Kimkim Trip Reviews for Italy

Great help putting our trip together. We had some requests like bird watching and cheese making and Maria set it all up. Everything was seamless, which meant more time to enjoy the trip.

Andrea was so very patient and accommodating with us from day one. In the end, we wound up with the perfect trip from the pick up at the airport in Rome to the drop off in Venice. The hotels, drivers and tour guides were all fantastic. Rome, Maria Paola took us around and showed us everything including the perfect gelato place. In Florence, Simonea was incredible and we learned so much from her. Alessandro, our driver to Pisa went out of his way to show us the most beautiful spot in Venice and even recommended a great place for dinner back near our hotel. In Venice, Enrico showed us all around Doge’s Palace and went as far as the jails. The trip was impressively perfectly planned and can’t wait to go on another.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Fellini

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Roma

Florence

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Ca' Pozzo Inn

Venice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Rome Private Guided Walk

Rome

Maria Paola was our guide who was just fantastic. She was with us for 3 days. You can tell she loves what she does

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel - private guide

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel skip the line ticket (with guide)

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum & Roman Forum skip the line ticket

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Colosseum and Roman Forum - Private guide

Rome

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence private guided walk including Accademia Gallery

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Pisa guided walk

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Jewels of Venice (St. Mark & Doge Palace)

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Everything about our trip was truly "Perfecto!" Irene was very responsive throughout the entire planning process and created exactly the itinerary that we wanted. We spent 2 nights in Venice, 3 in Florence and 2 in Rome. I was so impressed with every tour guide. Each and every one was so professional and so knowledgeable. I loved the personal nature of our tours being just for our group of 3 or a very small group. The personal and friendly nature of these tours made each day a joy! I can see how having a good guide to show the highlights of Florence and the Uffizi galleries is extremely important. The Tuscany wine trip was also very enjoyable as we toured with three other couples. It was wonderful to get to know people from all over the world. We were also extremely pleased with our hotels in each city. The location of each one was close enough to the action to make it easy to walk to many places, but quiet enough to feel relaxed. Each hotel had a local feeling and also with all the amenities you would expect in a 4 star hotel. And the breakfasts...fantastic! All of our transportation went off without a hitch thanks to all of the arrangements by Irene. We are so thankful for Irene and the beautiful trip that she arranged for us. We would definitely use KimKim again in the future!

Hotel Review

Hotel Santa Maria Novella

Florence

Extremely beautiful, artistic decor. Old world feeling with all the modern conveniences. Probably my favorite hotel of my trip. Front desk very helpful. Location is perfect on Santa Maria Piazza.

Authenticity & Character

The decor is beautiful and very historic feeling.

Location

Love being able to see the Santa Maria Novella church from our window. Wonderful piazza area - not too busy - just right!

Staff

Very helpful front desk - excellent help with restaurants.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds very comfortable.

Activity Reviews

Venice Private Evening Stroll with Gondola

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Guided Tour

Rome

Thank goodness this tour was a skip the line tour. You should try to do the tour that is in the morning before it opens. Our tour guide, Barbara, was very good, but the whole experience would have been even better in the morning. It just didn't work out for our timeline. Do the morning tour if you can get it!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So knowledgeable!

Trastevere Afternoon Aperitivo & Food Tour

Rome

This evening was super fun! Our guide, Ali, was so knowledgeable and fun - we enjoyed each stop. Great food and nice to be in this old part of Rome. Definitely recommend!

My mom and I had the absolute BEST time! We kept saying throughout the trip how amazing everything Alberto arranged for us was! I gave him a vague idea of what we wanted and some feedback and he created the perfect trip. Our personal tour guide, Pedro, in Florence was great! We learned so much and had a nice stroll through the city. The hotel in Florence was the perfect location. Right on a less busy square with a rooftop terrace with wine and snackes. The winery in Chianti was magical. It's like it's own little village. There is one restaurant on the property and a wine bar that has food as well. We did tour into the cellars and then had a four course meal paired with wines. It was amazing. We think our favorite was the wine experience on the Amalfi coast at Le Vigne di Raito. The owner was so lovely and inspiring! It was really cool to see the workings of the small vineyard after being at the large winery. The drivers were all phenomenal and went above and beyond to make sure we were taken care of and knew where we were going.
Alberto stayed in touch with us throughout the trip. I had so much confidence that he would be able to help us if we had any issues.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Palazzo Guadagni

Florence

Amazing location with extremely kind staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Castello di Fonterutoli

Fonterutoli, Siena

Beautiful remote location! Perfect for a relaxing few days. The staff at the onsite restaurant and wine bar were so kind! They made us feel so welcomed!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Floridiana

Amalfi

The location of this hotel is right in the heart of Amalfi! It was perfect. It was a little chilly while we are there but there is a beautiful rooftop where guests can relax. The staff was so kind and the breakfast was in this charming room with great food.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Guided Walking Tour of Florence

Florence

Pedro was so great! He was extremely knowledgeable. I am so happy Alberto suggested this. It was a very cool way to see the city.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We just walked down the steps of our hotel and he was there!

Wine & Food Experience in the Tuscan Countryside

Italy

The cellar was amazing! Unlike anything I have ever seen. The food pairing at the Osteria was delicious. I was expecting a light lunch, not a four course meal with wine pairings! It was delicious.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Wine Tasting and Lunch in Amalfi Coast

Italy

This was our favorite experience! It was just the two of us and the small staff on the vineyard. The owner cooked us a delicious meal and her guide was knowledgeable. The views were beautiful!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Overall, the experience was excellent. Elena and Kim Kim did a great job planning out travels, every thing worked out smoothly in regards to transportation, all the drivers and tour guides were on time.

Venice
We arrived into Venice in the morning from an overnight flight, we were really tired from travels. We went to our hotel and the front desk notified us that rooms would not be ready till afternoon. Admit that the hotel in Venice was not the original hotel Elena had suggested, it was a hotel we found on our own. Overall the hotel and location was great, but wish the front desk would have just told us to go and tour the city and come back as we waited for several hours for the room. When we got our keys to the room, the house service was still cleaning the tub. This was probably the only hiccup, otherwise, our tour guide Natasha was great, we enjoyed the city, Gondola Ride, and the tour of St. Mark's Basilica and the Doge Palace, a great site to see!

Tuscany
We stayed in agritourism at San Leonino in Siena. The hotel and views were great!! This was a our headquarters as we went and toured the area of Tuscany, went to cheese farm and Wine tasting in Montepulciano. Tuscany is a beautiful place. On our free day, we loved our driver from the day before (Silvia) and hired her to take us on a day trip to Florence, which was great she showed us pretty much all the highlights of Florence!

Amalfi Coast
We stayed in Positano, due to weather, we had to reschedule our itinerary. Initially were scheduled for a day trip to Capri Island with a private boat tour around the island. However, the boat group had to cancel it and we were also scheduled for a sunset cruise which was also cancelled. It was surprisingly sunny and weather was overall okay, but due to wind currents for the first few days we were there did not go on the cruise. Elena and her team notified us while we were on the Train in advance and kept us updated throughout the trip. Since the private boat tour to Capri was cancelled, they made arrangements for transportation and a ferry to Capri Island from Sorrento, gave us a refund for the sunset cruise. This worked out well as we were also able to see Sorrento and enjoy the city, Capri Island was beautiful!

Rome
We were able to see the Colosseum, Roman Forum, Pantheon, Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and a private tour of the city with our tour guide. Before our trip, we had expressed that we wanted to see and spend time at the Vatican. We were there on the 6th before Good Friday, as the impression we were told that everything was booked on Good Friday. We were under the impression we would see the Basilica as well, however, our tour only included the Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel. This was initially disappointing as we thought the Basilica was included in the Vatican Tour. Rome is very hectic this time of the year, so everything did feel rushed. We expressed to our tour guide we did want to see the Basilica. She expressed to us that it was likely going to be closed the next day and our best chance to see it would be now, it was 530pm, she told us it would be open till 7pm, when we got into the line for the basilica, they did not let anyone in after 6pm. However, they said they would be open again tomorrow. Prior to booking our trip, we inquired about the possibility of attending mass on Good Friday. The Swiss Guard has the mass tickets so our best chance was to talk to them when were there. As expected, there was of course no mass tickets available. Luckily, the next day we had scheduled a Free Day for Good Friday for the chance to attend mass and maybe catch the pope. We came back the next day early morning to stand in line, entering the Basilica is free for everyone which we were not aware. We had a very pleasant experience in the Basilica as it was early morning and only few people were there, as my wife is Catholic, this was an amazing experience for her. We took our time around the Basilica, were able to do some prayers as well. Also, the top of the Basilica, the Cupola has tickets available to purchase. They did close the basilica at Noon in preparation for evening mass, we thought we could at least stand outside and watch from the monitors, as we were satisfied from the morning. We spent the day hanging out, and we saw people entering the basilica before mass time, we thought these were only people with mass tickets, but after asking around , I found out anyone can go inside the Basilica for mass!! The mass tickets were to just sit in the front, but we were able to get in, stand in the back and attend mass, and we saw the pope!

Overall, experience with Kim Kim and Elena was great. If there were any hiccups, Elena and Andre were reachable and kept us updated. The only feedback I would give is about Rome, there appeared to be a lot of misinformation that maybe unknown, our tour guide frankly gave us wrong information. But fortunately, it worked out perfectly the next day, as we had a very pleasant experience in the basilica, attending mass, and seeing the pope from a distance! I will use Kim Kim again in the future and I do recommend Elena and Andre.

Hotel Reviews

Palazzo Veneziano Venice

Venice

Overall, the hotel is great and prime location. The front desk made us wait for several hours to get into our room, wish they would have told us that room would not be ready till 2pm, exact check in time, instead of telling us to keep waiting all day for the rooms to be cleaned, and the house service was still cleaning the jacuzzi on the patio when we got our keys and checked in.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villa Gabrisa

Positano

Views from the romantic suite are amazing! Staff was very friendly as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Belvedere di San Leonino

Castellina in Chianti

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Degli Artisti

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel - private guide

Rome

Rushed

Hidden Venice and cicchetti experience

Italy

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gondola ride (30 min)

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Small group visit of St Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cheese farm visit and tasting in Pienza area

Italy

Pienza time at your leisure

Italy

Went to Florence instead, Silvia was great.

Day trip to Capri Island from The Amalfi Coast - small group

Italy

Pompeii ruin visit with a private guide

Italy

Rome Private Guided Walk

Rome

Colosseum and Roman Forum - Private guide

Rome

Colosseum & Roman Forum skip the line ticket

Rome

Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel entrance ticket (with guide)

Rome

Rushed

KimKim and the local tour guides and services took care of everything! Our family was able to just enjoy each city and our time together. Valeria was very knowledgeable and flexible in developing our trip plan, finding unique experiences to keep our kids engaged and our local concierge Barbara was absolutely amazing! Would definitely recommend KimKim to others and would use again for our future travels.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Ai Reali di Venezia

Venice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Brunelleschi Hotel

Florence

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mediterraneo Hotel

Sant Agnello

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

47 Boutique Hotel

Rome

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Orienteering tour in Venice (for families and teenagers)

Italy

Silvia was incredible! She was very energetic and highly knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Venice Gondola Ride

Venice

Quality of Experience

Mask Making workshop

Venice

Getting to interact with a mask maker and learn more about her craft was incredible. Being in the shop with her and it being just our family made this experience very unique and it exceeded our expectations!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Early afternoon biking in Florence

Florence

Great way to see the highlights of the city!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence Walking Tour and Accademia Visit

Florence

It was great to have someone local and knowledgeable pointing out the highlights. Lucia pivoted after learning that we had done the bike tour to show us sights that we hadn’t already been to and additional made sure to end the tour where we were hoping to go next.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Path of Gods hiking

Italy

We ended up opted for a different trail at the recommendation of our guide due to the weather. It was a beautiful costal hike and included a stop at a small farm for brunch which our kids loved. Our guide Luca was incredible, highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We loved our trip to the Amalfi coast. Alberto was knowledgeable, very friendly and helpful and all the experiences he organized for us were absolutely wonderful. Highly recommended!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Residence Amalfi

Amalfi

Beautiful hotel, very well located, very friendly personnel. Wonderful restaurant as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Santa Lucia

Naples

Beautiful hotel, very well located, comfortable. Very good restaurant as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Wine Tasting and Lunch in Amalfi Coast

Amalfi Coast

Beautiful experience, excellent wine, place and authentic lunch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Experience Dolcevita: Vintage Fiat 500 tour

Italy

Fun and wonderful experience. Andrea is very friendly and knowledgeable of the area. We really enjoyed our tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Transfer to Naples with Visit of Pompeii

Italy

Our driver Antonio went above and beyond- the best. Tour guide Daniela was wonderful, very knowledgeable and friendly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Walking Tour of Napoli

Naples

Daniela is a wonderful guide, she is very knowledgeable, friendly and kept it all interesting for us and our kids even on a rainy day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All the tour guides were great!
Everything went smooth.
Enjoyed it all!

We thoroughly enjoyed our 3-hour walking tour in Rome with our highly professional tour guide Yevgen Lysenkov.
From the moment Yevgen picked us up at the hotel in Rome we felt his warm and inviting personality that highlighted our trip. He was accommodating, professional and personable. Having with us our 13-year-old grandson did not make the long walking tour easier! However, our boy felt that he was exploring the landmarks of Rome with a new friend and not just with the guide.

Yevgen has a deep knowledge and understanding of the history and culture of ancient Italy and made connections to modern Italy which made the archaic places come alive. This special way of presenting the places that Yevgen took us gave us a real appreciation of Rome and its place in history.

We truly rank Yevgen as one of our top tour guides and have already started recommending Kimkim and Yevgen to friends who are planning a trip to Rome.

Thank you so much for the memorable visit to Rome.

Alla, Bill, and Nick

The guides and drivers were excellent

My daughter and I have just returned from our 9 day whirlwind visit to Italy. 2 days each in Venice, Florence, Rome and the Amalfi Coast. We had the most wonderful time and made so many beautiful memories thanks to our Italian coordinator Lorenza who put together an itinerary that managed to include everything that we wanted to do and see. Indelible mental images of gondolas, canals and bridges; huge, beautiful churches including St. Peter's where we actually attended mass (mind blown)! The statue of David, lemons galore in lovely Positano, and new friends made on our wine tasting day in Tuscany.
All of our guides were knowledgeable and amazing. Vincenzo, Antonio, Simona, Alfonso and I know I'm missing a few names (sorry). They all went above and beyond (and brave, especially in Rome where the Easter crowds were quite overwhelming). Couldn't get enough of gelato, delicious! Trip of a lifetime - thank-you!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Il Guelfo Bianco

Florence

Our room was nice and clean with lovely wooden, rosetted ceilings. Terracotta roofs from our window and the sound of bells ringing and pigeons cooing in the morning. Heaven. Staff were very helpful and friendly. A very nice stay!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to restaurants.

Staff

Very kind

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds were comfy.

Ca' Pozzo Inn

Venice

Clean and comfy. Staff welcoming and friendly. Breakfast was very good.

Authenticity & Character

The fish market outside.

Location

Right by the canal and bridges.

Staff

Very kind.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bed and pillows lovely and comfy.

Raffaello Hotel Rome

Roma

The elevator wasn't working and we had to change our room that was originally on the 4th floor to one on the 2nd floor which was still a bit of a hike up those stairs after walking 19,000 steps that day. But the room was nice and the staff very friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Loved the fabric wallpaper!

Location

Central to everything.

Staff

Very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Liked that they had two suitcase luggage racks as we were living out of our suitcases and were able to open them up without having them on the floor.

Hotel Mignon Sorrento

Sorrento

Loved all the blue and white tile in our room and the balcony. Nice and clean. Walls a bit thin though. Could hear the family in the adjoining room. Staff very friendly and helpful and the breakfast was very good.

Authenticity & Character

The décor was blue and white and very sunny. The dining room was very pretty.

Location

Right in the middle of town and lots of restaurants close by.

Staff

We had a Good Friday procession that went past our hotel and the front desk personnel were very knowledgeable about it and explained it's meaning.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything fresh and bright and appealing.

Activity Reviews

Small group visit of St Mark’s Basilica and Doge’s Palace

Venice

St. Mark's was very beautiful and impressive. We didn't go up to the terraces or inside the Doge's Palace.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was wonderful, smart and funny.

Transport

Florence private guided walk including Accademia Gallery

Italy

Fantastic! Seeing the Statue of David was incredible. Our guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

So kind and engaging.

Transport

Colosseum and Roman Forum - small group guided tour

Rome

Great! We had a little rain but walked on undeterred. I had visited this site 55 years ago and was a bit disappointed that visitors were no longer able to go down to the bottom as I had done back then. Such an iconic building.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very good. Had lots of information.

Transport

Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel - small group tour. Early entrance

Rome

An amazing day. But the crowds! It was Easter week. Our guide was so brave and we could not have gotten through and seen everything if we didn't have her. Highlight was attending Mass inside St. Peter's!

Quality of Experience

Mass in the biggest church in the world and part of my faith.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Blown away with how our guide was able to maneuver her way through the hundreds of people in the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. And none of our group got lost!

Transport

Pompeii ruin visit with a private guide

Italy

One of my favorite spots. Didn't realize how big Pompeii was. Amazing.

Quality of Experience

The surprise of how much there was to see.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Antonio, was such a wealth of information and very nice.

Transport

Fully day in The Amalfi Coast with driver assistance

Italy

Breathtaking views. Beautiful little towns. Positano was my favorite with it's cute shops and all those lemons! We had lunch at a waterside restaurant and watched the fishes swimming by.

Quality of Experience

To have someone else do the driving!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Vincenzo was very patient and calm even though buses kept getting stuck along the route as the roads were so narrow. I was afraid we wouldn't have as much time in the 3 towns we were visiting due to the traffic jams but our guide assured us we would spend the time we needed even though we returned back over an hour late. I thought that was really kind of him.

Transport

A great driver considering the crazy road.

Met at convenient location - four people had signed up for trip, two of us showed up so we had a great
private tour! Driver was excellent - leader was fine, also - he was a seasoned photographer and gave us
important tips about cameras on cell phones - an added bonus!

Siena tour was thorough with lots of history - local woman really knows her stuff. San Giiminano very
touristy - we climbed up, had world famous ice cream and returned to van for trip to vineyard. a fair
bit of driving at rush hour.

only disappointment was the meal at the vineyard. we didn't get a tour - just a quick intro but then
sat in a lovely dining room - howere, our menu (no choices) was pedestrian at best. we watched others
enjoy beautiful offerings! wine was minimal but excellent. Thank you, Kim Kim, for remembering my
deposit and making these arrangements.

Jessica our contact person in Italy is the best, amazing and awesome. She really did take care of us. Always available whenever we need her
She did go above and beyond the call of duty.
The situation we had in Rome she handled it really well.
Ciiro our tour guide in Amalfi is awesome. He entertained us really well.
Overall we had a great time

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Giorgione Venice

Venice

Nice hotel, friendly staff

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to city center

Staff

Friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Kraft

Florence

The rooftop , the breakfast , the restaurant are really good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Wish it’s closer to the city center

Staff

Willingness to help and answer all our question

Cleanliness & Comfort

The room and bathroom

Boutique Hotel Galatea

Rome

Very poor. The hotel has a stinking smell. When we complained about they gave us incense but it didn’t help with the smell. It’s smells moldy and sewer. When we came back the room is open and there is a big blue bucket in the middle of the room . The smell stays in our luggage

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maison Kalea

Sorrento

The hotel is really cute. The decor, the staff are Awesome. Maria the best cook. Kitchen is really clean.

Authenticity & Character

The color Coordination

Location

Close to city center

Staff

Maria

Cleanliness & Comfort

Overall

Hotel Quirinale

Rome

Great service. Upgraded one Of our room after having a bad experience in the previous hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel La Griffe

Rome

Great location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Venice Walking Tour with St. Marks Basilica Access

Italy

Our tour guide is the best. She really knows the history. We enjoyed every minute of it

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Venice Gondola Ride

Venice

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Museum tickets

Rome

The tickets doesn’t include the Sistine chapel and the St Peter’s basilica , which I think is very important to explore. We don’t have a tour guide inside the museum. So we are lost most of the time.

Quality of Experience

Half Day Tour from Florence to Pisa - including the Leaning Tower

Florence

The group tour was organized and our tour guide is amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Tour: Positano, Amalfi & Ravello

Italy

Ciro , the singing tour guide, driver is the best. He entertained us with his Nm singing voice. He recommended the best restaurant for Lunch.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ciro is awesome

Transport

In order to celebrate her birthday, I invited my lovely daughter Sarit to a week long visit to Florence and Venice. It was very well planned and organized by Stephania from KimKim based on our requests and preferences. I must say it was close to 100% to our expectations. Every detail and guide/driver/museum visit went smoothly and the persons guiding us were always on time. That includes the cars from and to the airport, the hotels, the walking guide Irene in Venice, the boat taxis in Venice, the round trip train tickets from Florence to Venice, the morning breakfast offered in the hotels, the hotel locations and the kindness of the car service drivers. Food: the breakfast was prepared well and was pleasing. I am allergic to gluten therefore I can eat only gluten free which is not easy to find. I must point out that the Florence as well as the Venice hotel had a variety of gluten free items including bread, muffins, donuts and cookies. Disappointment: I would like to point out that the Florence hotel room was dignified located on the river with large windows but the television did not work; the sound when fixed came out of the bathroom (!) and the technician needed assistance as he did not know how to repair it. And there was only one channel in English. In addition, the heated towel racks in the modern bathroom did not turn on at all so all week our towels were cold; here too a technician came, claimed he had repaired the racks but no… they never turned on to warm the towels. The Venice hotel suite for one night was beautiful; there were only towels but no bathrobes. Strange to me….
I would like to complete my review with a huge compliment to Stephania and KimKim for granting us such a high level vacation! We will definitely recommend your services to all our friends. Kind regards, Bella Klein

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Balestri

Florence

Great central location. Great breakfast even for persons allergic to gluten. Very friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Al Theatro Palace

Venice

Location good. Close to stores and other hotels, restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Venice Private Evening Stroll with Gondola

Venice

The English guide Irene was lovely. Spoke well, had a lot of knowledge . She was open, friendly, smiling and we walked and saw different sites we would not have noticed without her.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tuscany Day Trip to Siena and San Gimignano

Italy

Large beautiful automobile, very clean and well taken care of. The female driver was friendly and knowledgeable. Two locations we enjoyed.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All the guides including Barbara. Iliara we’re superb and professional

We just had the most amazing trip to Italy! My sister and I were with our 80 year old mother, and we visited Venice, Florence and Rome, and couldn't be happier with how it went and all that we experienced. Irine Lappa was a perfect vacation planner and her team missed no detail. The timing of the itinerary was perfect - the the right amount of time for transitions, it was not harried, just the perfect pace. All of our connections were just as planned, and all of the tour guides were so knowledgeable, warm and so welcoming. We loved our tour of Venice with Marie with Liv Tours, she was fun and passionate about Venice. And Monica (Be local with Monica) gave us an amazing tour of Murano - such a fun day! In Florence, our guide Antonella gave us an expert's highlights tour - she was truly one of our highlights of the whole trip. We loved our excursion throughout Tuscany - Marco with Florencetown tours was so great. It was really enriching being with a couple from Brazil and a couple from the UK to experience this beautiful countryside and hear each other's stories. Lastly, in Rome after an amazing visit to the Colosseum and a wonderful tour with Barbara with Liv Tours at the Vatican (we skipped the line everywhere - I can't tell you how helpful this was!), we enjoyed a super fun Roman food tour of the Trastevere with Aly. Irene and her team were in contact with us throughout the trip, and super responsive. They even communicated with one of our hotels about our mother's birthday, and the hotel surprised us with a cake! All of our hotels were just stunning, centrally located, welcoming and helpful. I highly recommend Irene and her team at KimKim - our trip was just the best!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Splendid Venice - Starhotel

Venice

This charming hotel in Venice had two adjoining rooms and two bathrooms, which was perfect for our group of three. The staff was attentive, and the location was beautiful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Santa Maria Novella

Florence

This hotel was our favorite, thanks to its amazing location and beautiful rooms. The breakfast was great, and the staff was attentive. The only downside was that our triple room had just one bathroom for the three of us.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Martis Palace Hotel Rome

Rome

This modern hotel was smaller than the other two, but the staff was still very attentive. The breakfast room was a bit smaller, but the food was good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Murano Glass Demonstration & Walking Tour

Venice

We enjoyed a private group walking tour in Murano and visited a glass workshop. The glassmaking demonstration was fascinating, although was slightly touristy.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Florence Highlights Tour With Uffizi Galleries

Florence

Our knowledgeable guide, Antonella, showed us the highlights of Florence, including the Uffizi Galleries. You would have thought she has a degree in art with her extensive knowledge. It was perfect for us, as we got to see the most important pieces. We recommend having a guide for this tour unless you already know a lot about art.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chianti Wine & Olive Oil Tour from Florence

Florence

This small group tour took us through the Tuscan countryside, where we tasted wine and olive oil at various locations. It was a delightful experience. We even got to bring home some wine and olive oil.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Vatican Guided Tour

Rome

We had an amazing small group tour of the Vatican, learning about its history and art.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Trastevere Afternoon Aperitivo & Food Tour

Rome

We joined a small group for an afternoon food tour in Trastevere, which featured a mix of international travelers. The food was great, and it was a fun experience overall.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Arianna succeeded in helping stitch together the most amazing Tuscan vacation experience! We had numerous exchanges in establishing our agenda with Arianna, each time enjoying numerous options. Transportation connections were completely seamless, zero stress. Arianna even helped adjust some things in the middle of the week as we discovered new options to explore. Arianna helped adjust pickups and secure tickets. It was amazing to have this level of support in establishing and evolving our agenda. I will use Kim Kim in the future, highly recommended!

Hotel Reviews

Villa Elda Siena

Siena

Simple, beautiful little hotel. They do have a few reservable parking spots if you drive into Siena, book early. The pies at breakfast are some of the best pies I have ever had. The shower in our room was tight, maybe my only detractor to an otherwise nice spot.

Authenticity & Character

Cute villa

Location

Nice views of Sienna, JUST outside old city

Staff

Very good americanos

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lunetta Hotel & Spa Roma

Rome

Great central location, cute patios on each floor and the roof. Good simple cocktails at the tiny efficient bar. Shower was cavernous, be nice if they had a shelf but small complaint to otherwise great choice of lodging in Rome

Authenticity & Character

Nice, modern

Location

Very central!!

Staff

Made nice Togo bags for early departure to airport, good cocktails, good porters

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, modern

Activity Reviews

Siena Guided Walking Tour

Italy

Walking tours are such an amazing way to get history and culture and your bearings. Our guide was young and local with some great tips for restaurants, sights , and shopping !

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Florence Walking Tour and Accademia Visit

Florence

Great tour, knowledgeable guide. Good to get lay of the city early, and some recommendations for dinner reservations for the rest of the trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tuscany by Vespa

Florence

So so much fun. I recommend the Vespa upgrade, nicer scooters. I was nervous about driving a Vespa in the Italian countryside but that feeling went away quickly and in a minute I was just loving it! If a couple get your own scooters! Too fun to not drive!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Tour of Florence Duomo with access to the Dome

Florence

Sarah, our guide, was excellent! This was quite the tour, nearly 500 steps to climb up and then back down you go, no lift. The view is incredible both inside and out, worth the burn!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sarah was top notch

Transport

Cooking Class with Dinner in the heart of Florence - Small Group

Florence

Our teacher was excellent! Gnocchi, tiramisu, soufflé, and chicken were cooked up with relative ease and to amazing results! Fun, informative, not advanced level so easy for all to enjoy!

Quality of Experience

My

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Masterpieces of the Renaissance: Uffizi Gallery Tour

Italy

You really could spend 2x as long if your legs and back are in shape! This place is BIG! Sarah was our guide again and she was again amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Local guides were quite wonderful and very knowledgeable. Giuseppe, who was our guide for Roman Colosseum, Amalfi coast and Pompeii and Vesuvius was beyond great. Paolo was knowledgeable but challenging to understand. Roberto, who gave us our tour of the Vatican Museum, was just okay. Darrio, who gave us Roman food tour, was outstanding.
Communication from Eleni could have been more timely (we got info like a day or two before) in terms of final tour details. We also felt we should have been better informed about long walks to hotels. We DID NOT get bus drivers to/from Rome who gave us details on the trip as the itinerary suggested.
Overall, we felt it was well-planned but lacking in those "special" details that would have really made a difference.

Hotel Reviews

Decumani Hotel de Charme

Naples

If in a large group, your van or bus will not be able to bring you to hotel. You will need to walk a fair distance, uphill, on cobblestone roads, to arrive. Breakfast was high quality. Reception staff could have been more helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Lighting and heat in rooms

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Aenea Superior Inn

Rome

Staff was fine, but hotel facility was less than ideal. Shower was very small. Breakfast that was promised was some rolls and pastries in a bag on our hotel door. This was not a breakfast - not even a Continental bkfst.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Michelangelo

Sorrento

Authenticity & Character

Location

Good access to town and activities but did not like looking out window at train tracks.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Capo d'Africa—Colosseo

Rome

Giuseppe, at front desk, was amazingly helpful and knowledgeable. Room was high quality. Comfy bed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great access to Colosseum and other historical areas.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Local transfer in Rome

Rome

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rome Food Tour

Rome

Guide was excellent and so were the food choices.

Quality of Experience

Food

Fried artichokes! So yummy.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Colosseum & Roman Forum Tour

Rome

This guide was so knowledgeable and friendly, well-adapted to dealing with issues as they arose, sensitive to our group's needs.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Vatican Guided Tour

Rome

The Vatican Museum, St. Peter's Basilica, and contents are simply breathtaking. Having a guide is worth the cost just for the opportunity to skip lines.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was knowledgeable about specific stops he was prepared to make, but we spent a lot of time just walking between stops. We noticed other guides continued explaining info between stops in the museum. Also, our guide did not use whispers, so we missed a lot of what he had to say.

Transport

Private Custom Amalfi Coast Driving tour with Lunch at a Lemon Grove

Sorrento

Lemon Grove experience is not to be missed

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Pompeii Tour & Mount Vesuvius visit with lunch and wine tasting

Pompeii

Pompeii and Vesuvius were great. The winery experience was just okay, a bit basic. I would have preferred a quick lunch somewhere and more time at Pompeii, Vesuvius and Herculaneum.

Quality of Experience

Food

Winery's food was just okay.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Incredibly challenging drive and the driver had nerves of steel.

Transport

Napoli Custom Walking Food Tour of Spaccanapoli with San Severo Chapel & the Archaeological Museum

Naples

The San Severo Chapel and Duomo are not to be missed. The Veiled Christ may be one of the most amazing art items you will ever see. The walking food tour could be better organized in terms of what food we received - less touristy and more of the food that locals would eat.

Quality of Experience

San Savero Chapel and Duomo.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Guide was very knowledgeable

Private Pizza making class in Rome

Rome

Pizza guide, Claudio, was simply amazing. He was kind, engaging, knowledgeable, funny, comfortable and inspiring. You might think you know how to make a pizza, but you have much to learn from this experience.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I cannot express how wonderful our trip to Italy was. We stayed in a small region since we only had 8 days - Sorrento/Almafi Coast, Rome, Abruzzo region. Francesca was a pleasure to work with - she took all of our desires and turned them into one in a lifetime experiences! Everything was planned with the most thoughtful details - from private transfers, private tours, private cooking class, and even a last minute private mountain picnic. We are so grateful and so happy we trusted Francesca with our trip!

Activity Reviews

CAMPANIA: AMALFI COAST SCENIC TOUR WITH PRIVATE DRIVER

Sorrento

Our driver, Giuseppe, was wonderful. He knew the right places to stop and have us plenty of time to explore. Such an incredibly beautiful area!

Quality of Experience

Food

Trattoria dei Carni

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cooking class experience

Sorrento

Incredible! The home/b&b was exquisite… lovely outdoor kitchen and views! Chef was very knowledgeable and so much fun. This was the best experience I’ve ever had on a trip and would highly recommend.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

SORRENTO-POMPEII-ROMA: PRIVATE TRANSFER TO ROMA; POMPEII 2-HOUR TOUR WITH A PRIVATE GUIDE

Italy

Our private guide was very knowledgeable and informative. This was definitely a highlight - I didn’t know much about Pompeii.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This was our first time using a service like kimkim, and we are very glad we did!! Without their service, we wouldn't have been able to do all the things we wanted to do during our trip. We're also glad we were chauffeured by professional drivers in streets of Italy. Eleni and her local counterpart were extremely responsive to our questions and requests. All the drivers and guides showed up almost precisely 10 minutes before our agreed times. A huge shoutout to all the guides, who were extremely professional and added so much to our trip--in particular, we truly enjoyed our time with Antonella in Firenze, Giuseppe in Sorrento/Amalfi Coast, and Sabrina in Rome!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Alessandra

Florence

We had a family room with beds for 4. Worked out great. Tucked in a street near Ponte Vecchio with small artisan shops. Delightful!

Authenticity & Character

The owner and his staff were delightful hosts.

Location

Close to Ponte Vecchio. Small shops and restaurants.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The best shower during our entire trip.

Maison La Minervetta

Sorrento

Truly a splurge! The views from our rooms were breathtaking. Unique and original decor. Lovely breakfast spread.

Authenticity & Character

Location

The view, the view, the view!

Staff

The front desk staff were professional and welcoming. We didn't feel particularly welcomed in our interactions during the breakfast, but it could have been due to the language barrier. It took time for our coffee orders to arrive and they were variable in quality.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Splendor Suite Rome

Rome

This hotel was a bit disappointing because all other hotels during our trip to Italy were wonderful. It felt like an airbnb as opposed to a hotel--self check-in outside regular business hours. We were traveling with our two teenage sons. We found out we didn't need a second room, because there was a sofa bed in the family suite that they could have used, which was not clear from their website or when we were presented with the proposal. More to our frustration, we were woken up a few times during the night because of the hallway noise. Our room (106A) was adjacent to 106B, from which we could hear everything, and the occupants in 106B were unpleasantly loud late at night. Since there was no one at the front desk in the evening, we could not ask for timely intervention. Perhaps, they should have given 106B as our second room to avoid this. At least one time, the noise source seemed to be the staff; in the morning, there were bags of laundry right outside our door.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

The staff didn't come across as if they were interested in making the guests feel welcomed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Morning Florence Highlights Walking Tour

Florence

Antonella, our guide, was fantastic. She laid out the basics of the city's history first, which made the other explanations logically hold together. Her love of her city made it all the more special.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Pompeii Tour & Mount Vesuvius visit with lunch and wine tasting

Pompeii

The Pompeii tour was fascinating--thank you, Natalia! There is travel distance between Pompeii, Mount Vesuvius, and the lunch site, so we were glad we had the entire day arranged and coordinated. The view of Bay of Naples from Mount Vesuvius is very worth it!!

Quality of Experience

Food

The restaurant/winery seemed all catered to the tour groups.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Grazie, Natalia and Fabio!

Transport

Private Amalfi Coast Driving Tour

Italy

The highlight of the driving tour was the stop for us to hike the Path of Gods trail. It was fantastico!! Because we fit the hike in, things got quite late in the day, and by the time we got to Ravello, everything was closed. The weather was gorgeous during our hike and by the time we were leaving Positano, it started to rain and the visibility fell. We're so grateful that Giuseppe drove us safely throughout our tour, because the road is curvy to say the least. He was also extremely knowledgeable about farming in the region, which we appreciated.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We were lucky to have Giuseppe in charge of us! So professional, knowledgeable, and pleasant. Thank you for everything!!

Transport

Colosseum & Roman Forum Tour

Rome

Wow, the inside of Colosseum was facinating beyond our imagination. There was so much to learn about Roman Forum, too. We feel so lucky to have done this tour with Sabrina. Her explanation painted vividly how the lives in Colosseum and the Forum might have been.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sabrina with LivTours was fantastic!!

Vatican Guided Tour

Rome

With so many visitors and so many things to see, it was a very full three-hour tour. We gained much knowledge about Vatican and the artwork that adorns their buildings.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Giovanna with LivTours was extremely knowledgeable!