Kimkim Trip Reviews

The trip was very well organized and we were in good hands. The trek did seem longer than it needed to be... we had a lot of free time on our hands.

Bjorn was amazing and the trip was fantastic. There was only one small issue on the first day. We went to Blue Lagoon from the airport, which worked out great. The issue was that the bus dropped us at Bus Stop #6 and we had no idea where we were or where our apartment rental was from that stop. After talking with a few people, we did eventually reach the apartment. The communication was just poor from the bus driver. After our pickup on September 24, we realized that we probably should have gone to the bus depot and had a smaller bus take us to our rental. Other than this, our trip was fantastic and we are so thankful that Bjorn did such a great job. Our evening "Hunting for the Northern Lights" was wonderful and the fact that the owner/driver brought a photographer with him, so the pictures are amazing.

We had a tight budget and were exploring different options to see what best fit our interests and budget for our Cape Town & Kruger Park Safari. Howard was extremely patient and helpful with suitable recommendations. Overall, it was a generally fuss free and enjoyable process.

"Nearly" perfect. Excellent response time with questions and generally a wonderful experience. A few tiny quibbles include a steep, gravel road not being adequately acknowledged in the itinerary, and a couple of aspects that seemed cut and pasted from other itineraries (to other parts of the country) rather than specific to my itinerary. But really, my complaints, a couple of months later, pale in comparison to how great the trips was for my son and me.

Preeti was so responsive to every question and concern. It was a pleasure working with her!

Our guide was amazing and everything was very simple to set up

We had a really great time in Colombia last October. The trip was adjusted to meet our various requests prior to departure, and everything was perfectly organized once there (visits, drivers, hotels...). We would recommend KimKim and Marine without hesitation. Thanks again!

We had an amazing trekking in the Everest region.

Our guide was a real care taking person, so he was not only guiding us the way, but made the whole trip a really good experience. When one of us was not feeling well he helped to make the trip as best as possible (changing the itinerary a bit). It felt like an all inclusive trip :).
Also the porter was amazing, seeing us struggling in some parts he was helping us to get up, even though he carried all of our luggage.

The views on this trek were the best we ever had, on all days it was spectacular: stupa's, mountains, lovely villages, rivers, bridges, etc. We also loved our acclimatisation day from Namche up to the Everest hotel. The monastery in Tengboche is also very impressive to visit. Also all view points were worth it: Kala Pathar, Gokyo lakes, Gokyo Ri, Cho La pass.

Nathalie was extremely responsive and our holiday went incredibly smoothly. The guides and activities we did were really high quality and we had a fantastic trip, in large part because of the well organized trip and recommendations we got from Nathalie. The only thing I would have changed is the booking of our flights, which had to be changed due to the strike. These were not booked immediately and therefore the price went up again. However, this is fairly minor as we appreciate that those were unusual circumstances. We otherwise found the service to be very responsive and easily facilitated through Kimkim.

Marco was disorganized and did not have your stereotypical tour guide personality. He constantly couldn't answer basic questions like "what do locals eat" or "what church are we touring?" Then there was no one waiting for us when we arrived at the airport in Lalibela. I was expecting to book a LOCAL guide, but all the places we were taken to in Addis Ababa were what we would call "tourist traps" - buffet dinner for tour groups and shopping stops for major tour companies. Definitely not what we signed up for!

I didn't enjoy Addis Ababa, but the local guide in Lalibela was great.

I have been traveling internationally all my life, and have been to 50+ countries and counting. In my experience, there are 2 kinds of tour companies - the big bus kind, where everything is regimented - you stay at hotels and eat at restaurants that cater to tours, and are given a strictly regimented, one-size-fits-all itinerary, where you get picked up and bused around all day, passively being fed information by a guide who recites factoids over a microphone at each known tourist spot, and gives you 10-15 minutes to wander around on your own before hustling you back on the bus to head to the next spot. Then there are the kind that offer tours that cater to your specific interests and needs. Where they ask you what kinds of things you’re interested in doing, and find ways to make that happen. I’ve done the former when traveling with my first-generation, elderly parents who really like the comfort of having everything handled for them when they’re on holiday, and who don’t mind tourist traps at all, but when I’m on my own or with friends, I always guide/explore myself or opt for the latter.

This October, my friend and I wanted to go to Ethiopia, among other places in East Africa,and thought with a tagline like “book unique trips, customized to your needs, with the help of reliable local travel specialists,” Kimkim would provide us with a guide or guides in the know who would not only be able to show us the top sights, but give us a true taste of local culture. Unfortunately for us, Kimkim did not deliver, despite being backed by former TripAdvisor top dogs and having strong reviews, which I now am firmly convinced were all fake reviews written by friends and family. In fact, what we had with Kimkim was the worst of all worlds - we neither had the comfort/security of a big bus tour where everything runs like clock work, nor anything one could say was unique in any way other than uniquely poorly planned.

Marco was our local Kimkim liaison. He was incredibly responsive during the booking phase, but that’s where that ended.

We booked a 3.5 day tour in Ethiopia through Kimkim, planning to spend the first half-day and last day in Addis Ababa and the intervening 2 days in Lalibela. Marco was going to guide us in Addis Ababa, and hand us off to someone else in Lalibela.

I was upset pretty much from the minute we landed in Addis Ababa. Here’s why. Apparently, a few weeks before we arrived, Ethiopia enacted new laws requiring people to register mobile phones at the airport when entering the country in an effort to combat counterfeit phones. Marco did not think to alert us of this. In fact, my friend only found out from him just before we boarded our flight to Addis because she planned to get a Sim card in Ethiopia and was asking him about it. He did not tell me or tell her to tell me, and we assumed I did not need to do it because my phone is not unlocked and therefore I was not eligible to get a local Sim card anyway. So imagine my surprise when I cleared customs and exited the airport, only to have Marco tell me that he thought maybe I might have to register my phone even just to use WiFi and that I should try to go back into the airport and do it. Ethiopia, however, is very strict about airport security, and does not allow anyone who has already exited the airport to simply reenter. In this day and age, where everyone has a mobile phone and often relies on it for work - which both of us were having to do to some degree while in Ethiopia - we did not understand how a local specialist would not think this was extremely pertinent information to share with all visitors. Suffice to say we felt we had gotten off on the wrong foot.

Our flight was delayed 20 minutes, and it was around 2 when we wrapped up at the airport, and we were starved. So we asked about local snack foods. But were told that Ethiopians don’t have any snacks. We did eventually end up at a juice bar getting fresh juice that was quite lovely, but we found it impossible to believe that there were no uniquely Ethiopian snack options at all.

Then we were supposed to do an afternoon city tour. We were taken to Trinity Cathedral where the last emperor, Haile Selassie, is entombed. According to Lonely Planet, this is the second-most important place of worship in the entire country of Ethiopia. As of today, TripAdvisor ranks it #4 of all things to do in Addis Ababa. In short, it’s a pretty significant stop for any visitor to Addis Ababa, not to mention important to locals. As we were walking up, I asked Marco how old it was. He said he did not know and that the deacon would probably be able to tell us. We were pretty stunned. Neither of us had ever had a local guide who did not know such basics about key monuments. And because the deacon could not speak much English, and our so-called local guide could not speak more than a few words of the local language (!!!), we basically spent a few minutes walking quickly around the cathedral in near silence, taking pictures of interesting looking things.

After we left the cathedral, we sat in the car for several minutes because we apparently had an hour to kill before dinner and Marco did not know what to do with us in the interim. It got to the point where we were throwing out suggestions - “What about taking us where you might take your friends or family when they come to visit? Are there any monuments? Parks? Cafes? Art galleries?” At the word, “gallery,” Marco perked up and said he knew of a place. So we relaxed, thinking we were going to see some local art. But it turned out that the “gallery” was one of those cheesy souvenir shops on the big bus tours routes, where they follow you around and try to sell you everything for a “good price.”

Finally, we escaped and headed to dinner. We were excited for our first real meal in Ethiopia. Also, Marco had told us we would see a traditional coffee ceremony and traditional dances being performed there. We wound up at… a big bus tour restaurant with a giant Ethiopian airlines mural on the outside and an Ethiopian airlines model plane suspended from the ceiling. We were greeted with, “are you with a [tour] company?” And we learned Marco hadn’t even made reservations for us. Then we saw other big group tours ordering a la carte food to be brought out so their guests could at least enjoy them served in a traditional way, but we were directed to a long buffet that literally had fake pictures of fire taped along the side. The traditional dancers were dressed in far from traditional neon dress. And the traditional coffee ceremony girl sat around looking bored and annoyed and talking on her mobile phone. Ultimately, we were told there would not be a coffee ceremony after all and that we could catch one at Lalibela. The only saving grace was that the food was actually quite good, despite being served in a big bus tour cafeteria with zero ambience. Because we had to leave for the airport before 6 am the next day, before we were dropped off at our hotel, we asked Marco to please send us the name and contact information for our Lalibela guide so we could know who to look for when we landed. But that never happened.

When we landed in Lalibela, we walked around the tiny arrivals area outside searching for signs with our names. Nothing. Then we pulled out the only itinerary Marco had provided us to see if there was a company or hotel name on it. All it said was “Accommodations - Lalibela Lodge or similar.” Everyone else on our flight had been scooped up by their respective guides and hotel shuttles and was long gone. We were literally the only people left standing at the airport, and were desperately trying to make use of the WiFi signal emanating from the baggage claim area to contact Marco as they started locking up the airport - it appeared that there was only our one flight coming in at that time - and yelling at us to move along. Reps from other tour companies and hotels were milling around us, trying to offer their help in getting to town or finding our tour company or hotel. They kept asking, understandably, “what is the name of your hotel? What is the name of your tour company?” But that was not information we had ever been given despite having asked for it.

Eventually, our driver came. And to be honest, from that point on, aside from one additional snafu with how the meals that were supposed to be included were paid for, our time in Lalibela was great. We had a legitimate local guide take us around the churches that Lalibela is famous for. He had grown up in Lalibela, had worshipped at these churches his entire life, and was a fount of knowledge about their history, the art displayed in them, and the practices. We mentioned having missed out on the coffee ceremony in Addis Ababa and wanting to try local tej (honey) wine, and he made sure both happened during our short time in Lalibela. So, to be completely fair and give credit where credit is due, we were really happy with our Lalibela experience.

We returned to spend our last day in Ethiopia with Marco in Addis Ababa. We really hoped that things would improve. And to be fair, in some regards it did seem as though he was genuinely trying, but just falling short. We went to lunch, and then to get coffee at a famous local spot. Marco then mentioned he had remembered an Ethiopian snack called Kola, but when my friend asked if we could try it, he said he would think about it and never followed through. As it turns out, we saw Kola at the airpot as we were leaving the next day - it is like a nut mix that you would be able to buy in any supermarket or gas station. Then we went to Mount Entoto to see city views from a high point and visit another significant church, which I now know is the Maryam Church, but which Marco could not even tell us the name of even as he was taking us there to see it. When we asked him the name, he told us it was probably on the sign. Then when we got to the museum attached to the church, instead of waiting for the museum guide, he hurried us around, pointing to things and making very obvious but fairly meaningless remarks like, “this is a crown.”

Then he took us to a market filled with 300+ stalls that mostly sold identical looking traditional Ethiopian dresses but had no recommendations as to which stalls were better than others, so we gave up after a short while and moved on… to a juice bar, where he had invited a friend to meet him. Which would have been OK with us, except that the friend apparently was unable to find the place, so Marco got up, ostensibly to go help her, and left us sitting alone in the juice bar for 20 minutes, wondering if we had been abandoned and should try to make our way back to our hotel on our own. Then, Marco tried to take us to the wrong hotel despite us having told him a number of times, including at his request, where we were staying the last night since we were responsible for booking our own place for the last night.

In sum, with the exception of Lalibela (post airport arrival trauma, of course), we felt that our overall experience with Kimkim was incredibly sub-par and disappointing and left us feeling like we had been sold a false bill of goods. We paid over $1000 pp for less than 4 full days (with Kimkim pocketing 5%) because we were promised we would have local specialist with in-depth knowledge of Ethiopia take care of all the details, and what we got for our money was no better, and likely much worse, than if we had just booked directly with the local guides in Lalibela and tried to muddle through Addis Ababa alone with a copy of Lonely Planet and the TripAdvisor app. Which is honestly what I urge everyone considering Kimkim to do instead. I cannot in good conscience recommend this company to anyone after the time we had.

Guide, transport and tours were excellent. Accommodation was not on good in couple of places.

No trip halfway around the world could ever be perfect. If you want perfect, maybe go to Monaco, not Nepal. I started working online with Kimkim in the early spring of 2017 to book a trip for my family to Nepal with no prior knowledge of where to go or how to get it done. The Kimkim website first impressed me with the large number of trekking options available. It was a bit overwhelming to the Nepal novice, but as I exchanged information with Mads at Kimkim, he patiently helped me come up with an itinerary. My family of 5 wanted to combine trekking and sightseeing during our trip. All of us are in reasonably good physical condition, but we came with no real experience with hardcore trekking, mountain climbing, high altitude activities, etc. Kimkim built a trip plan that took all of this into account, along with our preferences for lodging along the way.

We just got back from our trip and all of us agree that Kimkim delivered on everything we asked for. To start with, the guides assigned to our family were outstanding. These were some very smart, impressive people. They taught us a lot about Nepal and made a huge difference in overall experience. Every step of the way, the local people assigned to my family were attentive, patient and friendly. We really couldn’t have asked for more.

I’ll be honest, the trekking was close to the limits of what we could handle, but that is not a complaint. We expected hiking around Nepal to be physically demanding and strenuous and it most certainly was. If you’re not in good physical condition, you need to be very thoughtful about signing up for this type of activity. The trekking route we took in the Khumbu region was physically challenging, often dangerous and busy with other people (and animals) headed in both directions. We loved every minute of it. A fascinating, beautiful place. My aching knees (get trekking poles) and altitude-induced headaches were a small price to pay for the experience. At the end of our 5 day trekking schedule, we were tired, sore, cold and sorry that it was over. I would have gladly gone on for another 5 days (assuming my knees held up). Great, great, great experience.

Back in Kathmandu, our guide took us to more amazing places than I can remember to wrap up our trip. It really was an almost perfect combination of trekking and cultural experience. I give Kimkim full credit for putting it all together for us.

It seems trivial to bitch about anything after such a great experience, but if you need proof I’m not an employee of the company, here is our list of grievances:
- We weren’t fully prepared for the possibility of flight delays getting out of Kathmandu into the mountains. It’s not that Kimkim didn’t warn us, we just didn’t pay much attention. We spent the better part of a day waiting for a flight because of bad weather. That was not fun. If I had it to do over again, I would either add another day or two to the trip to allow for this possibility or talk to Kimkim about hiring a helicopter to ensure you’ll get to your destination on time. Lesson learned.
- There’s no heat and often no hot water in the sleeping rooms, even in the more upscale lodges we booked. You realize pretty quickly that this is not unusual for Nepal. Bring the warm clothes Kimkim suggests and you’ll be fine. It wasn’t a big deal for me, but other members of the family were a bit more put off by this. You won’t always be comfortable, so just be prepared (thermal underwear helps a lot).
- Electricity is not easy to deliver to many places in Nepal, so it is generally dimly lit and downright dark in most of the place you’ll go. Bring your own lighting for reading if you think this will bother you.
- If a lodge advertises they have Wi-Fi Internet service, it doesn’t mean much. They may not have it at all or it may not be working when you arrive. You may go for several days without being able to contact friends and family back home. Just be prepared for this and unplug from the grid for a few days. Character-building. 
- Walking around Kathmandu is stressful. Some fun-loving Nepali decided it would be fun to run his motorcycle up the back of my leg a few times to mess with the tourist. I was not amused, but I kept myself under control (barely) and let him pass. You’ll need to be prepared for the chaos and traffic jams in Kathmandu and embrace them as part of the overall experience. There’s no avoiding it and it’s not a reason to stay in your hotel. Just get your game face on.

A few other comments: The food was great, we didn’t get sick, the people were generally very friendly and courteous, the airport is a bit of a hot mess and the prices are all cheap to very reasonable.

If you’re thinking of going to Nepal for the first time, all I can suggest is get yourself in good shape, practice being patient, bring all the cash you think you’ll need with you (don’t rely on ATM machines, credit cards generally worked fine) and use Kimkim to book your trip. They did a fantastic job for us and we can recommend them without any reservations.

Great trip and once-in-a-lifetime experience. Thank you Mads, Pasang, Rajive and Raj. I hope to book another trip with you someday in the future.

We wouldn't have changed a thing, except maybe that I lost the sole of my shoe five minutes into hiking!! Ha No but seriously, everything was perfect. Raj, Anura and team really put together a trip that included a little bit of everything, which truly gave us a clear taste and feel of Nepal. They were able to put together a full and comprehensive trip for us within our week timeframe, and I couldn't be more grateful!! We love Nepal!!! And I'll definitely be using KimKim for future trip planning!!!

Raj was always responsive and even downloaded a Marco Polo app so that we could communicate better, since our timezones were so different, which was very helpful. He was great from the beginning on and was very patient will all my million questions and worries. He was really great!!!

Wonderful, wonderful experience, booking was seamless and easy. The entire trip was absolutely just amazing. The service was top notch, the equipment was top notch and I have made new friends. There truly is not enough nice things I can say about Quechua Treks and James. This was an amazing trip. The food was excellent as well. I am already in the process of booking several other trips through kimkim and Quechua Treks.

James is amazing. Perfect communication and kept in contact. I'm actually not sure he ever sleeps because he answered every question I had promptly and I work nights!!!!

We loved Elephant Pass yoga retreat! The yoga, people, food were incredible. Wonderful adventure. Samon was excellent tour guide in Kerala/Cochin. He was always on time, spoke English well and took us to a beautiful shop. We met many kind people on the houseboat. Everything was perfect, making for a great first impression of India. Thank you.

Several accommodations were outstanding - Palazzo Failla Hotel in Monica and Hotel Olympia in Venice were great and exceeded out expectations. However, the hotel in Catania, Hotel Alla Giudecca was in a good location but was pretty "spartan" and dark; the kitchenette for our purposes was unnecessary. The hotel in Catania, Hotel Etna 316, was also only marginally acceptable. Again it was in a good, central location. Problems include: it had poor air conditioning; our room was literally connected to the breakfast dining area and was noisy; the host who greeted us, Marco, was rude and obnoxious, and instead of answering our basic questions about the neighborhood, safety, etc, he felt compelled to brag about himself and avoid answering our questions. Also, somewhat curiously, they demanded to hold our room key at the front desk when we went out.
The tour guide in Siracusa, Eva Greco, was outstanding and should always be recommended for her knowledge and personality. Our guide in Venice, Fiona Giusto was also very solid.
The transports to hotels and back to the airport were also very dependable, calling the hotels to remind/confirm our departure times.
One of the highlights of the trip was wine tasting and lunch at Cantina Planeta Buonovini. They had a great presentation, excellent wines, and a great lunch in an outdoor setting.

Giorgia was very responsive to the several questions we had while on the trip, and sent reminder messages to us about tour times and connections. Her choices for accommodations and tour guides were, overall, excellent.

There were several mishaps in the execution of the trip which weren't Preeti's fault and she was willing and able to help us make the best out of these situations

One of the best trips I've had arranged with an agent and I've done +20 agent coordinated trips. Impressed with Kimkim from top to bottom.

It was an excellent trip by Ngima and his team. We had one day that was less than perfect due to our guide (Tshering) under estimating our hiking time (5 hours vs 12 hours) which led to a challenging and over strenuous day. Other than that the entire trip was excellent, including the two porters (Lale - excellent; Bikram - good).

We booked quite late, but some of the things between Kim Kim, Experience Jordan, and the driver were not so clear; although things were always resolved quickly.

Good advice on the trip, and how to best allocate time.

It was definitely an amazing trip. Except for Day 4, the continuous trek, which could have been split. We walked/hiked/climbed down for almost 12 hours that day and it is quite possible that the time extends considering most of us are not professional climbers. Rest everything was really very good. I thank social tours for our guide Robin who was so courteous and well mannered throughout. Thank you Team kimkim for making this happen for me. Cheers!