Chadya Ricardo

Our guide Doris in Sao Paulo for both the Avenida Paulista and Centro tours was great. She was really informative and friendly. We would encourage people to walk in the centro area, if the police presence is maintained, because it is very interesting. We didn't feel it was any more dangerous than San Francisco.
In Bonito and the Pantanal our guide was Miguel Aguilar. He was absolutely brilliant. He was really knowledgeable and very friendly. He also took great photographs that he shared with us. He is quadrilingual - Spanish, English, French and Portuguese, so I would definitely recommend that you use him for other guests to the area.
Our driver in the same area was Gerson. He was really good, drove very safely and was also great at spotting wildlife.

We loved all the activities we did in Bonito and the Pantanal. Posuada Aguape is a really great place, with fantastic staff and delicious food.

To start off, I was very happy with my trip and I came in with multiple concerns relating to safety and Yellow/Dengue fever outbreak in Brazil. Coming out of it, I think the safety was much overblown and I did not have any issues with mosquitoes as I used bug spray, sprayed clothes ahead of time, and I avoided going to the Amazon rain forest and other areas that are in more "higher-risk" areas.
Using Kim-kim significantly helped with the ease. I was able to modify things before I paid for them, and I was picked up from the airport and had guides set up. Could I have found something cheaper? probably, but I am paying for the convenience and the safety because I needed a guide for any big trip I would go on because I do not speak Portuguese.
I do wish there was a breakdown of the pricing because the lack of transparency makes me think I could have gotten a better deal, especially with the exchange rate and how things tend to be very affordable in Brazil.
I stayed at Hotel Arena Copacabana. The couple negatives that I experienced while I was there was that I arrived at the airport at 8 AM and was exhausted, but my room was not ready until 2 PM so I had to "waste" 6 hours exploring the area until I was able to go to my room and nap. In addition, I believe under the description I was told that each guest gets 1 free water bottle, which was not the case. You can buy one for 8 Brazilian Real.
Overall my room was fine. The view was sort of from the side so it was not the best, but overall I was satisfied with it. The staff was very courteous and they cleaned the room very well when asked.
The guide I spent the most time with was Louis. He was great, and from the beginning I felt very comfortable with him. He bought souvenirs for my guest and I, and he would get us waters when we needed it. He did discuss politics and philosophy a lot but overall I was very happy with him. He took us to Christ the Redeemer, Sugar Loaf Mountain, Tijuca Rain Forest. I wish we went on actual hikes in the rain forest. We essentially drove into the area, and stopped at areas to take pictures near the waterfall. I was a little underwhelmed with the rain forest. Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain were cool to see. Definitely a must-see, but it is definitely a big tourist attraction.
The next guide was Danyel, or he goes by Jack Danyel. I requested to not go to the Favelas for tours due to safety concerns. We did end up going to the Vidigal Favella and took a van to the top to get to Two Brother's Peak. The hike was very strenuous and I was sweating buckets by the time I got down. We then had food at the Favela and rode a motor-bike down. The food we had at the Favela was very good. The Favela was nowhere as dangerous as online reviews make it seem. I may have also lucked out because at that time there was no ongoing conflict between police and drug gangs in that area. We then went on ao bike tour. My one critique was that Jack Danyel tended to be on his phone for the majority of the time.
The next guide was Miguel. The main adventure with him was going kayaking. Unfortunately, the waves and wind did not let us go to Tijuca Island but we went around the lagoon and enjoyed that as well. Miguel was a great tour guide.
The last day we went on a Food Tour. Vicente, he did not contact me ahead of time like the rest did to confirm pick-up time. Either ways, I loved the food tour and he was very informative. I thinka food tour should be required for any trip to a foerign country to learn about the food and culture. I had a great time that day.
Louis drove us back as scheduled.
Overall, this was a great trip with very few negatives. I definitely want to go back to Brazil again in the future. Almost every guide offered their services to me in the future if I have any questions on future trips and I do plan to keep in contact with them. Louis contacted me later to make sure I arrived in the states ok.

Hotel Review

Arena Copacabana Hotel

Rio de Janeiro

Good location. Annoyed that I had to wait 6 hours to get my room. Wasn't necessarily the fault of my hotel but it was tough to get to the hotel 8 AM from a long flight and wait a while. They do not give any free water bottle for each guest, even though I believe they mentioned that.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Beach was right across the street.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The rooms were ok. They cleaned the rooms very well.

Activity Reviews

Half-Day private tour: Santa Teresa and Rio’s Municipal Theater

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-Day Tour of Two Brothers Peak & Vidigal Favela

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half Day- Rio by Bike

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayak around Tijuca Island

Rio de Janeiro

The weather did not allow us to go to Tijuca Island so we went around the lagoon.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Food Tour in Rio

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Christ the Redeemer & Sugar Loaf Mountain

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Half-day tour Tijuca Forest

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Incredible trip to our favorite parts of Brazil! My wife and I had lived in Brazil for a time doing volunteer work. We were unable to do much tourism when we lived there so we didn’t have tons of knowledge about what to do or how to book it. Luckily we had the fortune of using Kim Kim and getting to have Chayda’s recommendations. It was very short notice but everything was done extremely well. Our plans were updated on the fly as we wanted to have a little bit of extra time in certain areas. We loved our guides in Rio and Jericoacoara namely Miguel, Cézar, and our driver from Parnaíba to Jericoacoara (for the life of me I can’t remember his name but he was amazing).

Activity Reviews

Half-Day Tour of Two Brothers Peak & Vidigal Favela

Rio de Janeiro

Tour guide Miguel was awesome and flexible to our needs. We had some of the most amazing moments exploring Rio and the Favelas. We felt very safe and well guided the whole time

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excepcional English skills

Transport

Authentic Brazilian

Dune Buggy Tour

Jericoacoara

Great opportunities to see the cool areas of Jericoacoara. Knowledgeable guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Cézar was very friendly and made sure we got to spend our time well

Transport

Half Day- Rio by Bike

Rio de Janeiro

Beautiful parts of Rio and at a great pace.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Chadya was efficient and provided an ideal itinerary, taking in all our preferences and trip needs.
In Paraty, guide Danielle was especially good, also Luis in Rio de Janeiro, and Marcos in Iguacu.
All our places to stay were exactly as described, and the drivers were on time, and connections by boat and plane were as described. We have seen the most amazing places and enjoyed great food and company.
We particularly like the Pousada d’Ouro in Paraty, also the Pousada Naturalia in Ilha Grande
As older travellers, we would have liked more written information of our flight details before we got the boarding passes by email the day before the flight. I am a bit of a worrier, and this was perhaps the only detail I could mention in a superbly managed trip.

Activity Reviews

Full Day Paraty Tour

Paraty

Guide Danielle excellent, good historical knowledge

Quality of Experience

Golden Trail Tour

Paraty

The two waterfall stops were good, but the distillery not much to see.

Half Day Boat Tour of Ilha Grande

Ilha Grande

Lots of swimming

Christ the Redeemer & Sugar Loaf Mountain

Rio de Janeiro

We did Christ the Redeemer visit and Sugar Loaf trips on different days, and I would recommend that, as they are the two most amazing experiences and needed time to appreciate. So the old town could be added on one of those days

Full-Day Private Tour through the Old Rio

Rio de Janeiro

Luis guide recommended. He showed us the old library, go and see. Also craft shops and painters studio

Iguaçu Falls - Brazilian Side

Foz do Iguaçu

Guide Marcos very helpful. Has to be seen to be believed

Iguaçu Falls - Argentinean side

Foz do Iguaçu

Guide Marcos very helpful We also visited the dam instead of the bird park. We found that very interesting. Marcos arranged the change, thank you.

Everything went well with the plan. We got pick up on time and have a good drivers + tour guide staff. /We were not happy with one tour guy (he was old and rude to us) and got a replacement right away the next day.
Our hotels are reasonable and in good locations but they are not the top as we pay the VIP package. Especially, the hotel in Sao Paulo: it should be rated as 2 -3 stars not 4. I would recommended that you choose your hotels rather than Kimkim.
Sao Paulo is very big city and quite dangerous for tourist. Other cities are ok but still: walking at night after 7: 30PM is not recommended.

Hotel Reviews

Miramar Hotel by Windsor

Rio de Janeiro

The pool is too small. Not for swimming but sit in to cool and drink.

Authenticity & Character

Location

In front of the beach and surrounded with restaurants

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Solar do Rosário

Ouro Preto

Overall review: Good location, not really a 4 stars as it claims. It does not provide water and have no kettle or coffee maker in the room; it has a good size swimming pool and good restaurant to dine in. We rate it as 3 stars hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Washroom a bit old and smelly.

Wish Hotel da Bahia

Salvador

Good location: beside of a city park. Good restaurant in front of hotel . Not many restaurant near by. I would rate this hotel as a 3 stars. NO free bottle water in the room either.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Wyndham São Paulo Paulista

Sao Paulo

it is definitely not a 4 stars hotel. No free water bottle in the room. Hotel restaurant is not great. Next door has an Agentina restaurant which has excellent steak with very good price.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Half- day tour in Belo Horizonte and Transfer to Ouro Preto

ouro preto

We landed in Belo Horizonte and was pick up by the driver and a tour guy who did not even offer to help us with luggages. We has only 2 carryon and 2 napbacks but it was a very long walk from the airplan to the parking. Our tour guy was a very old man whom mumbling that we could not understand a word he said then he yelled as my husband when my husband complained about no good air condition in the car. We was upset and asked to go straight to our hotel in Ouro Preto: forget about the tour. We was glad that Kimkim change our tour guy the next day. The car air condition was fixed the next day as well. Our driver was great with all the steep hills in Ouro Preto.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our local specialist, Chadya, put together a great package according to our requests. We got to experience the highlights of the area. Our itinerary was well communicated with relevant details included. The total price was a bit higher than expected, though partly due to our own choosing. But the transparency of the pricing was not very good, the price of each component of the trip was not laid out. We had a great local guide/translator, Miguel, who had lots of helpful and interesting knowledge. We found that the use of translator for airport pickup/drop-off was a bit unnecessary. But all in all we a great trip and we are pleased with the experience.

Our trip to Brazil was amazing from the start when we decided to contact kimkim. Chadya is exceptional and she catered to our every need even though we kept changing dates and programmes. All our guides were exceptional and went out of their way to see that we had a wonderful vacation. Well done kimkim. I would recommend kimkim to anyone and I would use them over and over again. Beyond exceptional!!

Hotel Reviews

Arena Leme Hotel

Rio de Janeiro

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Bogari

Foz do Iguaçu - PR

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Adrianópolis All Suites

Street Salvador, 195

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Amazon Eco Park Jungle Lodge

Manaus

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Christ the Redeemer & Sugar Loaf Mountain

Rio de Janeiro

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Iguaçu Falls - Brazilian Side

Foz do Iguaçu

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Iguaçu Falls - Argentinean side

Foz do Iguaçu

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Forest of the Monkeys

The Amazon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit to the native's house

The Amazon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Recreational Piranha fishing

The Amazon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Meeting of the Waters

The Amazon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nocturnal tour with animal spotting

The Amazon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jungle Walk

The Amazon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What an incredible trip! Tackling a huge country like Brazil in just two weeks was a daunting task, but Chadya made the whole process easy and enjoyable. Her itinerary was wonderful; we visited Rio, Foz de Iguacu, the Amazon, and Jericoacoara, and all were amazing experiences. The hotels (Copacabana Palace, Hotel das Cataratas, Villa Amazonia, Juma Amazon Lodge, and Huricane Jeri) were uniformly top notch. Our excursions were interesting and informative, with private guides able to help cater to exactly our whims (cheers to Vincente for his patience while we bought havaianas!). My traveling companion is staying in Brazil for a few weeks, and he's looking forward to hanging out with another guide, Pedro, to surf.

One of the best things about a service like kimkim is that all the little details are taken care of. It was so nice to know that someone else was checking us into our flights, and a car would be waiting to take us to the airport and pick us up. Chadya and her team were also available to answer questions or resolve any minor hiccups, which was a relief in a country where we didn't speak the language.

Overall, this was our second time using kimkim, and this time did not disappoint. We look forward to using kimkim again in the future!!