Kimkim Trip Reviews

Halldor was a treat to work with. He was very professional and took into consideration all the aspects we discussed with him. We booked a 2 week extensive trip all around Iceland.

I cannot look back onto our trip and think of a single thing we missed out on aside for some roads being inaccessible due to weather. With Halldor's help we experienced the best Iceland had to offer for the money.

We will definitely use Halldor's assistance again.

Everything about my KimKim experience was flawless, our planner Catia understood exactly the type of trip we were looking for, and booked us with guides that provided a unique experience in the Azores. When problems arose due to inclement weather, plans had to be canceled, bookings refunded, and other arrangements made, on the spot. This was all done seamlessly.

Thank you to Carmen who facilitated our first trip to Jordan. It eased our apprehensions knowing we have transports and guides to assist us in a foreign land. The recommendations to stay at the Wadi Rum Luxury Night camp, and accesss to the Dead Sea at Dead Sea Spa Hotel —spot on! The Backdoor hike to Petra’s Monastery from little Petra— incredible ! We are also grateful to our guide, Ibrahim whose personality and character, stands out amongst the many we have met.
Thank you again. Hope to be back soon.

The hotels were outstanding. The guides did a good job in Hanoi and Saigon. They tried very hard to make us happy. The Cycle team was OUTSTANDING....the Bikes were new and the electric assist is a must! I would recommend this to anyone thinking of doing a Vietnam bike trip. Food selections gave us a real mix of Vietnam food, WE loved the trip!!!!!

We had a fantastic trip! - Thanks so much to Amanda, Pemba and Nima for all their support and looking after us before and during the trip. The trek was spectacular -in particular, watching the sunrise at Muldai point! The planning and logistics when we were there, were seamless. I would highly recommend Himalayan Trails!

We had a marvellous time. Our driver Kalika was exceptionally capable at managing everything, driving us safely even in busy and awkward traffic situations. The activities planned by Sandun were perfect giving us all the interests we requested. We saw amazing trees, rocks, fungi and wildlife and have some marvellous photos along with great memories.

For me the stand-out activity was Sinharaja National Park with the park guide being extremely knowledgeable on plant species and growth habits of flora. A close second was the visit to Horton Plains, the Botanic Garden in Kandy and the tea plantations and factory visit.

We also enjoyed the sunrise at Galle with a lighthouse, crows and monks making it special.

My wife and I just returned from an incredible month in Vietnam and Cambodia. What an incredible blend of culture, history and cuisine. We are recently retired and have always been fiercely independent travelers. I pride myself on my research and trip planning, but being Vietnam, we decided to get some local help.

After reading the positive reviews, we selected Kim Kim as our travel platform. They put us in touch with Andy Carroll, the Vietnam expert and the process was flawless. Andy was very responsive and answered all my emails promptly. He put together a proposed itinerary and we worked together on selecting hotels, side trips, museums, cooking classes, etc.

Bottom line- 30 days, five internal air flights, one overnight train, one overnight boat, two countries, 10 cities and it was flawless! Every guide and driver showed up on time, the accommodations were truly 4 and 5 star, every mode of transportation was on schedule-- I don't think that would happen in the USA!

We are culture and history tourists and the guides Andy lined up were all superior. Incredible knowledge, fairly good but certainly passable English and true ambassadors to their country and their employer. Since we were a tour group of "two", they all went out of their way to ensure we had a fantastic and flexible holiday. The guides and drivers really made the trip!!

Using an internet travel company was a big leap of faith for me (would the guides show up, would the hotel have our reservation?) but I can report unequivocally, that KimKim is worth your trust.
And I am not a guy who lavishes praise easily!!

A fantastic trip to Jordan thanks to Carmen’s expertise and knowledge. It was busy but never too hectic as we saw the amazing sites. Wael, our driver and guide was easy going and friendly, as well as very punctual. He put some miles on that car shuttling us from Amman to Wadi Rum and back again! Petra of course had to be a highlight, just magical. I also loved the vastness and beauty of Wadi Rum and our friendly guide, Rashid. I think we may have been running out of energy towards the end, but I really enjoyed the Amman city tour and the fantastic city of Jerash. All in all just WOW! Thanks so much!
Mark N

My time on this hike was memorably concerning. The hike did not have enough guides. There were initially two guides and one person in the group paid for a private two day hike and so the second guide left the group. As a result there were five of us with one guide. Since I hiked at a slower pace than the others, the guide had to somehow make it work so that we all had support. Often times I was hiking several miles without any of my group members. This was quiet concerning -especially on the second day when it was rainy, and difficult to see anything and I was completely drenched in rain and shivering. It was a miracle that I made it to the group at some point-especially since I had to cross difficult terrain alone and without a guide a various points. Times that the guide did assist, he would insist that I could walk through raging rivers without assistance-which I could not and told him I could not. I argued several times with him about this. Additionally, when I was uncomfortable with cross the river by the use of a rickety zipline due to the landslide, I was told to shut up.

Additionally, I was told I had not paid for the emergency horse by the guide, however in this package it said this horse was already paid for. At the beginning of the hike, I had to pay money to get into the the park and according to this package I had already paid for everything. I also had to pay for breakfast. I don't understand why I had to pay additional fees throughout. It appears that KimKim and the hiking group that had been contracted failed to communicate information about the packages. Based off of information from the guide-it sounded as though I paid for the basic package not the full package inclusive of what is listed by KimKim.

Overall, this experience was not a good one. I would definitely not recommend this company to others as there were issues throughout and I had several dangerous issues during this hike without support and was treated rudely.

Great trip. Great guides. Better than we imagined. I'd do it again!

All was great-both the driver (Nema) and the guild(Lobzang) did as I asked. I like to see the real world so I tend to travel to places off the beaten path. They showed me the back places of your lovely country. Plan to return. The only mess up was the amount charged per day but Vishal explained the situation and all was straighten out. Well done to all that welcomed be to Bhutan.

Overall, very happy with Ang Gelu and Kunga. Both of them compliment each other, and they understood our trekking style.

Ang Gelu - Extremely patient person. Seriously, I can't tell you how many times I stopped during the first few days. He never left my side. Always trekking behind me at my pace. Sometimes slow and sometimes really fast. His stamina is spot on. It's evident he loves the mountains, the way he talks about them, later part of the trek. He made sure we got proper meals during the day and also made sure we ordered food that was good in that particular restaurants. Whatever that he felt we shouldn't be eating he lets us know. There were many times after the trek when we took naps before dinner, and he came to our rooms with the menu asking for our orders in advance so that we don't have to wait for the food for long. He also made sure we stopped for tea breaks in between. He never rushed us, never raised his voice. There was a rest day where the room we got was near the storeroom, and the entire night we had mice running around and in our bags. We did not get any sleep at all that night and thankfully it was a rest day. We told him about it in the morning, and he spoke to the owner and got us a new room. AWAY from the mice. Ever since then he made sure the rooms we got were never near a storeroom. A very kind soft-spoken man. He also makes sure Kunga is ok while trekking and even offered him gloves on the morning of the pass. I have to say the day of the pass was the most gruelling out of all the days. Being up there was beautiful. But while descending, Mattis and myself had slight altitude sickness and had massive headaches. When we stopped for lunch in the mountains, we took a short nap. He knew we were both exhausted and even though we might be getting late to get to the guesthouse, he never rushed us at all. He also offered to carry my pack, which I politely declined. I knew we were all exhausted from the day and I consider all of us a team :) We were one of the last few to get to the guesthouse before sunset. He's honestly a good Sherpa.

Kunga - He is seriously like a ninja. For such a small frame, I'm in awe of how much he can carry, trek fast and eat like a horse after all that! Honestly, he's so fast, that later on during the trek, Ang Gelu sends him ahead to make sure we get comfortable rooms in the guesthouse since there were many trekkers on the way. He would be waiting for us at the guesthouse with our bags in the rooms holding the keys. As Kunga English is limited, it was hard to speak to him, but Ang Gelu was our translated. Later we brought out the cards and Mattis, Kunga and Ang Gelu had a good time playing cards and breaking the ice. Especially with Kunga as he's really shy.

Few things: During our briefing in the hotel, we spoke about height sickness pills, and we were assured that Ang Gelu would be bringing them. We did not know he did not have any, a day before heading to Dharamsala. I don't think he realised that he should have brought some in case we needed them. We brought some just in case, but we also feel a Sherpa should carry some with him.

Also, we knew accommodation would be limited in Dharamsala (the night before the pass). What we didn't realise was that it was just enough tents for trekkers but sherpas and porters had to sleep in the main canteen. With no heat or beds. We only found out in the morning. Even with such conditions, the Sherpas and porters still had their game face on early in the morning making sure their clients had breakfast and hot water before starting the trek. The Sherpa and the porters work the hardest, and somehow they did not even have proper sleeping beds to rest. We heard Dharamsala would be building a guesthouse eventually, but we hope in the meantime, that Sherpas and porters have comfortable sleeping areas so that they too can adequately rest a day before the pass.

We also notice they don't eat together with their clients. Not sure if this is a cultural thing. There were a few times both Ang Gelu and Kunga dined with us, but most of the time it's after we retire to bed. Sometimes Ang Gelu sends Kunga to have dinner first while he stays and waits for us to finish meal regardless of how long we take. Mattis and I would have been happy to have dinner together with Ang Gelu and Kunga after a whole day of trekking. We assume it could also be that they would want to have dinner together with their fellow Sherpas and porters. Which makes sense as well.

All in all, we had such a fabulous time doing the Manaslu trek. It's a beautiful route that changes every day. We had a great time with Ang Gelu and Kunga that once we got back to Kathmandu, we met them the next day for lunch. Will recommend your company to future trekkers for sure. A professional and competent team of Sherpas and porters.

Thank you Ngima for arranging this for us from start to finish. A special heartfelt thanks to Ang Gelu and Kunga for making this a trek that we will never forget. Great company with plenty of memories to last a lifetime.

Weather was terrible for five and one half days. The trip back from Vic on the last day was beautiful as were the beaches, waterfalls and glaciers along the way. Our last night we got to see the northern lights. Food the whole trip was great. We enjoyed all the hotels.

I am so thankful to have used KimKim for my trip to Peru and have Stephanie as my local specialist. We had only 7 days to explore Lima, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Pichu and Stephanie made it all fit perfectly. Every detail was figured out, which was such a relief because travel between these sites requires multiple forms of transport -- from arrival at the airport to departure from the trip we had train tickets or buses tickets or private drivers waiting for us at each leg. She made sure all of our tours had excellent English speakers (on later legs of my travel that I planned on my own, I quickly learned how varied English capabilities can be and how difficult it can be to determine the quality of English of the guides without local knowledge of the companies). Every tour/driver/guide we worked with were incredibly professional, punctual, polite, kind and helpful. Stephanie was readily available when we had a minor payment issue at one hotel and took care of it. I can't say enough about our experience traveling with KimKim and Stephanie! Thank you! You truly took the stress out of travel and made a wonderful, memorable experience for me and my brother!

Amanda was really helpful and flexible with our change in plans. I was so busy in the run up to the holiday that it was great to have someone else taking care of all the details. Our guide Mingmar was very experienced and professional (hugely overqualified for taking us up a 4000m peak which for Nepal is no more than a hill...) and the views were spectacular.

The whole trip was fantastic and thanks Erin for putting me in touch with Amanda!

Amanda (with Himalayan Trails) was very helpful throughout the trek coordination process. She had timely replies, good advice, and helped me suss through all the many options for my Nepal hiking experience. Plus, she made the time to meet me in Kathmandu before I left with my guide. I'll strongly consider booking my next trek with Himalayan Trails.

Nathalia was awsome. Very responsive to my particular requests, available for issues, great suggestions, knowledgeable about Colombia, and planned a trip that was very easy.

We had a fantastic memorable holiday experience in Norway. Both Tromso and Malangen were stunningly beautiful. The trips and the guides were excellent; we loved the dog sledding and the overnight Sami experience. The holiday was both adventurous and cultural; learning about the Sami people was fascinating and the environment and scenery were amazing.

We were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights on two occasions, both in Tromso., which is quite an experience!

We are very grateful to Linda, who arranged our holiday for us, she did a great job! The accommodation and food were first class.

We will be recommending kimkim to our friends. Thank you for a memorable experience.

We took months to plan our trip and Amanda was patient and quick to reply to any question we had. Once we arrived in Kathmandu, everything was taken care of. Our guide and porter, father and son duo Mingma and his son Darje really went out of their way to take care of us during the entire trip. The Khopra Danda community Trek allowed us to visit many local villages, with Mingma and Darje explaining the local custom, we learnt so much about Nepal. We are very impressed with Himalayan Trails as a tour company, even the staff members who picked us up at the airport or hotel were very professional and friendly. If we decide to go on another trekking tour in the future, we will not hesitate to travel with them again.

Mark and I had a great trip thanks to Carmen and the travel team she organized for our time in Jordan. Everything went as planned and the sights and schedule of activities exceeded our expectations.
I will definitely recommend Kimkim to my friends and will be using Kimkim for my upcoming trips.
Thank you very much!