Kimkim Trip Reviews

We had a wonderful time. Terra Andina were really good checking on us at arrival and notifying us of any changes. For me personally I loved La Paz and found Teresita the guide really informative. She helped me understand the many situations in the country and also the culture.

We found the trip was divided into 3 sections. The first being La Paz and lake Titicaca and staying with locals. We had a wonderful time in all aspects. Found Jamie and Marisol so kind and I think we ate the best food with them. Really enjoyed that they encouraged us to join in with activities such as picking potatoes and making cheese. Plus as it was my birthday I found they helped me celebrate well.

Then the 4 day trip round the sur lipez and salt flats. Eloy our driver and guide was brilliant. He was always finding us lovely places to eat not with the other tourists and the lunches were delicious . Set in breathtaking scenery. The whole 4 days was just amazing to see the diversity of the country. We were treated so well with Eloy and thoroughly enjoyed.

The final part was Potosi and Sucre. For us we didn’t enjoy Potosi but I think by then we were very tired. Was glad of a free day in Sucre to chill and enjoy the city at our leisure. The final day in La Paz was nice as to see the city sights plus the wrestling. Teresita was a great guide for us.

Overall it exceeded our expectations. I’m glad we went for a personal tour as would never have got all the information or places to eat and go. Thanks again to all the guides and Kim Kim and Terra Andina . Awesome

There were a few bumps along the road with the reservations and requests for activities that didn't go through e.g. we were placed into a different hotel than the one we had requested and weren't notified; we only found out when we got to the hotel and had to call Andy ourselves. Granted, the hotel was a much nicer one than he one we had requested but "I changed the booking I just didn't tell you" isn't what passes for an apology or a suitable notification.
For the dive in the Red Sea, we asked for 2 dives and we paid for the 2 dived each but when we got onto the boat we were told that we were only to do 1 dive because thats what they were notified.

Our freelance tour guide, Walid, along with the bus driver who was provided by the Agency helped a lot in getting us around and giving us information and knowledge on the places we were to, and gave us insider trips to get us the best deals.

However, I think we could've done without the bus driver smoking on the bus every time we got off. It was nauseating every time we came back onto the bus.

Ultimately, it was an amazing experience visiting that part of the world for the very first time, it wouldn't be an adventure if we didn't have any obstacles.

Our group had an amazing time in Jordan! Despite some minor miscommunication at the beginning of our trip with Andy, our local specialist, about some accommodation details, it was overall a pretty smooth experience and he was able to help us with the problems we had. We very much enjoyed our time with our local guide, Waleed, who was very accommodating and had ample knowledge about Jordan's history and traditions, all of which we very much enjoyed hearing about.

We spent a total of 5 days there and we felt that was enough to see everything without having to rush, although more time to relax at the Dead Sea at the end of our trip could have been the cherry on top. Petra is truly a world wonder and we spent about 7 hours exploring, which for the average traveler, I think is plenty of time. But, if you are very interested in ancient history and want to do more of the hiking trails, perhaps an extra day in Petra would be good. I wouldn't necessarily recommend the Petra by Night experience because it is quite a long walk and you don't get to see much in the dark -- but it might be worth it to some people. We also went to Aqaba, which is worth a boat trip if you are into snorkeling/scuba diving but otherwise, there isn't much to do in the city. Wadi Rum is also a very cool spot, but if you stay at one of the campsites, I would recommend trying to get there a bit on the earlier side to explore the grounds -- but that and the desert jeep tour warrants about a full day at most.

The meet-and-assist step at the airport both upon our arrival and departure was highly convenient, although it would have perhaps been useful to know what to expect about the visa process prior to our arrival.

The only downside was our bus. The driver was very nice but he had the habit of smoking in the car (albeit, when we were not there) which made long bus rides very uncomfortable because of the smell. The driving was sometimes erratic but I think that can be partially attributed to the slightly bumpy roads!

Where to start! What an amazing trek! Amanda was great throughout the organising, answering any questions I had (and I had a lot!). We had a good group of us who did the trek together. Our guides Gelu and Nurbu were awesome and so were our porters always smiling and helping! I was blown away by their efforts put into the trek because they never rested! They were even in the kitchen preparing our meals when the cook had a day off! They were also very helpful while walking especially on the pass day coming down Nurbu was always right there if we fell over or making sure it was safe! Most of the guest houses and food was great just the night before the pass when we were in tents was a hard night but I don't think that will change. The scenery varied a lot which was great. Overall we had an amazing time and will never forget it!! If we decide to do another trek we would definitely want the same guides and porters again!! Thank you!

After our trek we went down to Chitwan national park and did a home stay in the Tharu village. This was so awesome!! Really grassroots but the best decision! Right from the beginning we were totally immersed in the culture. The village activities were so much fun! We felt like part of the family! Everyone was so friendly! The meals were delicious and very fresh! This is something I would highly recommend for people to do, even families because all of the kids would play together. I really cannot put into words this experience. Sukram did a great job of organising everything and making sure we were looked after.

The trip was simply amazing.. The online scheduling department, the driver and the guide were all top notch. I could not have hoped for a better experience. Honestly, what a great country, experience and team that are at Kimkim... Thank you to all of you for all of your effort.

I believe our trek guide Gelu did an amazing job throughout the 2 weeks. His experience, and temperament was valued, whilst his willingness to help all trekkers to have an amazing trip was first class. Actually this is true for his whole team, including porters and assistant guide Nu bo. They all performed roles from guides, to cooks, to waiters, to boot fixers etc with a smile and pleasant nature.
In regards to the trek itself, it included beautiful country and challenging terrain towards the top. I would personally probably prefer bigger days in the lower country and reducing the number of days over over the trek or including a few more days in the Annapurna region towards the end. Overall great trip with some great people.

Great trip! Thanks for the change in transportation to Tamarindo as the ride was awesome with the forst half hour on the beach and the most of the rest on backroads thru the countryside. On reflection i would have stayed an extra day at Flor Blanca versus goign to Tamarindo which was too touristy for me but great for my 16 year old. Thanks for your help!

The platform provided by Kimkim is innovative in its simplicity and ease of use. We were immediately linked to a local expert Amanda who put together the trip for us. With patience and enthusiasm, she tailored the trip to our needs and wishes. In the end we had the perfect mix of local culture, sightseeing and relaxing. Babu is a professional and safe driver and was always on time and helping us with our bags. We also learned a lot from our local guide, Rajeev, who answered so many of our questions and introduced us to several local restaurants. Great service!

Sylvia was very patient and help us a lot with the tour. We had a great time and will use the service again in the future.

Hálldor and Preeti did a phenomenal job in picking the hotels, locations and excursion companies. Everything worked out perfectly, the hotels were perfect and the excursions were private with personable, knowledgeable and great guides.

When I go back to Iceland, I intend on using Hálldor and Preeti again. They’re fantastic and I’m very happy with the experience.

This was a dream trip! I was so busy with work and Preeti had everything planned according to where we wanted to go and sights we wanted to see. The self driving tour was great and the hotels were all amazing!!

I will definitely use Kim Kim again - it’s perfect for a busy person who doesn’t have time to plan all the logistics of a trip

Thank you

Our trip to Jordan was just as expected. We were met at every stop exactly on time. The guides and drivers spoke english well enough to explain our needs and to hold an enjoyable conversation on some long drives. The cars used were new and comfortable. The hotels, camp, and spa were excellent with the exception of occasionally poor hot water for showers. We had a great time and felt safe and well cared for throughout our tip. I would suggest that the company issue a list of contact numbers when they send out the written itinerary before the trip.

Andy took care of our 6 weeks tour of Asia and everything went well. We had a good time and most of it, drivers, guides, Hotel etc were perfect. I will used Andy again for a another trip for sure.

Polona and Luka organised the day well and I enjoyed my time rock climbing. Siggi was very good at getting back about the plans promptly.

The 8 days we spent with Tendu were very memorable. He was very knowledgeable with the areas that we were trekking. He was very personable, professional and his sense of humour kept us motivated when we needed motivation. He was very attentive to our needs at the various tea houses. Lapka and Kazi were a delight to have along on the trek. I would highly recommend Tendu as a guide to anyone coming to Nepal.

Our trip was truly amazing! We saw so much of Nepal and its people. Amanda was truly wonderful in crafting an experience that perfectly incorporated our adventurous spirits, need for a little rest and relaxation, our want to be immersed in the local culture and excitement about visiting a new country. She was quick to respond to all my concerns and questions during our planning process, prior to our travel dates and during our trip. She was able to make adjustments to our itinerary of the fly without hesitation.
All of the guides were incredibly knowledgeable, patient, polite and eager to share their culture with us. Amanda arranged drivers, pick-ups, guides, hotel stays, a trekking itinerary, tea house stays, meals, sight seeing suggestions, in-country flight tickets and more. We had no worries at all and felt safe every step of the way.
We arrived in Kathmandu, were picked up and brought to the Hotel Manaslu - very nice, clean with modern bathroom and breakfast was provided. After a brief rest our guide picked us up and took us on a walking tour of Thamel and other sites in the area. We even got a very rare view of the Kathmandu Kumari coming out of her house to attend a celebration. We stayed in the Thamel area and had dinner before walking back to our hotel. The following day our same guide picked us up with a driver and we toured UNESCO sites and more in the city and Patan.
We trekked for the next three and a half days, staying in tea houses along the way to Pikey Peak. It was a little disappointing that it never really cleared up, therefore we didn't get a clear view of the Himalaya mountain range. The trekking was very hard and technical (we bit off a bit more than we could chew but our guide Reeche (I'm sure I didn't spell that right) was amazing. The mountains were so lovely Its hard to describe. My suggestion regarding the trekking would be to get more detailed information as to the difficulty and technical aspects of the trek. We were not prepared for the very long days and technical aspects of the trails.
We spent a full day rest at the Panorama Charikot resort after trekking. Wonderful, wonderful place with great views and amazing staff. Food was very good.
The only hiccup of the trip was the horrible jeep ride from Charikot to Namobudda monastery. It was extremely terrible roads and took 7 hours to get to the monastery. The trip was only suppose to take half that time. Our driver didn't speak English so it was hard to know what was happening along the way. We loved the monastery but probably would have passed had we know how long of a jeep ride it was to get to it.
Off to Bhaktapur were we stayed at the Milla Guesthouse. I can't say enough about this beautiful boutique hotel in the heart of the city. Its an oasis and the breakfast on the roof terrace was the best we had on our trip. Our guide and driver took us to all the heritage and culture sites in the area and well has some shopping at various artisan places.
Next to the Chitwan Jungle were we stayed at the Jungle View Resort. We had a private bungalow with lovely views of the Rapti River were Rhinos freely roam. The field guides were knowledgeable and able to answer all our questions. We took an elephant safari ride, canoe ride and visit to the crocodile breeding reserve and jeep safari. The animals were a site to see; rhinos, sloth bear, bison, wild peacock, various deer, crocodiles and many birds
Lastly on to Patan where we stayed at The Inn- Patan. Amazing old Newari home redone into a lovely boutique hotel with a courtyard that reminded me of Italy. The original wood carving throughout was stunning. Great service and food in the heart of the city but yet quiet. We were lucky to get a large room with a small balcony overlooking the courtyard.
We ended our trip with a flight around Mt. Everest. Again, it wasn't super clear but we were able to the see the peaks and Everest. It was a pleasant end to our trip.
Overall, it was an amazing trip and I would highly recommend Amanda, KimKim and Himalayan Adventure travels and tours.

Gelu, the cheif guide and Nurbu were both amazing. Incredibly helpful, and caring.

I'd like to add that Gelu's insight when tweaking the itinerary really helped make the trip even better- affording us better rest, to save time and to make it to the pass on a much better (sunny) day. Gelu was also very good at crisis management- I had issues with my knee, did not manage to get a raincoat for the trek and a friend really struggled. Gelu was incredibly patient and helpful with all of us.

Nurbu as well, with better experience would be a good guide.

The porters were all amazing and incredibly helpful, even with/ without the luggage being carried.

The trip was very well organized. The whole process of communication with Raisa and payment process before the trip was very easy. Raisa picked the best itinerary for our short four days stay in Jordan. Our guides were very professional and knowledgeable. Drivers were very polite and courteous. Hotels and bedouin camp which Raisa picked for us were very good, provided great service.

Booking our trip on kimkim was extremely simple and convenient. We were connected to Ngima right away, and he was professional and attentive all the way through. Everything that we experienced prior to the trip was easy, smooth, and enjoyable.

The trip itself was rather disappointing because our guide failed time and time again to do his job properly. He seemed entirely unfamiliar with the region of Nepal that we trekked through and depended on our porter to do a number of things that he should have been able to do: lead us on our walks, correctly identify and name the mountains we saw, get us to the right tea houses at the end of each day, etc. Certainly we felt like we had been ripped off given the amount of money that we'd paid for our guide's expertise, but the bigger problem was that his incompetence led to some uncomfortable and frustrating problems -- one of them being a rather serious problem when he'd failed to inform us that there were no bottles of water for sale in the whole Ghorepani region (an endeavor to cut down on plastic waste). Had our guide briefed us on this, we could have purchased bottles of water on our way to Ghorepani, or at the very least, we would have known to save our empty bottles to fill up with filtered water. However, we were never advised on this matter, so we simply threw away our bottles assuming we'd be able to buy more. Needless to say, we felt outraged and panicked when we realized that we hadn't been sufficiently briefed, and that we didn't have any bottles for collecting water to get through the evening and the next day's walk. This made it crystal clear that our guide hadn't done his "homework" to prepare for a trek in a part of Nepal that he was unfamiliar with. (We also felt that Ngima should have advised us about the water situation in Ghorepani. The packing list that he shared did not indicate reusable water bottles as a must. It noted that we'd be able to buy bottles of water along the way, which led us to believe that there was no need to bring our own bottles at all. Given the situation at Ghorepani, Ngima really should have equipped us with better advice.)

There was one other incident concerning our guide that really frustrated and disappointed us. He had arranged to pick us up at our hotel in Pokhara at 2:00PM to take us to the airport for our 3:15PM flight to Kathmandu. We waited 30 minutes for his arrival, and then arranged our own ride to the airport when he still hadn't shown up by 2:30PM. We were terribly anxious for that whole half hour as we didn't want to miss the flight back to Kathmandu since we had an international flight to jump on from there. It was bad enough that we had to arrange and pay for transportation that the trip provider should have covered (we found this truly outrageous), but we really couldn't believe how irresponsible our guide had been. A guide should never make his clients feel so worried.

All in all, we are shocked and disappointed that this was the experience we paid for. In truth, we would like to be refunded the money that we paid to have a guide.

Needless to say, we cannot recommend Ngima's company, Nepal Myths and Mountain Trails.

Our trip in Columbia was wonderful. great country, very safe. We had exceptional experience with Aventura Columbia. The organization of the trip was impeccable.
The only bad part was flying with Avianca. All flight we took in Columbia were delayed.