Kimkim Trip Reviews

This trip was exceptional. We were travelling for about 9 weeks throughout southern Chile and Argentina. Everything ran smoothly. Accommodation was delightful, guides were awesome, especially Inti in Puerto Varas, and Eduardo in Puerto Natales. I have no hesitation in recommending the team at Terra, especially Marie and Emily, they went way beyond what we expected. Our thanks go out to them for a hassle free trip.

Our overall trip experience was great. Our guide (Fernando Fabre) was the best we have had in our many prior privately guided trips throughout the world. Our accommodations were good to excellent and met our expectations for the price we paid. Our local specialist Gabor provided us with excellent trip planning and coordination services; and we will definitely be using Kim Kim for our future world travels.

What an incredible first time ever experience with a travel agency and to luck upon Kimkim and Yenyi in particular was a real dream come true. Yenyi was available 24:7; was incredibly resourceful and pleasant all at the same time. Her ideas and creativity made our excursion to Costa Rica an incredible vacation. It's not easy traveling with almost grown children but Yenyi made suggestions (including separate rooms) and fun activities like rafting into and out of an eco lodge one of the best family experiences ever. She and Kimkim are the true dream makers. Thank you Yenyi (and Kim Kim) we won't travel anywhere without you!

We had a fabulous trip. Jordan is very beautiful and the trip enabled us to see its great beauty. Our driver was extremely helpful, had great english and a wonderful love of his country as well as a new and very reliable car. He was willing to give us as much information and colour as we asked for which was plenty. He also tuned in quickly to how we wished to engage as tourists, and happily took us to more out of the way places to eat which we loved. The highlights were Petra and Wadi Rum. While we enjoyed the drive through the desert we would not visit the Dead Sea again..nothing there to do really and might have been better to extend the stay at Wadi Rum

Kim Kim did a great job and the office was always accessible if needed ( although we didn’t,need them as the trip was so smooth)

To begin with Tamara and the Why Jordan team did a comprehensive and very professional service from itinerary to drop off at the airport. At no time did we feel unsure of procedures or plans for the next day which is in direct contrast to our experience in Egypt.
Our driver/guide Mohamed Ali was all you could ask for. His attention to detail, protectiveness to our family, detailed explanations of sites and customs and flexibility to our whims throughout is a great credit to your company and countrymen, a real gentleman in the old-fashioned sense. We would not hesitate to recommend Kim Kim, Why Jordan and specifically Mohamed Ali to friends and family.
Regarding other guides, both guides in Jaresh and Petra were well informed, courteous and entertaining, excellent. Our guide for the day in Wadi Rum was lazy( never left his car to guide us), had limited English and the filthiest car I have ever been in... a real disappointment. Our bbq lunch in the desert was a meal on plastic chairs in a deserted old camp. Why would we prefer lunch in an ugly place compared to our night camp. In such an amazing place to see it in such a disappointing way lets you and your team down badly. An open LandRover and small fire under the shelter of some rocks away from civilization was all we wanted to enjoy the charm of such a desert place... disappointing.
Richard Allen

Overall great trip. Would have eliminated Punta Arenas. Loved El Calafare and would have liked to stay there two nights. although the location was great, the hotel in El Calafate was awful. Not clean. Hotels in El Chalten and Ushuaia were great. Enjoyed trekking on the glacier the best. Also enjoyed Ushuaia. Overall very nice trip and well organized and coordinated

Laura

Dear Victor,

the trip was amazing and we were well looked after throughout! Especially the Tu Lan cave-trip was absolutely stunning and amongst the best I have ever experienced. The kids were completely in awe and we will all never forget the trip, the many friends we made and the many experiences we made. It is impossible to list all the other experiences but clearly, each component had its own value and exceeded our expectations.

Our guide for the food tour was very good, friendly, knowledgable and explained a lot.

Hung, our guide from Oxalis was amazing. He adapted the tour for us, added an additional cave (which required a lot more climbing), and was full of energy and fun.

Ni was an excellent guide with lots of energy making sure we always get the best out of it. She adapted the programme perfectly around the weather (rain, rain, rain) and our interests.

I have a few areas were changes could be possible (not to be regarded as criticism, just for future planning):
1.) Swimming in Ha Long is not allowed. Should be taken out of the description
2.) The hotel in Phong Nha (I think we were in a different than in the programme) was not the greatest. I would suggest two possible improvements: a) IF staying in this hotel it should be highlighted that they can wash the clothes from the treck but the laundry should be handed in before 6pm to avoid express charges - this could then be in the programme and used to plan packing and getting things clean and dry again after the treck. b) It would also be good to allow for a late breakfast. After the trek we were super-tired and a sleep-in, then breakfast, then cartrip would have been appreciated. b) Alternatively, rather than staying overnight in the Phong Nha area the car trip to Hue could be done immediately afterwards. This would allow us to sleep in the car but gain a whole day.
3.) The hotel in Hue was quite loud with lots of party across the road.
4.) In Hoi An the first fisherman experience was superb. Friendly, happy and "off the beaten path". The second fisherman village was then very touristy and a bit of a shock. The basket boat row could well have been done with the first fishermen (or skipped). Maybe alternatively, one could learn about local ways to grow crop and harvest and process it.
5.) The Mekong trip was interesting, but somehow less exciting than the previous parts of the trip. I had expected more nature and was a bit disappointed. In total we spent too much time driving relative to the experiences made. While it is important to understand that various religious groups live together in harmony (and I think it reached the kids that this is by no means the standard), the visit to the Cham village was rather disappointing. It also feels wrong to walk along a street and look at people. The floating market was nice but the number of tourists outnumbers the locals. Tra Su made up for it (but only lasted for about 1 hour).... We had fun in the evenings though, eating locally, strolling around and enjoying the locals (who enjoyed us...). If a "Mekong Experience" could be organised from HCM - maybe in combination with the tunnels it would save two days and a lot of driving. I would then rather spend another day or two in the Tu Lan area. Alternatively one could try to save a day and use the time to see Angkor What. It would also be nice if the car had internet for the long drives (the car from Pho Nah to Hue to Hoi An to Danang had internet which was very welcomed).

As said, these comments are not a criticism, we thoroughly enjoyed our journey, were exhausted from all the input (and still are), and thank you again for the great organisation and putting such a dense and exciting programme together.

Best wishes,

Eike.

Experience Jordan did a great job with our group and we have no hesitation in recommending them. Raisa was very helpful in sorting out the inevitable pre-trip niggles. Once we got onto the trail the guys running the camp were excellent and the food was wonderful. For sure the only way to arrive at Petra is via the hiking trail from the north.

The real star of the show was our guide Jawad. Do not hike Jordan without this guy! David.

Our trip to Jordan was great but we encountered glitches almost everyday we needed a driver to go to a different location.

On day 2, there was first a conflict because we were told the driver would be there at 8am but he was told 9am. Unfortunately he was then in an accident and could no longer be our driver. Company sent a new driver but we lost almost 3 hours that day, losing precious time, not allowing time for us to visit little Petra that day.

When it was time for us to leave Petra to go to Wadi Rum, again we waited for our driver who was provided the wrong hotel name. once we contacted Lena, she contacted the driver who then came to the right hotel. We lost again precious time.

in Wadi Rum, we had booked a horse back ride. Once we got to our tent site, they did not have us listed as horse back riding and instead had us booked for camel ride/ We asked to still do horse back. The next day we were brought to do horse back riding. After the ride someone came and asked that we pay for our ride. Our driver had to get involved and eventually someone fro the company had to come and pay cash for the horse back riding. We again lost almost 2 hours of sight seeing time.

Otherwise, the sites were beautiful although Petra was awfully crowded.....

Fantastic trek! Our guides Gulu and Thombo were great and our two porters did an amazing job! So kind and all the tea houses hosts were lovely also. As this trek is less travelled some of the tea houses are more basic but I think it provided us with a true Nepali experience and we loved it!! Pikey peak base camp is absolutely freezing but great fun, dancing to keep warm! Definately recommend!!

We were looking for an adventure in the Himalayas. We had a fabulous one! From the very beginning, Kunchok made sure that everything was planned and organized the right way. He took all our needs into consideration and was extremely patient and helpful. In Nepal, he treated us like royalty. Once in Nepal, Sonam turned out to be much more than a very resourceful guide. He became a brother whose company we will miss. Both Kunchok and Sonam are top-notched individuals. Too bad Nepal and our new friends are so far away.

As far as Kimkim is concerned, it would be better to think client happiness first, not information systems. Please get rid of these annoying cold-hearted computer-generated messages. You can do better on that front. Thank you for recommending Kunchok and his company to us. We are extremely grateful!

While the planning process was quite smooth initially, at the last minute there appeared to be a rush to assemble information from us. Further, we did not received an updated itinerary to include hotel changes before we left on our trip.

But, those details aside, we had a great experience overall and an especially memorable experience with two of our local guides; namely Maria and Vivi. Their attention to detail, promptness and professionalism was outstanding.

Men and Ny were awesome :)

It was a really great experience, our guide Pema was super attentive as for our driver, both super nice and took really good care of us. Beyond that, the knowledge and experience was very important for us and we enjoyed every sightseeing and spot we visited.
Would totally recommend it to our friends and family.
Thank you!

It was a great trip and experience
Lucia Berrios did a great job and I was extremely happy with her services. She even provided me with a phone number that I could call. I called that number and received immediate response.

Working with Brian and his colleagues was truly a great experience. Brian was very responsive from the start and provided great input. After my initial contact, Brian suggested a call to learn more about what we were looking for and to share with us what his company was about. We travel quite a bit and have used local guides for tours, but this was the first time that someone suggested a call to better understand the travel experience we were looking for. We wanted a more cultural experience vs just the usual tourist sites and we are so grateful for the experience we had with Brian and his colleagues. Brian and his team handled the logistics from start to finish.
We were a family of 11, including 4 children, traveling on a family vacation. We couldn't get enough of the delicious fruits at the local market with our lovely guide Ana and her husband Freddy. We then cooked dinner with Brian and his fiance at their place...what a treat. Added bonus was Freddy playing his cello after dinner. We were lucky enough to visit a couple of private homes and meet the amazing owner and her family in Santa Fe de Antioquia and visit a coffee farm that does not do public tours and can only be visited with Brian and his team. On our last day, we visited communa 1, which was led by the local artists in the neighborhood and had lunch at one of the local artist's home cooked by his mom. It was truly a special moment to have met these amazing people with their inspiring stories. We very much enjoyed talking to our guide Diego as well as his story started off in a neighborhood similar to communa 1 and his journey that took him from Medellin to US and now back to Medellin.

From reading the review, one would think our trip went without any glitches. However, on our 2nd day in Medellin, the glass shower door broke while my niece was in the shower and cut her right foot deep enough to cut a couple of tendons requiring an emergency surgery in Medellin. As unfortunate as this situation was, we were very grateful that if it had to happen, it happened in Medellin where there was good medical care and Brian and his team along with the staff at the hotel were just amazing in the care they gave us. The hotel had someone Spanish/English speaking with my niece and brother-in-law the whole time at the hospital and must have pulled some strings as they were able to operate on my niece's foot the same day.

Overall, we feel very lucky to have visited this very special place and very lucky to have found Brian and his team for our journey.

Our trip to Peru is one of our top 5 trips ever taken (and we have done a lot of traveling). In large part the reason this trip was so good is because of the excellent itinerary, seamless transitions and transportation to each of our destinations, and wonderful accommodations. We started our trip in Lima - we arrived in the morning after an evening flight from the states. We were picked up from the airport and taken to our hotel. From there we were on our own to explore the city which was easy to do. We stayed in the Miraflores neighborhood and explored that region on foot. We took a taxi to the historical part of the city. Taxis were easy to hail. On day 2 we flew from Lima to Puerto Maldonado where we explored the Amazon basin. We were met at the airport by our hotel greeting party and were taken by boat to our lodge - Inkaterra. Here we stayed in delightful cabins equipped with hamocks (as well as beds of course) where we could lay down and relax and watch the river flow by. From the hotel we were able to do several excursions led by our excellent guide, Michel. We saw all kinds of rainforest flora and fauna, walked across rope bridges in the rainforest canopy and learned about the food and medicinal gifts of the rainforest. We spent about 2 full days in the rainforest and one more would have been good but we were on a tight 9 day schedule. From the rainforest we headed to the mountains. We landed in Cuzco and then were taken down to our hotel in Urumbamba - lower elevation to help with adjusting to the altitude. The whole family took Diamox before getting to Cuzco and we all avoided altitude sickness. We stayed in a fabulous hotel called Sol y Luna. On our second day in the sacred valley we took part in the Llama pack project. This involved trekking and herding llamas up the side of a mountain. After a breathless but beautiful hike, we stopped for lunch with the llamas which was delightful and then trekked back down the mountain. This experience was incredible and I would highly recommend it to any travelers to the Sacred Valley. The local llama herders who were with us have some llama/alpaca wool souvenirs to sell. If you are interested, make sure you have plenty of cash for the larger items (the prices are a bit high). The next day was spent exploring the other wonders of the sacred valley to include Inka farming site at Moray and the salt flats of Maras. Our guide Danny did a fantastic job teaching us the history of the Inkas as well as modern Peruvian culture. From the sacred valley we took the trip to Machu Picchu. The train ride to Ollantaytambo was very scenic and a small snack and drink were served. After a night in the hotel we boarded a bus and headed up the death defying road to Machu Picchu. Machu Picchu itself is indescribable and even more beautiful than pictures suggest. Danny again served as our guide through the site and let us take our time to take it all in all the while explaining to us one of the most amazing and mysterious civilizations of the world - the Inkas. That afternoon we made the trek back to Cuzco and spent the last day of our trip exploring this beautiful and culturally enchanting city. We were sad to leave this amazing country. All ground transportation was planned by Jesus. I bought the intra-country airline tickets (cheap) but Jesus helped me determine which flights to choose so the itinerary would work well. Reading the guide books, I found a trip to Peru intimidating but Kimkim and Peruvian Soul made it easy. The hardest part was deciding what we wanted to see - with only 9 days to see it.

We had a great time booking with Kimkim, and will definitely use them again. We would also recommend them to others, and in particular others doing the trip we did.

We had some really great calls with our specialist Martin, who did an amazing job, and helped us plan the trip that we wanted. I was very particular about our accommodation, but Martin listened to what I wanted and (patiently) found the perfect options. He also helped us maximise our time in Patagonia e.g by thinking outside the box and finding other flight options when we discovered that all the domestic flights were booked out due to the G20 (we had booked our international flights by ourselves and didn't realise). He was also so helpful with all the logistics of moving round so much in such a short time, and planning the best trip possible so we could see everything we wanted to in the time we had.

When circumstances changed (e.g unpredictable closures in Buenos Aires during our stay due to the G20) Martin was on hand to help out in person (he even came to our hotel) with other options for us - very quick thinking!

He also put small touches on our trip which were both lovely and personal and absolute lifesavers (such as arranging for us to have a shower after a hike and before a plane ride when we had checked out of our hotel) which allowed us to be comfortable and make the best use of our time.

It is one of the best trips we have ever been on (if we planned it again we would change nothing) and all the individual tours we did as part of it were amazing, in particular all the day trips and accommodation in el calafate. Special shout out as well to Hotel Lago Grey and our guide Carlos, which were absolute highlights of the trip.

We would only mention a couple of other points as feedback:
1) I would generally allow plenty of response time to queries during the planning phase (as this could sometimes take a few days or so)
2) to double check the schedules and bus tickets etc have the correct dates and hotels on them (we had to get some errors corrected to match our itinerary, but once pointed out these were speedily corrected by the travel team)
3) one transfer showed up half an hour early and then left without us, but as it was only a cab ride to the nearby bus station we were able to run there to make the bus, and
4) when we were dropped off in Torres del Paine it was later than scheduled and there was no one there to meet us, and the phone in the cafe wasn't working - luckily we found someone who spoke English who took us to talk to a ranger who was able to radio base to call our hotel, who then came to collect us.

These are all however minor points (which happen when you have so many things booked), and did not detract from how pleased we were with this absolute trip of a lifetime, and the hard work put in by Martin to help us realize this. Thank you so much Martin! 11 out of 10! We would recommend to anyone visiting Argentina and Chile.

We had the time of our lives on this trip. From start to finish, Ingrid and KimKim was amazing. Ingrid Skyped and emailed with my husband to plan the perfect trip. She worked hard to get the things we wanted, the places we wanted to visit, and then made wonderful suggestions. We were able to travel from south to north with ease and see so much of Norway and the different cities and towns. Ingrid even took us on a personal tour in Bergen which was a perfect way to start our trip.

We visited Bergen, Flam, Oslo, Tromso, Svolvaer, and Alta. We did a beer tour (wonderful!), snowmobiling, dog sledding, took the Hurtigruten ship, a fjord tour, a northern lights chase and basic sight seeing on our own in each city. The favorite thing was the dog sledding with TrastiogTrine. Wonderful time and the highlight of the trip (for me). My husband loved the snowmobiling best. The majesty of the country cannot be described!

We highly recommend KimKim and will definitely be using them again. They made the whole process easy and stress free. And Ingrid was amazing! Thanks guys!

Graham Hyder

Enjoyed Sri Lanka immensely. Beautiful country with charming, friendly, courteous people. Very scenic country with diverse landscapes, interesting cultural experiences. Sandun was very responsive to our requests, very informative about trip planning and willing to adjust the itinerary numerous times as we decided on a final agenda.