Kimkim Trip Reviews

Michael offered excellent guidance and communication to us once we were booked for events. Communication prior to that was less reliable and sometimes we didn't seem to understand each other. Travel to San Basilio del Palenque with Lorenzo and our driver Boris was excellent and a very valuable moment in our time in Columbia. Travel to the Carnaval in Barranquilla with Daniella was fun. She provided great guidance and had a lot of information about the parades and the city in itself. We would have liked to stay late for the partying but that wasn't happening.

Travel to Rosario for a day at the beach was much less than we hoped for, ending at a small enclosure with a rocky beach. the food was good but we were on a small island with no access or information about the rest of the islands that make up Rosario. the ride back in a small boat on a choppy sea was painful and frightening and left us shaken and with back pain for the next day. I would not do that trip again.

overall, however, I would use KimKim services again

I really appreciated Gary because he listened to what I was asking for in terms of hotels to stay and the types of experiences that I was interested. in””His work was somewhat stressful because I only had a few weeks before departure to plan the trip and the planning time included Christmas in between those weeks so I really appreciate his stepping up to the plate so quickly. I also learned myself that when I use Kim Kim in the future, I need to really look in detail at the options that they are offering me and really explore them in depth to be sure that I’m asking clearly for the things that I want. I only had one real issue, and that was not being able to go on a scuba diving tour because of a physical limitation, and Gary was very helpful trying to address that at the last. Minute. It was also great to have someone I knew I could call in-country and a similar time zone if I needed assistance - that really helped.

Olman picked a few excellent resorts for our stay in Costa Rica. The Monterverde Lodge had a great staff and food selection. The Arenal Resort was 5 stars all the way. The hotel was absoultely beautiful and had everything you needed including a complimentary washer and dryer which we used. Drinks were pretty expensive $13 dollars for a 12oz IPA but along with the 10% tip and 13% gratuity added on top The food was delecious in every restaurant we went into the service is top notch. The people of Costa Rica are some of the finest in the world
The excursions we took were complelety different a ziplne for the us and the kids and the Volcano tour. The kids enjoyed the ziplines in Monteverde but got a little hot and tired on the 3 hour Volcano tour.
Finally our last driver to the airport Fernando made a pit stop at his home where he let us drink from his coconut tree and taste new fruits we never tried prepared by his 82 year old mother. This may have been our favorite part of the trip getting to meet new people who were not there to serve us but just great friendly Costa Rican people
Overall it was a great time and I would highly reccommned Kimkim. Are whole experience in Costa Rica was better becuase we chose Kimkim to help us book it. I hope to use them in the future on our next trip to Europe

We had a very good time overall In Seville, the Hotel Gravina was very nice, the guides Penelope and Pillar, and the cooking school coach, Ana, were all great. The guide in Ronda was ok, not quite a good as the Sevillanos. The Parador in Granada was also very nice. Eduardo was a great guide. The food sherpas (Mollie, Katya) were fine, but their work was harder with us (most of us are foodies, Christina went to chef school and owned a wine shop, Lance works as a food expert at a high end grocery store in Dallas, so we already knew a lot). The Barcelona hotel, the Regina, was not as nice as the other two, as pertains to the rooms. The breakfast was very nice). The hot air balloon ride was a highlight of the trip and wonderful. Scheduling could have been better, though I'm unsure where to lay the blame. We arrived late for the tour of Monserrat, and it was basically cut very short as a consequence. The guide, Mateo, repeatedly apologized, and I'm not sure how he would have been with the amount of time he usually has to guide. The Gaudi guide, Ana, was also great.

My sister worked with Yuri to plan our family trip to Spain and every detail was taken care of. We had the most incredible trip with wonderful guides and once in a lifetime experiences! We definitely plan to use KimKkm again.

From start to finish the experience was first class. Sherif managed to put a tour that was exactly what we needed. Excellent service from Mohammed and Ahmed at Cairo Airport where they made sure we had got through security and checked in as quickly as possible. Lina was our guide for Cairo pyramids and museum, very engaging tour and so knowledgeable. Ismail looked after us from Luxor to Aswan and was our tour guide. He again was so knowledgeable, friendly and funny and we learnt so much from him. The highlights were the Valley of the Kings, Karnack Temples but also mixed with many others at Edfu and Aswan that were all very different. Philae temple by boat was also very special.

Activity Reviews

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan-Philae Temple / Unfinished Obelisk/ High Dam - Overnight in Aswan

Aswan

Really interesting to bring Egypt story up to date with an understanding of the dams but the unfinished Obelisk and explanation of the how they were made and transported was a highlight.

Quality of Experience

Flow of trip through history. We liked the Luxor to Aswan route for this.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledge of guide again was perfect.

Transport

Comfortable and enjoyable

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan-Edfu & Kom Ombo Temples - Overnight in Kom Ombo

Egypt

We saw the temple at night which made for a variation in the experience which we loved. Seeing the temple lit up and night was incredible

Quality of Experience

Lighting of temples at night

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledge, humour, friendliness

Transport

5 minutes walk to temple

Nile Cruise from Luxor to Aswan- East Bank- Overnight in Luxor

Luxor

Good food and lovely boat

Quality of Experience

Scenery along the way sitting in a very comfortable environment

Food

Varied and good quality

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable, friendly, highest possible service

Transport

Very comfortable

Tour to Giza Pyramids & Egyptian Museum

Cairo

The pyramids or just iconic and clearly a must see. The Egyptian Museum was actually mind blowing, the amount of artifacts collected and brilliantly explained by Lina.

Quality of Experience

The whole experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendliness, knowledge

Transport

Comfortable and always close to hand

An amazing experience. Guides at Jerash and Petra very knowledgeable, clear and friendly. Our driver Mo'ayad was full of information, made us feel very welcome and in safe hands. Abu Mishal entertained us on the desert tour. Jordan was full of unexpected delights and very varied.

Best excursion was visiting the ice caves with David! He was knowledgeable, funny, and extremely safety oriented. We all felt comfortable and got to experience the awesome beauty of the caves. All of the hotels recommended from Silvia were clean and in great locations. The staff was extremely attentive to our needs. Silvia was great! She checked in with us throughout the trip and reassured us when the gasoline strike occurred. She kept us informed of weather reports and was flexible with our reservations when needed. We would highly recommend!

Hotel Review

Berjaya Hotel Vík

Vík

The staff woke us up at night (with our permission) when the Northern Lights were visible so we didn’t miss anything!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The front desk staff was exceptionally nice!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Vatnshellir Lava Cave Tour

Iceland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We were completely satisfied with our experience! Alvaro made everything perfect, was always accessible, helped with last minute questions and changes and even set up our last day with a very unique Ecuadorian agave tasting! As the cherry on top, Alvaro wrote us a hand written note, drew us an amazing picture of Galapagos blue footed boobies and gave us a champagne and chocolate strawberry send off completed with rose petals and towel swans on the bed. We couldn’t have asked for more from our birthday and engagement celebration. Thank you kimkim and especially to Alvaro!!

What separates the excellent from the merely very good is how they deal with problems. Sabina came through in spades.
Cyclone Gabrielle arrived the week before our arrival and disrupted our itinerary.
She worked overtime to ensure our trip was still wonderful.
While others were struggling with reservations and ferry crossings, everything went smoothly for us.
In addition, the hotels Sabina booked were great. As we had asked, she booked at various price points from moderate to luxury.
Each was unique and lovely. In no way were they cookie cutter rooms.
Finally, Sabina worked hard to include all the activities we wanted.
In conclusion we recommend Kim-Kim and Sabina very highly.

Activity Review

Hukafalls Jet

New Zealand

An adrenaline rush.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our vacation was cancelled twice due to Covid but Lucas remained constant with us and helped us plan a terrific trip. All the airport transfers, hotels and excursions worked out as planned and most were outstanding. There are a couple of things we might have done differently but most of that is on us for perhaps not either communicating properly to Lucas or fully understanding his planning. Specifically, there was a national holiday in Buenos Aries 2 of the 3 days we were there. One of our city days was a Tuesday and all the museums were closed; we did not know they would be. And our estancia day, while truly unique, was different from our expectations. Since one of us is fluent in Spanish it was okay; otherwise it would not have been. in Mendoza, we did not know that many wineries required reservations and many were booked during out time. Notwithstanding those things, overall everything Lucas suggested was very good and we have a lovely trip. The hotels and excursions in El Calafate and Chalten were great. The boutique hotel in BA was very nice; they voluntarily changed our room for the last 2 nights, which was to a much nicer room. Cavas Wine Lodge was amazing. All properties provided very nice breakfasts, very helpful staff and were very clean and well run. Lucas responded immediately on What's App to any questions, including on weekends. He did an excellent job.

Lize correspondence and attention to detail was perfect. The itinerary worked out amazingly well.
Victoria Falls was beautiful and guide Ernie was patient and thorough. Zambezi sunset cruise was relaxing and hippos a plus. Boma dinner entertainment was fun and Mopani worm a little chewy.
Cape Town accommodations at Victoria & Alfred hotel were ideal on the Victoria wharf area. Many available restaurants a short distance away associated with shopping mall. Unable to visit Table Top mountain due to high winds and cloud cover.
First visit to South Africa and safari trips were amazing. We went to two different game preserves & lodges. Hostess Kelly at Elephant Plains lodge was very accommodating and safaris guide Dennis/tracker Dumi found so many animals Lions, elephants, rhinos, zebra, hyenas, leopards and wild dogs to mention a few. Staff always available and friendly.
Our final lodge Thabamati Luxury Tented Camp was unbelievable and a special experience. The hostesses Mich & Lorna were there to greet us on arrival from every safari with wet cloths and drinks. Intimate camp with only 8 guests and service & food was amazing. Guide Charel and tracker Caswell were so knowledgeable and helpful. You could tell they really loved their job. Simply an awesome experience. Thank you!!

From organizing through the trip itself all went smoothly and gave us a great experience! This was our first time organizing travels using a travel service - but won't be the last. We particularly appreciate Bryan arranging for small group tours - versus large groups that we saw along the way. At times it was just us and our guide - fabulous! The guides were wonderful, knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the terrain and wildlife - which is infectious. Special appreciation to Socio of Endemic Birds - truly a standout in terms of depth of knowledge (in fact, he has trained many other guides). Our favorite accommodation was Hacienda Baru (near Dominical). This was "homey", complete with a lovely outdoor cafe that served great food that was cheaper than eating in town, and has fabulous nature trails on the grounds. We enjoyed having iguanas visit us during b'fast. Without leaving the property we were able to enjoy a bird watching tour and zip lining. We were happy that we only spent one night near Manuel Antonio Park - the crowds there were overwhelming. Special thanks to Bryan, Nancy and Charlotte for remaining available to us throughout the trip! One suggestion - providing more specific driving instructions would have been helpful.

Activity Reviews

Coffee & Chocolate Tour

Costa Rica

Beautiful grounds - even able to enjoy on our rain-filled day (the walking path is under cover). We learned a lot about the production (from start to finish) of coffee and chocolate - and enjoyed the opportunity to make our own. I must admit - the coffee that we bought in their gift shop was much better than what we made!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Arenal Volcano National Park Boat & Hike

Arenal/La Fortuna

A very pleasant half day - with a (muddy) nature walk that we enjoyed, and a beautiful boat ride with views of Arenal (partially in a cloud). Once again - we had a private tour. Our only complaint was the 50 % penalty that we were charged for changing our tour from the scheduled day (pouring all day!) to the next day which was predicted to be dry. The company was willing to take us out in the rain - but we would have been wet/cold and seen nothing. We chose instead to spend that morning at our resort - enjoying the hot springs. KimKim did try to advocate for us, but the tour company didn't budge on the up-charge.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Carara National Park Guided Tour

Costa Rica

After our previous day at Manuel Antonio Park, we appreciated how quiet this park was. We had Socio for a second day - for a private tour. The volume of wildlife was lower than in Manuel Antonio - but Socio taught us a tremendous amount about the trees and balance of nature - as well as spotting fascinating insects/spiders, bats and other critters that we would have walked right by.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Socio was both exceptionally knowledgeable about the terrain and wildlife, but also took the initiative to make calls for us to re-schedule our tour in Arenal so we would not be rushed. Very grateful!

Manuel Antonio National Park

Costa Rica

The park is beautiful and full of wildlife. We did however, feel a bit overwhelmed by the size of the crowds. Most tour groups were large (we were fortunate to be in a group of 4) - so a lot of people to traverse around.

Quality of Experience

The nature - not the crowds.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Flight of the Toucan Zip-Lining

Costa Rica

We had 2 guides for the 2 of us - so we were all able to play! The lead guide had also been our guide for bird watching earlier in the day, so felt like we were "playing" with an old friend.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rainforest Birdwatching Hike

Uvita

Great guide, shared with one other couple. This was our first opportunity to see sloths - very exciting!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Whale Watching & Wildlife Spotting Boat Trip in Marino Ballena National Park

Costa Rica

Boat ride was lovely - we saw mom and baby whale and playful dolphins, as well as the beautiful views. Our swim was lovely - snorkeling was underwhelming (not the guides fault, just not much to see). We enjoyed our time walking (on our own) on the Whale Tail at the end of the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Silvia was available nearly 24/7, quickly had answers to all my questions, big and small, had an easy and detailed knowledge of travel, of Iceland (where we visited), of services and culture, etc., and was able to get some discounts on local activities/services while we were there.

We could not be more happy with both Kimkim and Silvia!

We had an amazing time in Vietnam and couldn’t have been happier with the service we received from Lucy. Whenever we had questions or wanted to make last minute changes she was so quick to get back to us. Would highly recommend.

We arranged our family trip with Kim Kim, Michael was our local specialist. I was really happy throughout the planning process .. he was cooperative and always available. He adjusted the trip details multiple times to accommodate our needs and requests. Also during the trip itself, he was available all the time with prompt responses to our questions.

Our experience during the travel was very smooth, our drivers were always on time and our guides were good. We visited Bogota, Medellin, and Cartagena and all these cities were an experience with a different vibe. Our guide in Cartagena (Carolina) was great and we enjoyed spending time with her. She was very knowledgeable, fun and recommended nice places for dinner and helped us book them.

Our family trip turned to be a great and enjoyable experience and most important hassle free.

Hotel Review

Arsenal Hotel

We loved this hotel .. location was great and close to the most important attractions in the city. Safe neighborhood. The hotel is very clean and modern. The staff were very friendly and welcoming.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Coconut Workshop

Cartagena

This workshop was a highlight of our trip. Spending time with local women and learning from them was a very nice experience. They were very friendly and we loved the items we made with them. I recommend this workshop for any traveler who wants to spend time with locals and enjoy their company and learn from them.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Ours was a twice-postponed week-long tour of Normandy for a 20-person group of extended family members, mainly seniors, from Canada, the USA and the UK, in late September 2022.

We appreciate kimkim’s responsiveness in helping us design a tour that, in addition to visits to main tourist sites, included visits to a couple of sites connected to our family. We are especially very grateful for kimkim staying with us through two COVID postponements! Our contact person, Laetitia, was always a pleasure to deal with: highly responsive and invariably helpful.

We had three different guides during the seven days; all three (Aurélie, Mathieu and Céline) were punctual, personable, friendly, helpful and, above all, highly knowledgeable. We certainly learned a lot of interesting detail from our guides during our visits to Normandie sites, including Mont-Saint-Michel, the D-Day beaches, Dieppe, Caen, Rouen and Giverny. Several members of our group highlighted and especially appreciated Mathieu’s extensive knowledge of Canadian troops’ experiences at Dieppe, on D-Day and in the ensuing Battle of Normandy.

We had requested one guide for the duration of our week-long trip, and been promised we would have the same guide “unless imperative.” But we understand the widespread problem of unexpected absences and staff shortages, and appreciate that kimkim did its best.

Our two bus drivers were always punctual and got us safely from site to site, for which we are grateful.

The weather was not always ideal, and impacted some activities. Notably, we were disappointed we were not able to take the two-hour Étretat-Fécamp boat “cruise” as planned due to the inclement weather.

As might be expected in a trip of this nature and duration, there were several glitches and disappointments, which I will not detail here.

All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip, and a good time was had by all of us, despite the glitches and the weather.

Jim Fraser

We visited La Fortuna/Arenal and Manuel Antonio. Our trip was beautifully planned by Diego. He found great adventures and excursions for us. Our 5 kids’ ages range from 12 to 23 and he met all of our needs and made sure they would all be interested in what we were doing.

Hotel Reviews

Auténtico Hotel

San José

Authenticity & Character

Location

Next time we would just skip San Jose and drive directly to our first resort.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The air conditioning did not work well in our rooms. There was construction going on at the hotel early in the mornings and throughout the day.

Si Como No Resort & Wildlife Refuge

Manuel Antonio

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Arenal Manoa & Hot Springs

Fortuna

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Manuel Antonio National Park Guided Nature Hike

Costa Rica

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Snorkeling Adventure

Manuel Antonio

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

La Fortuna Waterfall Hike and El Salto Swimming Hole

Arenal/La Fortuna

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sky Tram, Ziplines & Sky Walk Adventure

Arenal/La Fortuna

So much fun!! So much adventure! It was great to have it all in one place as well.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our family of four went to Ecuador and visited the Amazon basin and the Galapagos Islands from Feb 5-20, 2023. Our local trip specialist was Tamer Obeid. Tamer was there for us the whole time. He was a text away and always responsive if we had a problem or a question. Special thanks to Tamer for providing us with dinner and a cake on my son’s 26th birthday. Tamer is an asset to KimKim, and we greatly appreciate his help and support.

In the Amazon basin, we visited the Napo Wildlife Center. Our guide was Remy, and he was incredible. He grew up in the local community and was aware of all the animals and made many of their sounds. Perhaps the highlight of our visit was seeing the Giant River Otters up close and spending time with the Kichwa Añangu Community. We also climbed to the treetop canopy, visited the parrot clay licks, hiked trails, and did lots of wildlife watching from the canoe.

In the Galapagos Islands, we stayed on Santa Cruz, Isabela, and San Cristobal and had different guides each day for our excursions. Perhaps our favorites were Joel and Lambo. They went out of their way to help us get good photographs and provided their GoPro photographs from our excursion.

Joel pulled two non-swimmers wearing life preservers while he was leading our group. He would occasionally dive down to take photographs of sharks and rays at Pinzon, our best snorkeling trip. Lambo would also dive deep and show us where an object was, like a seahorse, to photograph. He led us around the Tunnels to see enormous sea turtles.
The best place we stayed in the Galapagos was at the Iguana Crossing Hotel on Isabela. The view from the hotel was gorgeous and the service was excellent.

Note that everything on our trip did not run smoothly. We had some transportation problems, and three of us had stomach issues during our travels that lasted many days. Having said that, it was still the trip of a lifetime and one that we would gladly do again.

I didn't initiate the booking and planning with kimkim. Overall, the trip has been pleasant as we managed to see big 4/5 and the accommodation has been okay in general.

As this is the first time in South Africa for the group, there have been a lot of times where we weren't sure what we can do especially on free days. While instructions are provided, it would be good if it is clearer or in details given everyone is not familiar with the place. Understandably that the group got larger as time goes and the original plan might not work too well with more people.

The major unpleasant moment was with the hop on hop off bus as the information provided was not consistent (with when we can use the ticket if we didn't go on to the bus/cableway on the booked day). No further communication was provided afterward and we had to check with the company ourselves. The wine tram was not a real hop on hop off experience and because of that some of us have to take Uber to leave earlier. While some of the information could have been found on website, it would have been nicer if it is provided on almost daily basis as it is quite inconvenience to have to refer to KimKim.com sometimes.

While we understand the incident in airport and weather is not under anyone's control, it seems like dietary requirements was not considered given there are a lot of us who don't eat beef. While we are thankful for the goodies bag, some of us can't have biltong. During the meet up session, while expressing our opinions on the trip, we don't think we were taken too seriously.

Cresta hotel need some improvement in housekeeping service. Bathroom mat was taken away everyday without replenish.

Special shout out and thanks to our private tour guides and drivers as they have done an amazing job showing us the beautiful South Africa and go above and beyond helping out one of the members who unfortunately injured her leg at the end of the trip.