Kimkim Trip Reviews

Our wonderful trip to Norway went off without a hitch. Linda was knowledgeable, cooperative and flexible during the planning process. She was willing to Skype with us as well as communicate by E-mail. All the arrangements she made -- hotels, cruise ship, and other transport tickets -- were fine. She did as she was asked when we wanted to be near an airport or a train station. She was also very pleasant personally.

The only thing that might have been better is that a couple of the rooms were a bit below our usual standard (at 1 Scandic in Oslo, e.g., room was extremely tiny and there was no closet and -- amazingly -- no place to lay out clothing flat, as in a bureau or on shelves; our cruise cabin was directly behind a lifeboat, hence had no view). However, I suspect she was trying to minimize our cost (and cost was very reasonable). The lesson I have learned is that I should make clear if I want higher-grade accommodations.

All is all, a memorable vacation! I would recommend to other that they plan such a trip with Kimkim/Linda.

Vivian Berger

The whole trip was amazing. Alexandra and Julio were very knowledgeable guides and both went out of their way to make our trip as pleasant and fun as possible. Machu Picchu was amazing and our guide made sure we got the best shots which is priceless taking into account how packed it was. Clara was super helpful and always ready to answer any questions and accommodate changes in our schedule. Thank you guys for making our trip to Peru such a memorable and special experience!!

The trip was fabulous. the guide (Alejandro Pinto) was superb. He has excellent knowledge of the local birds and was happy and helpful throughout despite being ill. The most memorable part was staying in Tatama. An excellent place. Good food and great hospitality.

Loved the trek so much! Didn’t really think about much before I go. Alex and Erin are very experienced in terms of giving good advice on the drier route during monsoon season and taking care of my arrival. Ngawang is such a experienced guide and he was very helpful along the trek. Food is very good and satisfying during the trip too ;)

The Colombian Project’s Eastern, Central, and Western Andean Ranges and Valleys 16-day tour exceeded my expectations! We visited a variety of birding areas, so the tour was a great introduction and sampling of the birds and birding in Colombia. Our bird guide, Alejandro, was energetic, enthusiastic, and located many hard to find birds.
I enjoyed dining at a variety of establishments, many of which included local fare, and staying in a variety of accommodation types, all of which were clean and comfortable. Although there were a couple of long rides in between destinations, the large and comfortable van with big windows allowed for great viewing of the beautiful landscapes along the way.
I’m an avid birder and traveler, and this is one of my top experiences thus far - thanks to the Colombian Project’s planning, experience, and personnel!

My Oslo tour experience was a great one. Thank you very much Ingrid for booking this at such short notice. I really enjoyed the long walk along the river because it was beautiful and quiet especially in the middle of a very busy city.

My guide, Stig, was very helpful in explaining the history behind the tiger for example close to the train station. Stig also shared facts about other things we saw and was of tremendous help in showing us around other places we needed to visit before we left for home. You guys are the best! Thank you:)

All of Ingrid's recommendations were terrific. We had a great experience! She even went above and beyond to give us directions at each site. The glacier hike at Folgefonna was amazing! But the highlight of our trip was a sunrise hike to Priekestolen. Driving around on our own was a great way to explore and see the "real" countryside... it's beautiful!
Thank you Ingrid!

My Trip to Slovenia started off with a request to “Solo hike through the alps, away from crowds and tourists". Miha contacted me and wanted to understand what I had in mind. Living in Silicon Valley and working in tech, my desire was to reconnect with nature and pursue a solo-hike through the Alps. I had envisioned doing this in Austria just based on its familiarity with my past travels.

As Miha and I exchanged messages, Miha who converted my desires into a well defined route to combine seeing many regions in Slovenia, which would allow me to decompress from the fast pace life in California and prepare for my solo hike through the Julia Alps, down into the Soča River Valley, through the Karst region onto Prian. He ensure everything I asked for was awaiting my arrival!

Once Miha and I talked live we settled on the plan and waited for weeks to pass and my flight to Slovenia, for an amazing 10 day trip.

I can summarize my trip by saying a Slovene saying; Sekira mi je padla v med!

Meeting Domen on my arrival, we had a great conversation reviewing maps and the route over beers and burgers and then I was cut loose to explore Ljubljana, where you can still feel the presence of past dragons and the vibe of a modern but well preserved historic city. From the street musicians to the open cafe's and restaurants to eating carniolian sausage at a very small sausage shack (Go there to find it, you will know when you see it along the way to the Castle over the three bridges).

Then onto Lake Bled, 6 kilometers around the lake, meeting Bobbi the artist who paints with watercolors, to experiencing the fairytale setting of the surrounding area. You do not pass up wood-fired traditional meals or the amazing cream cake you can learn about. My stay in Bled was a stepping off point to finalizing my gear and pack, since the next day was on to where my hike would start, on a ridge on the border between Austria and Slovenia.

Getting dropped off in the woods with a short hike up to the border ridge, onto Vosca Peak to start my path through the Julians, to visit Tonka prior to getting to Vrsic pass, hiking along the Soča river, overnighting in a hay barn at a local farm and onto Bovec, then to a Winery older then the United States and Caves where the Reka flows underground, onto Prian with Aljaž to hike sea cliffs and swim in the Adriatic!

Every aspect of the trip exceeded my expectations, the friendly culture, amazing people I met along the way, the nature, food and local beer. I rarely noticed the weather, but thunder does make you hike faster off the peaks :). I cannot wait to return to share this trip with my wife and to introduce her to all my new friends.

My trip can be summed up in one word; Zaklad!

Amazing crew of people at SloTrips, I cannot wait to reconnect with them on my next trip to Slovenia and possibly Croatia! Everyone should strive to take a hike in Slovenia in their lifetime and reconnect with nature and a great culture forged over many thousands of years. You are in great hands with the Miha and the SloTrips team!

-Kim

It was pretty good but I had to check some details. Flemmet at Bergen did a good job too. We had a good time in Norway over all. Thank you for the arrangement.

Steve and Katy and the Aspiring Adventures team did a great job. They helped plan and set up a highly custom tour of Peru for us and really dealt with a lot of added complexity and changes when the weather impacted the original trek we had planned; and then when one of us had some health issues and had to change plans. Really appreciated their hard work and expertise. Very happy with the trip.

Our guides arranged by Aspiring Adventures (Arturo in Lima, Justino in Sacred Valley/Trek/Machu Picchu/Cusco, and Wilhelm for Mt. Biking) were all fantastic. Highlights:

In Lima, Arturo took us to the Central Market and we walked around and tried about 15-20 kinds of fruit that don't exist in North America, and then took us to a local place (we were the only tourists there) for a fantastic lunch. If you are a foodie, don't skip Lima and see if you can book Arturo.

Trekking was great, stunning, but at those altitudes actually quite hard--be aware. Even if you are in good shape hard to catch your breath.

Machu Picchu and the hike from there up Waynapicchu were fantastic. It is amazing that a place as celebrated at Machu Picchu can still exceed expectations. If you aren't trekking in, make sure to get in line for the bus by 4:30 or 5:00 am to miss most of the crowds and see the sunrise. (Our guide made sure we did and it was well worth it.)

We went Mt. Biking in Sacred Valley for a half day followed by a gourmet picnic in the most beautiful setting (all arranged by our guides). First time Mt. Biking for all of us. It was amazing. Route chosen was 90% downhill and exciting but manageable for first timers. Totally recommend (my 15 year old declared this day to be the best thing we have ever done on any trip.)

Aspiring Adventures also arranged for us to have a cooking class in Cusco at Marcelo Batata with Chef Jose. (http://www.cuscocookingworkshop.com/culinary-experiences/cooking-class-or-culinary-experience/) This was fantastic. We have had great experiences with cooking classes on other trips, but this was by far the most fun and interesting chef/teacher we have ever had.

Highly recommend Aspiring Adventures.

We are very grateful to Erin and the kimkim team for putting together a fantastic and memorable holiday this May. Our decision to go to Nepal was pretty last minute and not exactly at the best time of year to visit, but with Erin's guidance we were able to figure out an itinerary with all of the experiences we were looking for, while maximizing the opportunities for good weather and clear skies/views. Our trip included a four-day trek from Jomsom - with an incredibly memorable flight to reach Jomsom - and a couple days of relaxation in Pokhara on the back end at a stunning property. It was a perfect balance of activity and relaxation. The whole trip was seamless thanks to the KimKim team and our excellent guide, Mingma. Having all of the logistical stress removed meant that we were able to fully enjoy the experience. The team even made sure that we got the most out of our layover in Kathmandu, arranging for us to be picked up and see some highlights of the city. We look forward to traveling with kimkim again in the future and have already recommended them to family and friends.

The driver was great, very thoughtful and attentive. Not always punctual at the start of the day, did give us some notice. Throughout the day, perfectly fine. Bilal the day tour guide was very knowledgeable. We saw petra through his enchanting descriptions and with great detail. LENA Was amazing, always there to respond and answer our questions, almost immediately. Seamless travel tailor made.

THANK YOU 😁
Michelle

Wonderfully planned and stress-free trip! Every connection was seemless and timely. Ben was amazing keeping in touch during one unexpected change. We especially liked our quad bike adventure & guide, diving at Kuata with Brad, and with Semi and Epi at barefoot manta. Saki was an amazing host at manta.

When we were ready to leave manta the money hadn’t been paid by Kimkim, but the manager Lauren said, “no worries... they always pay. We’lol sort it out” and they let us leave without $$ in place for our 3 day food and lodging! Glad to hear you have a great relationship with the places.

We discovered a hidden gem in Boitaira ... good food, beautiful beach, chill village hike, friendly staff (be prepared for a few bugs and critters in your bure)

Fantastic trip and organisation ran like clockwork... the trains.. the buses...the timetable and so on. No corners were cut, as is often the case. Each ryokan visited over-delivered. This trip allowed us to get below the surface of Japan's big cities and let us experience the real Honshu. Simply fantastic.

This trip was above and beyond what I expected. Tasos completely outdid himself in creating an unforgettable tour of Greece. All of the tours I went on were informative and unique. I especially enjoyed Naxos island, from the beaches to the local food it was paradise. My tour guide on Naxos was also very friendly and made me feel like I was being shown around by an old friend, rather than a tour guide. Overall the trip was excellent, all of my accommodations were top notch, and my experience was nothing short of amazing.

My guide was very friendly and helpful for my trekking. He organized well and take care of me well too as we travel together. Erin helped me a lot by providing some information about this whole trip as this is my time to come trekking in Nepal. Everything was excellent and the one thing I was impressed was to see the local people in Langtang who work hard to rebuild their villages destroyed by the earthquake in 2015.

Our guides in both Bergen & Tromso were excellent!
When we arrived into Bergen off our cruise ship Vilde was there with a huge smile and waving! She called up Ben who was waiting with the van and our luggage was taken care of with out any fuss.
Our walking tour was just right... We saw so much but at a leisurely pace. Enjoyed sharing the lovely City with a local.
Our guide arrived at our hotel in Tromso (sorry I cannot find the notes with her name ) and gave us an excellent over view of Tromso and then tailored our walk to suit or interests. We enjoyed it all very much
Thank you to both guides and to Linda for the arrangements!

La was a very attentive guide and good driver. He ensured that we understood the schedule on a day to day basis to enable a smooth routine.
Our schedule was interesting with a good variety of sightseeing and physical activity.

We had an excellent time in Iceland and particulary liked the scheduled activities (Glacier walk and Iceberg lagoon boat ride). We also very much enjoyed our overnight on Westman Is. On the south coast we loved the major waterfalls-Seljalandsfoos, Skogarfoss and Gullfoss-, the black beaches-Dyrholaey & Reynisfjara . Also the wildness and vastness of the Snaefellsne was a highlights.

The amount of dramatic and beautiful scenery was unlimited and endless in Iceland.

Preeti made several suggestions that were excellent-Fjadargljufur Canyon, Route 558 through the lava filed and the Floi Bird Reserve, plus a wonderful ice cream stop Efstidalur. We prefer the less crowded stuff and these tips were good. We thought other than Gullfoss, the Golden Circles was overcrowded and not appealing.

People of Iceland were very nice and helpful. Over all it was great. As pescaterians , the food was fine and supermarkets were good shopping

We liked the accommodations particularly when isolated a bit and in beautiful place. However the apartment for 2 nights in Reykjavik while in a great location could have been a bit nicer. Also we spoke about the last nights accommodation at West Park and were offered a refund (shared bathroom and sitting area) and pretty basic all the way around.

We had a wonderful 18 day vacation thanks to John and his great organization of our trip. This was our first visit to Costa Rica and we experienced a bit of everything - diving, visiting rainforest parks, zipline, white water rafting, horse back riding. Communication with John was very fast and efficient--both when planning the trip as well as throughout our itinerary. He booked for us places that matched very well our travelling & vacation style. I would highly recommend using the services of his company when planning Costa Rica vacation.