kimkim Reviews 1,340

Great organization and suggestions, Greta trip planning.

To plan a trip of a lifetime where do you start? How long do you think about it before you take that first step and make the decision to go 30 years in the making was a trip my husband and I wanted to take to Japan the culture, the food, the people, the anime, every aspect intrigued us and inspired us to go. I saw on social media and ad for kimkim.com myself having the same name I thought what the heck let’s see what they can do for our initial intake interview to get our take on what we wanted out of this trip where we wanted to go what we wanted to see to the people that followed up with us after our trip to make sure we had everything taken care of how we needed it, but every expectation was met. This company went above and beyond to make sure our dream trip not only came true, was as flawless as possible the biggest hurdle we’ve seen in researching this trip as people that first arrive and then I have no idea how to get where they’re going we had private transportation arranged for us. We had tour guides that would come and get us from our hotels and bring us back to our hotels. We had a local guide that would check in with us daily to make sure we knew where we were going and had any questions our experience was wonderful we had hiccups. We had things that happened but any trip especially a 14 day trip is gonna have different hurdles. Our Kimkim team was there, every step of the way.

From the transportation to and from place to place, to the tour guides that met us at our hotels and brought us back, the hotels that were our home away from home. Our trip was one of a lifetime. Our next journey is unknown, but our planning is not.

Kimkim will be who takes us there!

We are currently still on our trip through Latin America (Chile, Argentina and Brazil), and to be honest we are extremely disappointed with what we paid ($16,800) versus what we actually received.
We chose KimKim because South America was unfamiliar territory for us, and we expected a company with local knowledge and experience to guide us and help create a smooth and memorable holiday. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been the case.
KimKim booked six hotels for us, and we still have one to go. Out of the first five, we have only liked one. Several of the hotels were located so far away from anything that we had no real option other than to eat at the hotel restaurant. Others had very poor views — things like car parks or the backs of neighbouring houses — which was disappointing when you come to places like Patagonia expecting views of mountains, glaciers, or at least something interesting.
One recommendation was to stay in Puerto Natales, which in hindsight made little sense. There is very little there and it felt like a completely wasted stop. We spent half a day and one night in a noisy hotel, only to be up at 6:30am the next morning to organise our own taxi to the bus station and take a bus that was supposed to be a 5-hour journey but actually took over 6 hours. The bus itself was very old and uncomfortable.
The overall planning and logistics have felt poorly thought through. More than once we found ourselves trying to figure out details the day before travel. This is exactly the sort of thing we expected a travel company to manage for us.
For clarity, KimKim arranged:
6 hotels
3 single-day guides for trips
1 guide for 3 days for trip
1 bike tour guide
3 pickup transfers
1 cross-border bus to Argentina
3 packed lunches
3 taxis
They did not cover dinners, most lunches, international flights, local flights, car hire, or our final 4 nights of accommodation in Buenos Aires — all of which we paid for separately.
So for the amount we paid, the value simply isn’t there.
A good travel company should understand the realities of travelling between locations, provide accurate information about journey times, and design an itinerary that actually works for the traveller. Instead, it often felt like we were left to manage things ourselves.
Yes, we signed off on the itinerary, but that was based on trusting the agent’s knowledge and experience to deliver a seamless trip. That trust unfortunately hasn’t been rewarded.
Based on our experience, I would not recommend KimKim. With some basic research, I genuinely believe most people could plan a better trip themselves.
Very disappointing experience. 😞...........my reply to your responce 22/3/2026....Hi,

Thanks for your reply.

I’ll be honest — it doesn’t really address the substance of what I raised. I understand you’re acknowledging the feedback, but this goes beyond general disappointment.

What stands out most to us is that the trip didn’t feel thoughtfully put together. It often felt like a standard template using existing suppliers rather than something designed around what we were actually looking for. That’s difficult to accept given the level of spend and the expectation that comes with using a specialist platform.

The issues weren’t isolated. Across multiple locations we had hotels that were poorly situated or lacking in basic atmosphere, logistics that didn’t make much sense in practice (Puerto Natales being a good example), and moments where we were left figuring things out ourselves at short notice. That’s exactly the kind of friction we were trying to avoid by booking this way.

I appreciate that time goes into building an itinerary, but from our side it hasn’t translated into a smooth or well-judged experience. The overall value simply doesn’t reflect what we paid.

At this point, I’d like to understand how you view this from your side and what you feel would be a fair way to resolve it. I’m not looking for a generic response — I’d appreciate something that properly reflects the issues raised.

Thanks,
Alan

We were provided with an excellent itinerary and a very good driver Sonam Sherpa. Sonam also acted as a guide in some cases.
The trip to Tsonga lake required special defence permits which the travel company coordinated well.
We enjoyed the beauty of this lovely state without many distractions thanks to the planning and support provided by the travel team.

We had an incredible trip to Finland and Estonia thanks to Emerson’s outstanding planning and support. When our flight to Helsinki was cancelled and our return home was delayed by a blizzard in the U.S., he immediately stepped in, reworked our itinerary, and helped minimize the extra costs.

Communication was excellent throughout, and Emerson was always responsive, calm, and incredibly helpful. The hotels, tours, and transfers he arranged were all fantastic, with dogsledding and the Northern Lights tour as highlights.

An unforgettable family trip. We highly recommend kimkim and Emerson!

⸻

I’ll never stop dreaming of Thailand. The people were the kindest I’ve ever met, and the beauty of the country is hard to put into words.

Overall, Kimkim was great to work with. They created exactly the kind of trip I asked for and were very responsive throughout the planning process. We specifically requested boutique, locally owned hotels, and our itinerary included four different hotels and three domestic flights, all arranged seamlessly.

Every step of the trip was organized well. We had an interpreter/guide with us throughout, and all transportation was professional, clean, and always on time. That level of organization made traveling around the country very easy.

We started with three days in Bangkok, which was such a fun city. It was vibrant and very affordable. We toured beautiful temples and did an incredible food tour through Chinatown.

In Chiang Rai, visiting the White Temple, the Blue Temple, and the Black House was fascinating. We learned a lot about Buddhism and Thai culture.

Chiang Mai was another highlight. The Elephant Nature Park was especially meaningful to me because it is a true rescue sanctuary rather than a zoo or performance venue. The night markets and street food were also fantastic.

Then there was Koh Samui. What can anyone say about the islands? It feels like being inside a movie. The beaches are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We did island hopping on private speedboats that were new, clean, and had a wonderful crew. The beauty of the islands was unforgettable.

There were just a few things I would change.

The hotel in Koh Samui, The Sarann, did not match the quality of the other three boutique hotels. The grounds, pool, and oceanfront setting were beautiful, but the rooms were quite run down and in need of renovation. The furniture was very worn (one chair actually collapsed when I sat in it), the floors were uneven, and there were visible paint issues throughout. The location was quiet, but it was also isolated—we couldn’t walk anywhere, and there were no beach chairs or umbrellas available. The staff and food also didn’t feel at the same level as the other places we stayed.

I also want to mention our guides. Leena, who was with us for much of the trip, was professional, punctual, and kept everything running on schedule. She did exactly what was required of her and handled logistics well. That said, because you spend so much time with your guide on a trip like this, it would have been nice to have someone a bit more conversational, relaxed, and enthusiastic about sharing history and culture. At times it felt like she preferred minimal interaction, which made things feel a bit awkward for long stretches of time together. Again, she did her job well—it just felt more like having a coordinator than a companion guide.

On the other hand, Cookie in Chiang Mai was fantastic. She was knowledgeable, warm, and clearly excited to share her culture and stories with us. Her enthusiasm made the experience feel much more personal and engaging.

All of our drivers were excellent as well—professional, safe, and reliable.

Overall, we had an incredible trip and Kimkim did a great job organizing a complex itinerary across multiple cities and flights. Thailand completely captured my heart, and I can’t wait to come back someday.

Excellent trip planning. Elena really listened to our desires and worked hard to make sure we covered a variety of indoor and outdoor activities. Highlights for me were the paper-making instruction, Hanoi scooter ride, the majestic and peaceful mountains around Topas EcoLodge, our royal dinner, cooking class in Hoi An, and all that Chiang Mai had to offer. Your guides were all so attentive and flexible. A very enjoyable experience! I would recommend your company to anyone planning to travel to Viet Nam and Thailand!

The trip to Australia was amazing. I enjoyed many adventures that I had never done before; such as, snorkling, a camel ride, a beautiful boat trip at night of Sydney harbor. Just to name a few The Great Ocean Drive was incredible and I especially loved the 12 apostles. That was breath taking. It was a great way to be out of the cold. Everything was planned out perfectly by Paula at Kimkim. Everything ran on time with no issues. Trip of a lifetime.

We just completed a 12 day trip to Nepal. I had been planning the trip for several months and Kim Kim, specifically, Chhewang, helped us along every step of the way! He listened to what we wanted to do and set us up with a great itinerary. We have never done an organized tour before. We were referred by friends, and we are so glad we chose this route for our trip to Nepal!
The first few days were spent in Kathmandu, which is a wonderful city. Pick up at the airport, and all transportation provided by Kim Kim was flawless. After Kathmandu, we were off to Pokhara for a trek. The drive from Kathmandu to Pokhara is the only part of the trip we would change. The roads are horrible and crowded. The ride of about 200 km, took about 8 hours. The views were good, but the time would have been better spent by flying. Pokhara is beautiful, and we could have done a couple more days of exploring there on our own. The trek was great and some of the most beautiful things we have ever seen! We are 60 and 68, and in decent physical condition. This pushed us as far as we wanted, and we are so glad we did it. What made it most enjoyable was our guide, Pema. He was absolutely the best! Just a wonderful person and so helpful and informative! He is now truly a friend for life! After the stay in Pokhara we were off to Chitwan National Park. Again, a wonderful experience! Made even better by our guide Suren. We saw many things and enjoyed the accommodation very much. After a few days there, a flight back to Kathmandu for a day or so and then a ride to the airport. Overall, a 5 star tour and experience.

This was our first time in Egypt. I worked with Kim Kim travel to organize and customize our trip. The service was outstanding. The original itinerary although well thought out wasn’t a 100% of what we wanted. We contact Aya with the changes, she was completely responsive and made all the changes so we could have a completely customized agenda. Kim Kim travel representative Aya did an outstanding job. Whenever I contacted her she got right back to me. It seems she works 24 hours a day.
During our time in Cairo, she was always available and checking in to make sure that things were going well. Any glitches she immediately corrected. I can’t say enough about her service and attention to detail.

Upon arriving in Cairo we were met by Osama, and we were fortunate enough to have Osama as our Tour Guide in Cairo towards the end of our trip as well. He has a genuine love for Egypt and an incredible knowledge regarding the history of Cairo and the history of Egypt in general. Aside from his sincere love for his country and ability to flawlessly instill his knowledge he is a most delightful individual and a joy to be around.
Sam, another one of our guides while we were in Cairo is a wealth of information and sincerely cares about his tour groups. We toured the GEM, the pyramids, Memphis, Sakkara and a full day trip in Alexandrea with him. Sam is another outstanding Tour Guide and Egyptologist, with a wealth acknowledge and a true love of his country He has a sincere respect for other cultures and is fun to be around. We purchased custom made rugs, which will take several months to manufacture. Sam has offered to stay in touch with us and the manufacturer until the job is completed to our satisfaction.

Mansour was our guide on the river, Nile cruise and in Luxor and Aswan. Mansour is a very special person and also an Egyptologist with a superior knowledge of Aswan and Luxor, not only from a historical perspective but seems to know all the hidden gems of the cities as well, not to mention he seems to know everyone in both cities. What a joy it was spending a few days with him, I cannot say enough about Mansour he such a wonderful person.

I don’t remember all our drivers names, but they were all terrific as well , respectful and accommodating.

We have used KimKim twice and have recommended them to several friends and fellow travellers. Why?
Prompt responses and very professional, caring and thoughtful representatives (Alex Conrado this trip) who were able to understand what we were looking for, using their local knowledge and experience to work with us to created our holiday. We felt we were dealing with a personal friend on our most recent trip to Belize (in fact he took the time to meet as face-to-face in Antigua). Arrangements made by KimKim have always been 100 reliable, including accommodation, transportation and activities.

We had two guides and drivers, one in Chiang Mai and the other in Bangkok. The ones in Chiang Mai were terrific! In Bangkok, our driver was great. The guide, who has been doing the job for many many years, seemed a bit unenthusiastic. She certainly was punctual and fulfilled the itinerary, but it all seemed on auto-pilot.
We booked hotels prior to engaging KimKim. It seems our Bangkok hotel was out of the central area, thus making touring less convenient. As KimKim had our hotel address and designed our touring itinerary, we would have appreciated its guidance on possibly changing hotel location to improve its convenience for touring.

The trip was a lifelong memorable event for us especially Penguin tours, Glacier tours and Torres del Paine. Kimkim travel partners organized the program well and made us comfortable.

We can't speak highly enough about our team at KimKIm. Our 16 day trip to Patagonia, Atacama and Rapa Nui ran like clockwork. A team member was always almost instantly available (via WhatsApp) whenever we had a question. Not only were the hotels, guides and transfers excellent, they helped make dinner reservations for those of us who speak no Spanish. Just absolutely first rate, from start to finish.

Absolutely flawless service! They made our trip a best ever experience with a tour company. Excellent hotel, transportation arrangements, the Best Tour Guides we've ever had. They stayed in touch and continually updated us for each event. Also we requested last minute additions to our itinerary that were perfectly executed by the team!!!

helpful at booking stage and didn’t mind how many times tweaked the trip.
Actual tour superb, our main guide & 2 local ones were exceptional. Whole trip felt personalised, efficient and well informed.

There were great suggestions that were made and amazing tours that were booked.

I thought the info on visas should have been much more blatant and way more highlighted. That cost me a day a day and an additional $2,000 in airline rebooking fees.

Also, I felt one night of the hotel in Melbourne could have been cancelled when I had to rebook my flight due to the airline rebooking issue, but it wasn’t, and lastly, I was told there would be not “drop off charge” on a car rental in Port Macquarie, but there was. I received a written apology, but not financial compensation.

Overall the trip was fantastic. My husband and I thought KimKim did a great job in helping us to create our vacation. The vacation was well-paced and had a variety of different experiences, some strenuous and some more relaxing. The landscapes were breathtaking. We especially loved kayaking near the glacier (Moreno) and the day we spent with our private guide, Max. Also loved the hike up to Upsula Glacier and the fantastic lunch in the Estancia. The hotels were very good; however the Boutique Hotel La Cantera was a bit run down. No big deal, just not as nice as the others. All of the guides were great and the connections all went very smoothly. Probably my least favorite part was the hike on Punto Arenas. It was very boggy and muddy and I couldn't make it all the way; Jim did with difficulty. But others did fine; I guess we are not in such good shape. Also, the zodiac there was rather long--two hours each way, wet and pounding--but I know my husband chose that area!

I also appreciated it that a KimKim rep met with us at one point during the vacation to go over a particular itinerary. In fact they were easy to reach and quick to respond anytime we had questions.

I highly recommend using KimKim for your vacation!

We could not be more amazed by this trip!! Everything went incredibly smoothly. Rides came, hotels were all arranged, tours were delightful, guides were like family, not to mention the unbelievable backdrop of Australia!!
We loved every minute! Thank you so much KimKim for a trip we’ll never forget!

Everything was meticulously planned & went perfectly. Huge attention to detail, which we greatly appreciated.