comfortable and some were unstable on their bases. The customer service was great! Every employee we interacted with was nice and professional!

Authenticity & Character

Location

The hotel is very close to a tour agency

Staff

The customer service was great! Every employee we interacted with was nice and professional!

Cleanliness & Comfort

The beds could have been more comfortable and some were unstable on their bases.

Villas del Caribe

Puerto Viejo

The beach views were wonderful! The customer service was good! The breakfast options could be better. The beds could be more comfortable. The bedrooms had good AC and we were cool there. The downstairs area was hot. The ceiling fan did not work well. Also, it would be good to have more than 1 fan. Adding 2-3 standing fans would be great!

Authenticity & Character

Great views to the beach!! Great beach!

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sleep Inn Hotel Paseo Las Damas

San José

This hotel is in a great location! The 2 beds were too small for 2 people per bed. They should have been queen size beds.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Arenal Volcano Hike & Baldi Hot Springs & Dinner

Arenal/La Fortuna

Black hot springs is a beautiful location! The drinks were good too!

Quality of Experience

Food

The food was ok…

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkeling & Hiking in Cahuita National Park

Puerto Viejo de Talamanca

The hike was easy and we were happy to see all the animals along the way! The guides were nice and knowledgeable! The snorkeling was the best!! The pineapple snack was appreciated.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We just returned from a 2-week tour of Romania and Bulgaria with kimkim. We have traveled to many countries; our favorite style is a private tour with a driver/guide. I contacted a friend from Ukraine (owner of a travel company we used a few years ago), as she has now joined the kimkim team. She directed us to Florin, an expert on Romania. Florin put together a fantastic program for us. We saw most of the highlights of Romania, including. UNESCO World Heritage sites, Transylvania, the Black Sea. The Transfaragarsan Road (and seeing the bears along the way) was also a highlight. Then on to Bulgaria to the "island" of Nessebar, to historic Plovdiv, and Sofia.
Florin is one of the best guides we've ever had! When you are with someone for many hours a day, you want someone who is personable. That is his #1 quality. He was flexible with the program. I can't overstate this enough. When weather appeared to spoil a part of the trip, at Florin's suggestion, we re-molded the entire trip to better fit our needs. This involved quite a bit of replanning and taking on additional expense on his part. Our trip continued without a hitch! He was also very perceptive of our needs, funny, an excellent driver (very comfortable vehicle), knowledgable of the history of the countries, and up on current events. He also has great taste in music for the rides!
The tour was a good value, as well. We asked for 4-star accommodations and received a combination of larger facilities along with boutique hotels, all in perfect locations; walking distance to sites, restaurants, etc.
We are so fortunate to have discovered kimkim. Most of all, Florin, who is very professional and passionate about Romania and his work.

After 3 other travel services turned down my request to arrange travel on the Kumano Koto trail in Japan --saying everything was full-- I tried KimKim. Fei, the specialist assigned to help us was kind, attentive, and thorough. When we ran in to a lodging glitch while on the trail, she responded very well. I would definitely recommend using Kim Kim.

Bianca was amazing to work with not only leading up to our big trip but was so helpful while we were there as well. She really put me at ease. We traveled to South Africa from Switzerland with 2 young kids (11 and 10) and with our parents who met us there from the United States. There was a lot of organising and planning to make this trip seamless. And it was exactly that...seamless and relaxing. We absolutely loved our driver and guide Graham in Cape Town and our guide Matthew at Kariega during the safari. I HIGHLY recommend using KimKim to plan the most amazing trip.

Haciem our driver we phenomenal. He not only drove us around for days he also introduced us to many new Moroccan foods and checked after every tour to make sure we were safely back in our room. The "food tour" in Marrakech was a waste. We wanted a cooking class and instead were scheduled for this tour. We were told it would be just as good as a class... it was not. Every day was very scheduled and we felt we had no time to just wander around - that was regretful.

Sangita helped is with every detail of our trip. Our group was large and complicated, but she responded to every problem promptly and positively. Our guides were also very kind, working to accommodate the needs of everyone.

Our driver Reda was amazing. Guides Osama and Adib were also good. Accommodations were so mediocre. Most of them were not even clean as Said told me five star accommodations. There was nothing five star about any of the accommodations. It was more like economy lodges. This was my first time going through a travel agency and it was rip off.

The perfect itinerary for us!
If you are traveling to Italy we highly recommend Andrea Gambino to help create a wonderful trip for you. He customized our itinerary to meet our travel goals in Sicily. Andrea was available throughout our trip to keep us updated when anything changed. He also was able to make a few adjustments (we requested) on the fly,

All 5 guides listed below were fabulous.... knowledgeable, passionate, kind, easy-going, and friendly. We felt they went above and beyond to make sure that we connected with, and understood, the history and culture in each area we toured. Great job!

Guides:
Letteria - Ancient Theatre of Taormina
Peppe - Godfather Movie Set Private Tour
Corrado - Syracuse Neapolis Archaeological Park
Sabine - Ragusa
Allessandra - Temple valley

Drivers:
David (Catania) , David (Palermo), and Antonio (Palermo), were all very professional, courteous and always on time

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Villa Carlotta

Taormina

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel

Siracusa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Baglio San Nicola

Naro

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bedding could be upgraded

Eurostars Centrale Palace

Palermo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided visit to the Ancient Theatre of Taormina (private guide)

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Godfather Movie Set Private Tour

Italy

Peppe made this tour extra special, very passionate.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Syracuse Neapolis Archaeological Park - private guide

Italy

Corrado made this great!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Val di Noto gems: Modica time at your leisure and Ragusa guided visit

Italy

Sabine is a great guide! Informative, funny and passionate.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Temple valley guided visit

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Feedback Australia-Trip Annette and Michael Sereny

Breaking the long journey from Germany to Australia in Singapore (3 days/2 nights) to get used to the time difference was very helpful and extremely interesting.
Sydney offers the arriving traveller a wide range of sights and attractions to explore daily for more than a week if necessary.
After our one-week stay in Sydney (congress and on our own) our organised trip took us first by plane to Cairns, where we were already expected upon arrival. The arrival instructions in our travel description were helpful and accurate. The driver was extremely friendly and communicative and the drive to Port Douglas (1 hour) flew by, with the driver also making a short stop for some photos at our request. The car was spacious and clean and the driving style very pleasant.
We found the accommodation Villa San Michele very pleasant, the flat was clean and spacious and also very quiet at night. On arrival we were given very friendly and competent information. Due to the weather conditions, the receptionist also tried to reschedule our excursion to the Reef (a lot of wind, stormy sea) for another day, but this was not possible due to the travel time (holiday season Australia). There are many good restaurants and shops within walking distance.
The trip to the Reef was great and gave a lasting impression of the diversity and benefits of the Reef. However, with the stormy seas and lots of wind, the crossing was relatively long and sensitive people would probably be more comfortable with a shorter crossing from a port closer to the Reef (bus transfer).
The subsequent day of rest could easily be filled with sightseeing in and around the town on foot.
The small group excursion with "river drift snorkelling" and the guided tour through Mosman Gorge was also great and the guide was able to competently answer our every question and also give us an insight into the diversity and importance of the rainforest.
After another day of rest, we were again transferred on time and in an equally pleasant drive to the airport in Cairns for our onward flight to Brisbane. The pick-up at Brisbane airport also worked out very well and the driver took us to our hotel, the Crystalbrook Vincent. We were delighted with both the location and the design and facilities of the hotel room and could not imagine a more suitable one in Brisbane. We spent the day with rental bikes from the hotel on a tour along the river, which gave us a first, very good impression of this lively and interesting city. On the second day, we took public transport to the Koala Sanctuary, a slightly further but wonderful excursion, as well as more walking and sightseeing within the city.
Picking up the rental car at the Avis station in town was quite easy, the staff friendly and competent. However, the planned schedule: car pick-up, drive to Byron Bay and afternoon kayak tour, would not have been manageable, if only because of the time difference and the distance.
However, the communication with the organiser regarding the kayak tour turned out to be less than happy. The kayak tour was cancelled two days before it was due to take place due to the bad weather (waves/storm), which is completely okay, but we then received further emails with details about the tour, which were probably generated automatically and gave us the impression that the event was taking place after all. The organiser would have to improve his communication.
The accommodation in Byron Bay was well located and had the advantage of free parking in the underground car park. After the good accommodation in Port Douglas and the outstanding one in Brisbane, the flat in Byron Bay was much easier. It was clean and quiet, but there are other rooms there clearly affected by the kitchen smell of the pub below. The town of Byron Bay is very (too?) touristy; if we were to do another tour, we would personally prefer much smaller and more pleasant places on the coast. The Byron Bay Hinterland Tour was unfortunately cancelled at short notice due to cancellations of other participants, but our rental car gave us the opportunity to drive into the national park ourselves and do the hike to Minyon Falls on our own.
The accommodation in Coffs Harbour at the Pacific Bay Resort was okay, but clearly outside the town. If you are not playing golf, a smaller accommodation closer to the town would be more pleasant. Again, for a future trip or for other travellers with less need for tourist attractions, we would prefer smaller places in the area by the beach.
The Afternoon Giingan Cultural Walking Tour took place even though we were the only two participants, but this gave us an exclusive tour with a lot of information that was new to us and our excellent guide was able to answer all our questions competently. This also resulted in very interesting and further discussions.
The drive to the Hunter Valley, as we preferred roads close to the coast, was much longer than expected, but with beautiful views and wonderful stretches of road.
The accommodation at the Chateau Elan was fantastically located overlooking the golf course, clean, spacious, well-furnished and quiet. Unfortunately, however, the hotel's restaurant was closed for kitchen renovations and we had to settle for a rather mediocre bistro nearby. Breakfast, however, could be had on a very good scale.
The group tour to visit various wineries was very pleasant, entertaining, informative and also culinary. Our tour guide was able to accommodate our wine preferences for the tour at short notice in the morning, as we were the only guests with a full-day programme, the lunch package for midday was plentiful and delicious, and the afternoon part of the tour with other guests on board was also very worthwhile. We spent the second day cycling in the Hunter Valley. Unfortunately, the number of rental bikes at the hotel was limited, so we had to drive a short distance to the nearest bike rental. On the second evening, we were able to enjoy an excellent dinner in the restaurant of another, nearby hotel, but the final enjoyment of a local red wine we made in our hotel room due to the strict and reasonable alcohol restrictions when driving.
For the final drive back to Sydney and especially for the drop-off of the rental car, we would have wished for more detailed information from the car rental company (by email?). On the one hand, we did not realise that the car could only be dropped off until 4:30 p.m. (we had 5:00 p.m. on the schedule) and that the catastrophic traffic conditions in the one-way maze of Sydney, combined with the extremely poor signage of the Avis parking spaces to and in the car park, cost us so much time that we only found the Avis employee locking up the offices, but were able to hand in the keys and parking ticket at an adjacent hotel on his advice. Furthermore, it would have been very pleasant to be informed that there is no petrol station in the immediate vicinity of the drop-off point and that one should therefore fill up the tank in good time. We were therefore unable to return the car with a full tank. It was very positive that the car, a VW Tiguan, was almost new and that the road traffic in Australia is generally very pleasant and considerate. However, we have not yet received any feedback from the car rental company with the final invoice.
Overall, however, we did not regret spending the money for the trip. We saw and experienced a lot, which has a lasting and very positive impact on our image of Australia. It was clear to us that we could only travel part of Australia in the time available to us, and our progress so far has encouraged us to make further plans for Australia. The people are mostly friendly and sociable. However, we could not get used to the loudness in many pubs.
All we need now, as mentioned above, is the rental car bill, the refunds for the two cancelled activities (kayak tour and backcountry tour) have been advised in the meantime.

Our trip to Turkey was the first time we used KimKim and we were not disappointed by this experience.
Our contact was Berat and she was very helpful both during planning stage of our trip, as well as during the time we were traveling in Turkey, when she was always on top of communicating details of all our transfers and changes in itinerary. All logistics was taken care of and everything went very smoothly.
In Istanbul our guide Erdem was very friendly and knowledgeable, he was very attentive to our interests and was able to navigate through crowded places in the most efficient way. Despite the crowds in some most touristy sites he made it possible for us to visit all of them. He gave us many good suggestions for our last "free" day in Istanbul and recommended some wonderful restaurants to eat which we will never found on our own.
Irfan, our guide in Cappadocia, was also knowledgeable and gave us a lot of information. We realized that our planned itinerary included less hikes than we hoped to have in Cappadocia, so we asked to add visit and hike in Ihlara valley to our itinerary. This was done after coordination with Berat and that experience was one of the best in our trip.

Hotel Reviews

Recital Hotel

Istanbul

Recital hotel is conveniently located in the center of the historical part of Istanbul. Room was somewhat dated, but had very nice view from the balcony. There is also a rooftop terrace with nice view but no service there. There were big groups staying in the hotel and it was rather noisy in the evening. Good breakfast. Friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kale Konak Hotel

We really liked this small hotel. It has the best location in Uchishar and a lot of character. Wonderful breakfast and very friendly and helpful staff. Room was rather small, but there are many nice seating areas available in the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Eminönü Heritage Tour: Explore the Historical Bazaars and Ottoman Architectural Sites of Istanbul

İstanbul

It was interesting to see this busy place.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Discover Byzantine + Ottoman Istanbul

İstanbul

It was great to explore these amazing sites with our guide Erdem. He made it possible to see all the major places despite the crowds, he gave us a lot of historical facts and stories.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Explore the historical + modern hub: Galata, Karaköy and Beyond

İstanbul

Unfortunately several places we were supposed to visit were closed for different reasons. The views from Galata tour were worth standing in line.

Quality of Experience

as several places were closed for some unknown reason it would be nice to have some other activities planed for this day

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

it was interesting to experience tram and funicular rides

Crossing between Continents: Explore Kadıköy and Moda

İstanbul

It was beautiful day and crossing on a ferry boat was enjoyable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Erdem showed us small neighborhood streets where locals live and told us a lot about every day life in Turkey. He brought us to a nice open air cafe overlooking Bosphorus for turkish coffee.

Transport

Hot Air Balloon Tour at Sunrise

Cappadocia

This is an amazing experience. It was one of the reasons we wanted to go to Cappadoccia and it did not disappointed.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visiting Göreme Open Air Museum (UNESCO World Heritage)

Cappadocia

It is very crowded but our guide Irfun was able to navigate us around crowds, gave us a lot of hiostorical information but also time to explore.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Beautiful Cappadocian Valleys: Zelve, Paşabağ and Uçhisar Fortress

Cappadocia

Kaymaklı Underground City

Cappadocia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Soğanlı Valley

Turkey

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

we. had wonderful driver for 3 days.

We only arranged our 18 day trip to Chile four weeks beforehand and with Ana's help we steadily built an itinerary which we constantly tweaked and updated until we were completely comfortable with our final choice
Our trip included 3 internal flights, one of which we changed 14 hours prior to departure, 5 excellent hotels, a hire car and several drivers and guides. The whole trip worked like clockwork and the punctuality of our drivers and guides was exemplary.
Special thanks to Diego, Barbara in Santiago & our guides Orlando, Vitor and Maite

I have travelled independently and with tours, and I highly recommend Kimkim as the perfect marriage of the two styles.

Kefi was a dream to work with on planning our trip to Greece - very patient as we worked through different travel and sightseeing options. Then, upon realizing that our flight times were going to cut things close, she reversed the order of our entire trip without batting an eye (at least to us!). When I asked about a hotel that was recommended by a friend of the owner, she offered to arrange a stay there while also diplomatically suggesting a different option. She was careful to work within our budget and was able to help us take the best advantage of increasing it as we added a couple of options. The hotels and excursions she booked for us were unfailingly terrific.

Once we were in Greece, Dimitrios with Be A Greek was also fantastic. We were met at every change point by a professional driver in a nice vehicle. We had a small kerfuffle with one of our excursions due to weather, and Dimitrios stayed in touch constantly via WhatsApp to make sure we had a wonderful backup plan, which he had preemtively booked pending our approval. He was available and responsive whenever we reached out.

I love this way of traveling because much of the stress is taken out of the planning, we had great suggestions from people on the ground, we did not have to move in a group with people we may or may not like, and the price was more than fair. I would highly recommend Kimkim and Be A Greek for your dream vacation to Greece. I plan to use Kimkim next time I plan a vacation and have recommended it to several friends.

From start to finish, booking and traveling with Kimkim was the best choice we could have made for our 14 day trip to Italy. Our plan was to have 3 locations to visit/stay at a leisurely pace with few activities to allow us to explore and experience Italy on our own. We had 3 “phases” dreamed up for our trip that including a countryside stay in Tuscany, Rome visit for a wedding, and Amalfi coast trip for beach and relaxing on the water.We initially decided to try using a travel company to assist with planning the Tuscany portion of our trip, mainly because we were having trouble figuring out where to stay in the countryside and how to get around without renting a car. It was also the first time we’ve planned an international trip and we were quite overwhelmed with all of the logistics and places to visit. Kimkim came highly recommended from a friend, so we decided to ask for recommendations for our entire trip.

All of our accommodations, transfers, planned activities and tours were just what we wanted. We had local guide (cannot remember her name) give us a private tour of Pompeii and she was fantastic! Special thanks to her, our driver for the day, and Alberto because we woke up late on the morning of the tour, and they were all in constant communication and so accommodating despite being an hour behind on activities. Alberto was in constant communication with us, checking in and making sure that everything was going smoothly. Cannot recommend Alberto and KimKim enough!

Our trip:
- 2 nights Siena
- 3 nights Tuscan wine resort/countryside B&B
- 3 nights in Rome
- 4 nights in Amalfi town on Amalfi coast
- 1 night Rome for flight home the next day

Go to Mexico City and book your trip through kimkim and Rutopia! Only positive feedback for our experience booking a 10 day trip in Mexico City and Puebla/Cholula. Our drivers were prompt (early, usually!), our guides were knowledgeable and friendly, and our accommodations were wonderful. I really appreciated that in the planning stages, Sofie was willing to make any change I requested - we went through 8 different itineraries until it was the perfect trip for my husband and me. Mexico City is a beautiful, cosmpolitan city with so much to see, learn, do and eat!

Special recognition to our fantastic guides: Emiliano, Mary and Pablo in Mexico City, Eloy in Teotihuacan and Guadalupe (Lupita!) and Maria in Cholula and Puebla. Guadalupe especially went above and beyond by going way over our allotted time by taking us personally to two can't-miss churches in Cholula. The tours were mostly private and the guides were flexible, personable and generous with their time. The "souvenir stops" on some of these tours (which I generally tolerate as part of the deal but mostly dislike) were much less of a hard sell than on other trips I have taken in the past, and some were even pleasant. The vendors were informative but not at all aggressive and there were several tours that didn't include them at all, like our excursion to Xochimilco and our mural walk with Emiliano. We also appreciated the clear and attentive communication from Lizbeth as we were on our trip. She checked in daily to see how we were faring and reminded us of any logistics for the next day.

We had friends over last night and I highly recommended this service to them for planning their next vacation abroad and intend to be repeat customers.

Hotel Reviews

Casa Mali by Dominion

Mexico City

Spotless, friendly and perfectly located, Casa Mali is a great option for staying in Mexico City.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Directly across of Parque Mexico in Condesa, there are lots of restaurants right in the vicinity and feels very safe and lively.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Casa Eva

Colonia San Pedro Cholula, Puebla

A great location in Cholula with a lovely, helpful staff and a delicious breakfast. The only feedback I would mention is that the room itself lacked amenties that are standard in other hotels - no coffee maker in the room (although you can ask the staff to bring you coffee anytime), no hairdryer in the room (again, ask the staff), no filtered water dispenser in the public areas, no mini-fridge, etc. With that said, this is a charming, spotless hotel with staff dedicated to providing excellent service. Thanks especially to Tomas who was attentive and kind and responsive to any request.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

A Walk among Murals: Exploring the History and Legacy of Mexican Muralists

Mexico City

Emiliano is a knowledgeable and personable guide with a deep understanding of the significance of each mural and the symbols and references in each one. Our entire trip was enriched by this tour, as we were able to connect what we learned on the tour with other things we saw in Mexico City.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our driver was attentive and communicative. Thank you Alan!

Be amazed by the pre-hispanic beauty of the chinampas in Xochimilco

Mexico City

We did an ecological tour of the chinampas of Xochimilco and the tranquil setting was a perfect reset towards the end of our trip to CDMX, as our legs, bodies and brains were tired from all the stimulation and walking. We relaxed on the boat and observed birds and the environment unfold around us. Mary and Rosalva were informative and personable, but allowed time for silent reflection and simple enjoyment, which I really appreciated. When we visited the farm, it was wonderful to see all the products that were growing and to pick fresh peppers, tomatoes, flowers and herbs and enjoy them all right there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

See Teotihuacan by Hot Air Balloon

Mexico

If you are wondering if it is worth it, YES! It is worth waking up at 4am! It is worth the price! It is worth the feeling of doubt and the little bit of anxiousness. We felt completely safe and totally at peace floating above the pyramids of Teotihuacan at sunrise and the operation that ran it - Volar en Balon - was completely professional and capable. Be aware that the instructions on the balloon are issued in Spanish. A fellow passenger translated for us and made sure we knew how to absorb the landing safely, but I would recommend the operator make sure that all passengers are informed of the safety instructions.

Quality of Experience

One thing

Food

The food was fine but the service at Volar en Balon could be improved. We were kind of ignored for the duration of our breakfast, coffee not refilled, requests not fulfilled, etc, even when we tried to politely flag down our server.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private walking tour of Teotihuacan "The City of the Gods"

Mexico City

Truly worthwhile to take a knowledgeable guide on this outing to learn about the architecture and history of this archeological site. Less walking than I anticipated.

Quality of Experience

Food

Nice meal with great friendly service.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Eloy and Omar are wonderful guides. Eloy is personable and very knowledgeable. I appreciated how he brought his own life experiences into our tour.

Transport

The roads in Teotihuacan are quite bumpy but Omar was a gentle and careful driver. Thank you Omar!

Between markets and corn in the magical town of Cholula

Mexico

So highly recommended to stroll around the market and the quaint town of Cholula with a lovely guide like Guadalupe. She offered all kinds of things for us to sample and was an excellent, friendly and warm translator. There is a lot of walking on this tour, including a lot of uphill and steps, but totally worth it. Guadalupe let us take our time and made frequent stops to catch our breath and take cute photos along the way. I learned more in the 6 hours I spent with Guadalupe than I ever expected. She is a gem! We also loved the experience of visiting the maiz restaurant. The owners (I forget their names - sorry!) were so friendly and I loved how they warmly and patiently giggled at a couple of Americans clumsily preparing corn tortillas the traditional way. The food they served was fantastic as well. It is a really fun way to spend a little time in Cholula.

Quality of Experience

Food

We loved trying lots of things in the market and the lunch at the maiz restaurant was simple but exquisite.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guadalupe went well beyond her brief by taking us to two stunning churches that were not on the itinerary. We asked for her to maybe translate with an Uber driver so we could do independently, and instead, she chose to take us herself. We are so grateful because we got so much more out of our visit than we could ever have without her.

Transport

Gastronomic tour in Puebla

Puebla

Come hungry because you will try all the amazing street food to be had in Puebla. Molotes, tacos arabes, pan de muerto, coffee with Mexican chocolate and more are all on the menu. There is more deliciousness in four blocks of Puebla than you can imagine, and it is well worth it to have a knowledgeable guide to take you to all the best places and make suggestions.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I cannot say enough about Maria. She is so knowledgeable and friendly and was an absolute delight to spend the day wandering about and eating. Gracias, amiga!

Transport

Used kimkim to customize a 12 day trip to Peru with time in Lima, Paracas, Sacred Valley, Aguas Calientes/ Machu Picchu, Cusco, and Puno and loved every minute of it. Anne organized every transfer, guide, ticket, hotel, etc… and everything went perfectly. As a well seasoned traveler who usually does all the organizing and bookings myself, kimkim saved us hours (if not weeks) of work on this trip. All our guides were fantastic - kind, professional, intelligent - and made sure we were taken care of at all times. Most notably, we spent a good amount of time with Gabrielle and Sondro in Cusco (they were exceptional!). Eddie at Machu Picchu and Willy in Puno also took great care of us. Kimkim made great hotel choices - excellent locations, services, and amenities and their suggestions on activities in Peru were spot on! Would definitely use kimkim again! Love love love!! Thank you for the wonderful holiday!❤️

Our driver/ guide Yassine Taibine was excellent: friendly, calm, informative without being intrusive. He drove with skill and great attention to safety and comfort. We enjoyed his company very much.

Hotel Reviews

Ksar Sultan Dades

El Hart

Nicely decorated and clean rooms but poor noise insulation. Could clearly hear neighboring showers in use, and other guests’ children running around. Fortunately things quieted down at bedtime. Hotel is set on a hilltop, reached by a gravel road. Wonderful views. Walking to restaurants in town would have been tough, but dinner (set menu) and breakfast were served onsite.

Staff

Luxury Camp Chebbi

Merzouga

Riad Mazar Fes

Fes

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dar Meziana

Chefchaouene

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Odyssee Center

Casablanca

Modern hotel, but past its prime. Built with nice finishes, but not well maintained.

Activity Reviews

Overnight in the Sahara Desert with Sunset Camel Ride

Morocco

Seating pavilion next to the camp was not in use, yet brightly lit, detracting from the night sky. Suggest changing this to allow for easier Milky Way viewing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Exploring the Imperial City and Medieval Medina of Fes

Fes

Quality of Experience

Food

We were steered into a restaurant recommended by our local guide. Food was good, but would have appreciated a few options.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had an incredible trip that left us in love with the country and people. Hakim, our trip agent from Orión Trek, was very easy to work with and organized exactly the trip we wanted. His customer service is unparalleled. Othmane, our driver, was the star of the trip. He was always on time, happy to share details about the country while we were on the road, friendly and helpful. We enjoyed all of the tour guides as well. We look forward to visiting Morocco again.

Planning and arrangements were very easy and flexible. Giulia our specialist was fantastic and very helpful. We could not have done this trip as well without her.

Our trip was a great success for the most part. Rainy weather is never great but we have enjoyed ourselves none the less.
We experienced significant travel delays on the high speed train from Florence to Naples (3 hour delay which nearly caused us to miss Pompei entirely). Thanks to Kimkim, this did not happen. In fact, we never felt alone or abandoned. They were always just a What'sAp message away and they responded quickly to whatever we had going on. Really top notch.

We had a nearly two hour delay traveling from Naples to Florence, which caused us to make our prescheduled Vatican tour within about ten minutes of the start time. Kudos to our drive and Kimkim for working with us as the delays mounted and for providing great assistance. We did not miss anything because of their attention to detail and staying in touch. Remember to download What'sAp--this was critical during challenging events.

I was, however, deeply disappointed with our tour guide on the day trip to San Gimignano and Volterra . Her driving was very fast and uneven, At least two or three of us were "car sick" from the style and type of driving--one of the more unpleasant car trips I have had in a long time. She was very efficient and we arrived and ended on time, but she was also very impatient, handled questions badly and was much too bossy. Not rude exactly, but not the temperament I would expect from someone running a tour.

Our hotel in Sorrento, Grand Hotel Aminata, was also a bit musty and probably the worst of the places we stayed. It had an excellent view of the harbor though which we loved. We are not fussy people, but our room had a slight, but distinct, smell that we did not like. Otherwise, the accommodations were excellent and well placed. The La Maison du Sage in Florence was particularly excellent and deserves special mention. Our stay at The Regency in Rome was also excellent (though we booked this directly).

Antonio, our driver (and guide) for the Sorrento and Amalfi Coast portion of our trip was excellent. He could not have been more courteous and friendly. He helped us deal with the delayed train and abbreviated Pompeii tour, and he drove us around the Amalfi Coast in style and comfort. P.S. Our guide Rafael at Pompeii was also excellent and we enjoyed his tour very much-if only it could have been longer but that was unavoidable.

We also highly recommend the EBIKE tour we took in Rome. Our guide Irina was excellent. Do this early in your stay if you can as it was a great way to survey the city and find points of interest.

Hotel Reviews

La Maison du Sage

Florence

This place was absolutely fantastic. The ambiance was so enchanting that we even bought a diffuser that smelled like the hotel. They brought us breakfast in our room, and everything was just perfect.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Aminta

Sorrento

This hotel was a bit of a letdown. The room had a musty odor, and it was lackluster. However, the food was fantastic, and the shuttle service was convenient.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Explore Pompeii Walking Tour

Italy

This tour was fantastic! Our guide was great and managed to get us through as much as possible despite our delayed train.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome: E-Bike Evening Tour with Italian Dinner

Rome

The bike tour was one of the best things we did. Although we wished we had done it sooner in Rome to get a good feel for the city and then backfill the rest.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence Food Tour

Florence

This trip was a bit of a letdown. Our tour guide was a bit rude and drove crazy. It was so bad that we had to stop to let people out because they were feeling sick. The guide wasn't very pleasant, and it felt like she didn't let the whole experience breathe.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Eleni and Mariliza were wonderful and patient in shaping an itinerary that suited my daughter and myself. We visited Athens, Naxos and Santorini, 3 days at each place. We were looked after each step of the way. The location and standard of hotels were good and we never had to worry about transportation as that we taken care for us. Mariliza checked in on us regularly to see how we were doing. Overall a memorable and enjoyable holiday!