Kimkim Trip Reviews

Thank you, Zeynep for a fantastic trip! We really appreciated all the extra information about where to find vegan food—which was actually not as difficult as we had anticipated!—and that you customized the itinerary based on our preferences. We had an amazing experience in Iceland—gorgeous scenery, lovely hotels, delicious food, great car, wonderful hikes, and a great itinerary—everything was perfect. We especially enjoyed the Glacier Lagoon Zodiac tour—wow!!!!—the Ingolfshofdi Puffin Tour you recommended, hiking to the top of the volcano on the Westman Islands, the Snaefellsnes Peninsula coast, and seeing the geothermal areas on the Reykjanes Peninsula. Thank you again for organizing such a fantastic trip for us!

Had an absolutely fantastic 8 days in Myanmar with Kim Kim. From the very first email conversation with my consultant Wai Lin it was an absolute pleasure. He was incredibly patient and knowledgeable and built us an unbelievable trip! Everything ran to an absolute t! We chose the route Mandalay-Bagan-Inle Lake-Yangon route. The tour guides provided were absolutely top class and gave us such a great insight into the history of Myanmar. The transport was comfortable and very punctual.

Personal highlights include U Bein Bridge, the private cocktail cruise in Bagan, the hot air balloon ride in Bagan, all the temples (usually I get tired of temples after a day but Myanmar's are so amazing I never tired of them), the food, Inle Lake in general. Everything was just so well thought out and convenient. Would definitely recommend and will def use again! Thank you, Wai Lin and all of our amazing tour guides!

Mathias did a great job in setting up our 4-day adventure to the Amazon. He was very easy to communicate with and helpful in planning our trip - great advice, great service. All of the arrangements went smoothly and we loved the accommodations. We had a wonderful time!

Guides were great, in particular Jerusalem guide. Drivers were great, Jordan driver was very funny/full of knowledge and you can tell he really enjoys his job. When we experienced a bad hotel and had to change in Tel Aviv, Walid was great. He assured us the company would reimburse us and that their first priority is to take care of customers. I will discuss the hotel in an email/further on this, was our only bad experience, but was quite bad, unfortunately. Hotels in Jordan and Jerusalem were great, and wadi rum was really great as well.

Fabulous accommodation selections and great planning of all transport requirements. We did self guided option which we loved as we had all the info we needed to navigate Japan but still felt like we were adventuring ourselves. The opposite of a “group tour” which is what we were trying to avoid.

Highly recommend inside Japan!!

Aldo was an amazing guide who went above and beyond all expectations!

Both Emily and Thomas were amazing to work with for our adventures. Thank you both for making our vacation fabulous and fantastic!!!

We hiked the 5-day Salkantay Trek to Machu Picchu in mid-May, 2018. Our guide, Ruben, was really wonderful - very friendly, enthusiastic, and kind, good English, a font of information about local cultures and the natural world, and just great company. Nicole was patient, helpful, and responsive in the trip selection and preparation. The trek itself was really beautiful and rewarding - it turned out to be a great choice and we're really glad we did it. We LOVED the small-group format (max. 5 people) - and ended up being the only ones on the trip so Ruben was our private guide! We were very appreciate of having warm beds to sleep in (in modest lodging) because it got REALLY cold at night, below freezing at the highest elevation (bring many layers!!!). The food was quite yummy, sufficient, and we appreciated the local flavors. And in case you're wondering, the trip is a great value - you definitely get your money's worth!

A few caveats: we are in our 50's/60's and in good shape (we hike/work out regularly but are not "hard core fitness buffs". This hike was the hardest physical endeavor we've done - thank goodness we had beautiful, sunny, dry weather! We heard tales of misery about doing the hike in the rain (very muddy and slippery trails) and overcast skies - so I'd advise avoiding this trip during the rainy season November - April. There are a lot of loose rocks in many sections of the trail (though few steps, which we were thankful for) and several steep inclines/descents so hiking poles are a must! We had originally thought of also doing a bike trip, but are REALLY glad we decided not to, because we were worn out after the trek (diarrhea/sore bodies happen!) - we opted for cultural/historical tours through another great outfit, Unique Peru Tours. Oh, and make SURE you acclimate to the high altitude for at least 3 days before you attempt the hike, no matter how young and fit you are!

Thank you, Nicole and Ruben, for making this a wonderful, memorable trip!

Overall, the trip was fantastic and I am truly grateful that you suggested India before Bhutan. However, the hotel in Delhi was superb. They upgraded us to a fabulous room the the 2nd and 3rd times that we were there which was lovely. Our guides in India were fine. I do have a couple of suggestions....I think we could have done with 1 night in Rathombore. We saw 1 tiger on all our safaris, although others saw many more...just lucky. We really liked Jaipur and maybe should have had 2 nights there instead. Darjeeling. Bhutan was really spectacular...we loved it. But there are some suggestions...It was a long drive to the Probjika Valley and we were not excited about it. The hotel was pretty bad and after we hiked a bit and saw Karma the crane, we were ready to leave. We thus stayed only 1 night and went back to Thimphu and stopped for a long hike en route. This was fine. We enjoyed trekking around Paro. However, our trip to Tigernest on May 29 was the same day as a major Buddhist holiday. Could not stand the idea of hiking in the crowds so we convinced out guide to substitute another trek We went to Tigernest about 3PM and started walking up as hordes of Indians were descending. Our guide tried to convince us to stop...turned out he and driver did not have a hotel to stay in and I think they were mostly worried about where they would be. The previous night they had to stay in Thimphu and I think they were anxious about getting back....Not clear to me why they had not booked their own rooms when they new the schedule. They did try to be accommodating to us and were very concerned that we were "happy," although there is no question that they would have preferred we just look at the Tigernest from the highway rather than climbing up. I had a difficult time separating what was convenient for them from what was in our interest. As an example, they left us at Paro airport at 7AM for the 9:30 flight. I realize that it is important to be early but that was really very early...we were the first to check in.

Hey guys.

Victor was a great operator. From beginning to end, he was responsive and explained things very well. I had bit of a negative review on our onsite local tour guide at Hanoi and I've given that input to Victor. He was very professional and made sure my feedback was heard. In my business, the question I always ask my customers is: Would you recommend our services to your friends, family and associates? I would definitely recommend KimKim to my friends and look forward to using you guys again.

On the note of the Hanoi tour guide, I've given my feedback to Victor and would follow up with him. (the tour was actually great, but the person giving the tour was mediocre at best)

Thank you.

Paul Oh

Our trip to Colombia was excellent. We had a wonderful time in the coffee region and the trip organized by Gael and Tucaya was a lot of fun and seamless. We had a few minor snags while booking the trip, as we were originally booked on a return flight that did not leave enough time to catch our connecting international flight, but we were able to switch our flights after bringing this up with Gael. Gael was very helpful with suggesting activities and excursions for us, all of which proved very enjoyable.

Once in Colombia, we corresponded with Nicholas at Tucaya via WhatsApp and he was very helpful. He promptly responded to any inquiry and made sure to check in with us in the mornings and evenings to recap the day and preview the next day's activities. On the ground in the coffee region, everything worked very smoothly. We had driver's and tour guides waiting for us at the appointed times without issues, the hotel (Finca Bosque del Saman) was beautifully picturesque, and our activities were great.

One day, we to Filandia, Salento, and the Cocora Valley with our tour guide Sebastian. Not only were these areas beautiful, but Sebastian is an amazing and thoughtful guide who took us both to the main tourist attractions but also took us off the beaten path to local coffee shops and restaurants. Cafe Jesus Martin in Salento and restaurant Helena Adentro in Filandia were highlights. We can't recommend Sebastian enough.

Another day, we visited Finca Casa Vieja, a coffee plantation run by a local family. Santiago, one of the owners, gave us a wonderful tour of the farm (which grows many types of fruits and flowers in addition to coffee), as well as a look inside the coffee making process. After a delicious lunch prepared by Santiago's aunt (using produce from the farm), we visited the family's coffee shop in Quimbaya, Cafe de Altura, where we sampled many different preparations of coffee as well as some baked goods prepared by Alejandra, Santiago's sister. Sebastian, our tour guide from the day before, also joined us for coffee, which was a pleasure. To cap the afternoon, we took a bamboo raft down Rio de la Vieja, which offered great views and some fun swimming opportunities.

The main downside to this trip was that we were only in the coffee region for a few days. We certainly plan to visit Colombia again and would be happy to book through Gael and Kim Kim again, as we had a great trip that went seamlessly after we got everything booked properly.

We have just returned from an amazing 9 day trip to Norway which has been truly one of the most memorable family holiday's we've had.

KimKim connected me with Ingrid, a Norwegian specialist in Bergen. She listened to what we were looking for and created a unique trip that met the different requests of my husband, myself and my two children. Not only did she save me hours of research, but she managed the hotel bookings, train and ferry tickets and provided recommendations of things to do and places to eat. Her organization enabled us to experience Norway independently but without the feeling that we were all on our own. I contacted her a couple of times while we were on our trip and she answered my questions and provided guidance quickly and efficiently. It was super to meet up with her personally in Bergen where she gave us a fascinating tour of her hometown.

Cannot complain about anything! Really was an incredible experience.

We had the most pleasurable experience! From the beginning of the planning stages to each and every transfer was easy, with friendly people, and fun. Veselka was easy to work with and managed our time well. She offered great suggestions and knew exactly what to suggest with our ideas. All activities were great. We especially enjoyed the cooking class and tour and bike ride. Hotels were clean, easy to access. Verdan on the bike tour was full of knowledge and friendly and funny. The farm we ended up at for lunch was sustainable and so peaceful. Our chef Mya and tour guide for the cooking class were so pleasant and also we gain so much information about the city of Split. It was a fully engaging experience. I highly recommend the cooking class. We had a perfect balance of independent time, guided time, relaxing time, and learning time.

Veselka--thank you so much! We will never forget this trip!

My mother and I had a brilliant time in Ethiopia, and the quality of the trip exceeded our expectations. Marco and Yirga were very helpful, flexible, with a constant smile, and looked after us the whole time. Every day was different and captivating, with knowledgeable local guides who also helped us understand the local life and the people of Ethiopia.
We highly recommend a visit to Ethiopia, and Simien Eco Tours. You will not be disappointed.

My husband and I enjoyed a two week, self driving tour through West and North Iceland. We had an excellent, detailed itinerary with lots of options each day from our specialist Preeti. She focused on what we most wanted to see and do, and we weren't disappointed! Particularly of note were the dining suggestions - it's sometimes challenging to decide on the right place, so we enjoyed all her suggestions without worry. We also enjoyed having vouchers for our accommodations and excursions, it made for hassle-free check-in's each night. Our favourite lodging was Siglunes Guesthouse in charming town of Siglugfjordur, and our favourite excursion was a beautiful, exciting hike up to Glymer Waterfall - a workout for us middle-aged folks!

Accomodation all good.

My only one thing is that our itinerary had has going to the bear sanctuary on a Monday but it is closed on a Monday. Thankfully we worked this out in advance by looking at out Lonely Planet book and looking at their website on line so we could plan ahead and alter our itinerary. It would have been very frustrating to get all the way there and realise it was not open and miss it all together as it was one of the highlights of the trip.

Raluca made our trip very enjoyable. She organized car rental, all accommodations and an itenerary which was interesting and easy to follow with places of interest etc

This was an exceptional trip! Colombia is a beautiful country; a hidden gem. Floriane was as invested as I was in making this trip a wonderful and unforgettable experience. Every driver and every guide was pleasant, professional, knowledgeable and fun. Everywhere we went, the locals welcomed our guides as family and extended the same warmth to us.

Our 8-day trip included Medellin, Guatape, Armenia, Salento, Santa Marta and Bogota. My daughter are already planning our return trip.

A million thanks to Floraine and to all of our guides and drivers.

Maria

We had an incredible time during our 12 days in Morocco!

We usually travel quite independently, and this was a new experience for us having a private driver for the first 7 days of our trip, and a mountain guide for another 2.

Now that we are back, we wouldn't have had it any other way. We learned so much from our time with Said, about his culture, family, and other random facts and observations. I think this was the best way to really immerse yourself into Morocco, especially if it's your first time to Africa or a Muslim country.

Said was also very knowledgeable of the general area. He took us to many places we didn't know about and often stopped in small towns or the side or the road to show us a collective (fossils, roses, argan oil, ceramics), taste some dates or watermelon, or to see a small gift a local was selling (Without feeling pressured to buy). He also took us to visit a nomadic family and share tea with them in their tent, a very special experience for us. It was sad to say goodbye.

I'm not sure that we would do anything differently. We packed quite a bit into our trip, but there is so much to see: Roman ruins at Volubilis, wandering around the blue city at Chefchaouen, the busy medinas in Fes and Marrakech, and of course the desert!

The desert was probably our favorite part of the whole trip. We spend about 3 full days driving between small market towns, stopped at a fossil factory in Erfoud, saw beautiful oases hidden in the rocks and sand, and enjoyed a memorable camel ride at sunset into the dunes where we spend the night enjoying music from local Berber people, who were all very friendly. We even got to hold a baby sand fox that a local boy had on the side of the road!

Another very special part of the trip was spending 2 days hiking in the High Atlas mountains between small villages. We enjoyed 2 lunches with Berber families and spend a very crazy lightning storm in the home of another. Our mountain guide was great and very knowledgeable of the area, even when we had to change our route to avoid the river that grew from the storm.

The riads we stayed at (Fes, Marrakech) were beautifully designed, and the service was top notch. It was great to enjoy a delicious meal on the roof or in the ornate dining areas of our riad after a long day of exploring.

This trip really opened our eyes and re-prioritized our list of places we wanted to jump into next.

Shukran to Larbi & Said for this very special trip!

so this wasn’t just you’re average planned trip, I was in a bind from a last minute trip because i had broken up with my ex girlfriend, flights were paid for. looking online i discovered kimkim, so i thought i’d give it a shot. I was referred to james on kimkim, was the best trip planner i could ask for, he was very accomadating to my needs, even helped me out when i got to cusco for my shortened trek, trip to machu picchu, day tour to salt mines, moray and sacred valley! His team are very professional and handle everyone to their needs and wants in treks and tours around peru! also had met james personally as i was travelling alone, he’s a great planner as well now a great friend! i plan on returning soon and meeting up again with james!