Leo Cuesta

My time in El Nido was amazing, and it was all thanks to Leo and the staff at Uncharted Earth! Leo took care of everything and answered all my questions and concerns in such a timely fashion and patient way. I was super anxious about traveling to the Philippines alone for the first time, and because Leo organized everything for me, I was able to enjoy my time there without having to worry about all the little details. El Bacuit Tours was also amazing, and the tour guides who work for the... read more

My time in El Nido was amazing, and it was all thanks to Leo and the staff at Uncharted Earth! Leo took care of everything and answered all my questions and concerns in such a timely fashion and patient way. I was super anxious about traveling to the Philippines alone for the first time, and because Leo organized everything for me, I was able to enjoy my time there without having to worry about all the little details. El Bacuit Tours was also amazing, and the tour guides who work for the company are so friendly and welcoming. People like Jojo and Mike (and the others whose names escape me right now) were excellent, helpful, and just so nice! The islands and the beaches there were pristine, and the views were spectacular. Tour A and Tour C were definitely my favorites, and I had so much fun snorkeling and kayaking in beautiful clear waters! Also, the staff at the Sea Cocoon hotel was excellent. The hotel was clean, and they provide bottled water for every guest in the room. They went above and beyond to make the guests feel welcome. They even packed me a complimentary sandwich the day I left for the airport! All in all, I would highly recommend kimkim and Leo as the local specialist.

Activity Reviews

Island hopping in El Nido - Tour A - group tour

El Nido

The sights were spectacular here!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Island hopping in El Nido - Tour C - group tour

El Nido

As with Tour A, the sights were particularly spectacular. Great snorkeling locations.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had the most memorable first time in the Philippines thanks to Kim Kim and the wonderful staff from Unchartered Philippines. We get to Manila and Ana picked us up and toured Intermesos. She was nice, sweet, informative. The next days we spent in Palawan starting with Rich in Puerto Princessa for one day then 4 in El Nido. You can really tell the passion and knowledge Rich had about the country, Palawan. He was personable and friendly. The drivers were great and our tours with Mike and his... read more

We had the most memorable first time in the Philippines thanks to Kim Kim and the wonderful staff from Unchartered Philippines. We get to Manila and Ana picked us up and toured Intermesos. She was nice, sweet, informative. The next days we spent in Palawan starting with Rich in Puerto Princessa for one day then 4 in El Nido. You can really tell the passion and knowledge Rich had about the country, Palawan. He was personable and friendly. The drivers were great and our tours with Mike and his crew along with Rich was exceptional. The lunches were absolutely amazing. Rich was also kind and helpful to my mother who was limited in activities that can be done but equally enjoyed the part of the PI she’s never seen. When we got to Coron, Jonas was our guide and equally good. His passion for the environment and the ocean really showed through. He was great leading us through the tour especially with his diving experience. He went the extra mile to bring us places we couldn’t miss. Both boat tours were kind, professional, and that real Philippine spirit of hospitality. My children enjoyed everything and even tried new foods. Thank you for showing us part of the beautiful country. It will be a large part of our special time as a family together.

Leo was amazing in putting together a seamless and unforgettable national parks trip. He was super communicative and came up with a flexible plan that allowed us to get some remote work done during our time away as well, as he arranged unique weekend guided tours and self-guided hikes during the week. He understood our goals with hiking and came up with trail options that matched the technicality and difficulty level we were looking for. The guided tours were so much fun and we had really... read more

Leo was amazing in putting together a seamless and unforgettable national parks trip. He was super communicative and came up with a flexible plan that allowed us to get some remote work done during our time away as well, as he arranged unique weekend guided tours and self-guided hikes during the week. He understood our goals with hiking and came up with trail options that matched the technicality and difficulty level we were looking for. The guided tours were so much fun and we had really interesting guides that we enjoyed hearing stories from about their personal lives and adventures- the mountain bike and kayak guides were super cool. The ATV tour was quite a thrill ride! Altogether, the trip was amazing, and we crossed off a major bucket list item of seeing the big 5 utah parks plus more (Grand Canyon + Lake powell)! And all of the hotels were perfect - many served breakfast, and they all had good wifi so the two of us were able to get work done remotely. We owe it Leo for the awesome memories we shared and beautiful sights we saw!

Everything was great.
The tours were excellent. I was a little late to the ATV tours in Sedona because I did not have enough time to drive from the airport to Sedona.
The grand canyon was impressive.
The antelope tours were great but very busy.

One note: communication was very challenging when we were trying to finalize all the details because Leo was in a remote part of the world and had very bad service.

We had a fantastic trip through Napa Valley, Monterey and San Francisco. Leo helped us plan outings such as a day long ebike tour through the wineries, horseback riding on the beach and a hike through the redwood trees. He was so responsive to our questions and great to work with! Thank you, Leo! read more

We had a fantastic trip through Napa Valley, Monterey and San Francisco. Leo helped us plan outings such as a day long ebike tour through the wineries, horseback riding on the beach and a hike through the redwood trees. He was so responsive to our questions and great to work with! Thank you, Leo!

Activity Reviews

Sonoma e-bike wine tour

Napa

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Beach horseback riding in Monterey

Monterey

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a great time on our trip! Our vacation guide was very well put together and was full of information. We really appreciated not having to worry about bookings.

I made the mistake of indicating that I didn't have a budget but I didn't intend that to mean I have no budget at all. I meant that I wanted to see what the hotel options were and choose the ones I liked best taking into consideration cancellation policies and location. I ended up in two *very* expensive hotels unnecessarily in my opinion. I have shared all this with my travel expert.

We had a prior wonderful experience with KimKIm on trip to Morocco. Because of that we selected KimKim for our trip to Alaska.

Our planner went to Alaska once as a child, and lives in Las Vegas. He has no local knowledge. Examples:

1- What'd you know about Sitka we would like to go? "I do not know much".
The plan we are given takes ferry booked leaving Wrangell to Juneau arriving 3:45AM two days later.
We then book a one day return flight from Juneau to Sitka the for the day we... read more

We had a prior wonderful experience with KimKIm on trip to Morocco. Because of that we selected KimKim for our trip to Alaska.

Our planner went to Alaska once as a child, and lives in Las Vegas. He has no local knowledge. Examples:

1- What'd you know about Sitka we would like to go? "I do not know much".
The plan we are given takes ferry booked leaving Wrangell to Juneau arriving 3:45AM two days later.
We then book a one day return flight from Juneau to Sitka the for the day we arrive. Tough schedule but worth it as many people told us about Sitka.

We get on the Ferry and find out it stops in Sitka mid day on the day before our planned flights. We get a room, in Sitka stay one night and use the already scheduled flight from Sitka to Juneau. We could not get refunds for our flight from Juneau to Sitka or for our hotel. Total cost $600-$700. The cost was unnecessary, but given poor planning our only option.

2- We wanted to do to Leconte Glacier. We were told it was sold out. We arrive in Wrangell, make two phone calls and bingo have a tour the next day to Leconte.

3- We were booked in a hotel in Anchorage which was a $60 round trip cab fare, plus miles away from the downtown area where our tours left from. therefor we had three days of $60 cab fares for $180.

In short Leo lacks any in depth knowledge of Alaska costing us missed opportunity, time and money. We feel he failed us as a KimKim representative, the complete oposite of our Morocco experience.

Activity Reviews

Matanuska Glacier Hiking

Anchorage, AK

The glacier guide, Chris, was great. He made sure we understood how to walk on the glacier with micro spikes, demonstrated concern for our safety, and possessed a wealth of knowledge about glaciers in general and Matanuska, in particular. He explained the differences in the ice (white, blue, and black), the extent and scope of the glacier, the moraines and rock composition. It was fabulous. Two hour ride from downtown Anchorage to get to the entry road.

Quality of Experience

Food

Can't rate food as we stopped along the way at a Fred Meyer to pick up our lunches.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chris the guide was fabulous.

Transport

Misty Fjords Seaplane Tour

Ketchikan

Our experience was with Taquan Air, not pictured here. Taquan Air as best we can tell transports cargo and people around the islands of the Inland Passage. I think they do a Misty Fjords flightsee as another aspect of their business. We had about a one hour trip to, around and back from the fjord. The narration was provided by a recording. There was no or very limited opportunity to ask questions. When we arrived back at the base dock, it was over and the staff where there to load cargo for the next flight. No personal comment like "we hope you enjoyed it." The front desk person was cordial when we checked in and when we left.

Quality of Experience

Prepare the customer for the narrated recording. We understand the pilot is busy flying the plane.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Chance to ask questions about what we didn't understand during the narrated recording. There is blue ice up on the mountains. I am still not sure why. No comments or narrative from the pilot, I felt like cargo.

Transport

Whale Watching & Wildlife Viewing Excursion

Ketchikan

The captain and deck hand, Sam, were very personable. The captain spotted the spout of a humpback and tried so hard to find a pod of whales. That one spout was from one whale who didn't really want to perform for us. We understand that we are encroaching on the whale's home and he is not there to entertain us. The captain really did work to locate other wildlife but to no avail. We ended up having a private tour, no other passengers.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very personable staff. My husband sat in the pilot house with the captain while they talked boats!

Transport

Ended up being a private tour. Can't beat that!

Day trip to Sitka

Juneau, AK

Our trip started in Ketchikan and we took the ferry (Alaska Marine Highway) to Wrangell - 6 hour trip. From Wrangell, we were booked on the ferry to Juneau, due to arrive 31 hours later at 3:45AM. (not a misprint). We had a cabin booked on the boat. The plan was to arrive at the hotel, take a nap, go to the airport and catch an 11AM flight to Sitka to go to the Raptor Center, possibly some whales from the shore, and then a Bear rehab facility, and Sitka Nat'l Park with totem poles. We would tour Sitka on our own and catch a 7PM flight back to Juneau. Once we were on the ferry, and learned the ports of call for this particular ferry, we learned the ferry was due to stop at Sitka, around 1PM on the day before our roundtrip flight from and to Juneau and our one day excursion. Once we were in an area where we had cell service, about an hour from the Sitka dock, we called hotels in Sitka to get a room (we did), we called our hotel in Juneau to cancel our first night (sorry no refund, too late) and called Alaska Air to cancel only our outbound flight from Juneau to Sitka (sorry no refund, but can apply funds to future travel but not upgrades or food). We were SO glad to spend a day and a half in Sitka. We had the opportunity to get into the cathedral and the Russian Bishop's house (Sitka Nat'l Park), walk to the top of hill where Russia transferred Alaska to the US in 1867 and where the US flag was first raised in Alaska in 1959 when it became a state. The Raptor Center was great, as was the bear rehab place, both brown and black bears. Also caught a great picture of a bald eagle in flight . We were able to fit in the Bishop's House and Cathedral because were were there longer than just a "day trip." As to the actual "day trip" excursions they were fine and informative. Also found a quilt shop that heavily features Alaska themed fabrics and quilt patterns. That was a bonus for me.

Kenai Fjords National Park Glacier & Wildlife Cruise

Seward, AK

This tour was amazing. The captain (yeah- a female!!) provided a great tour and informed narrative out to the glacier. We spent time on the way out and the way back looking for and finding wildlife, including orcas, humpbacks, sea otters, and porpoise. All the staff on the vessel were personable and I spent some time talking to several of them. The vessel is a high-speed catamaran and goes into the Gulf of Alaska to get to the glacier. It has a great configuration to see the wildlife whether at the bow, along the sides, or at the stern.

Quality of Experience

Food

the warm brownies at the end of the trip. Thanks for asking ahead of time what we wanted for lunch.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Rafting the Nenana River

Denali National Park, AK

This was a great trip. My 2PM trip was cancelled and I was asked if I could do a 6PM trip instead. I did. However, my hotel stops serving dinner at 10PM so I missed dinner and my next excursion the next morning was at 5:30 so it made for a hungry, short night. Regardless, the rafting was great. I opted to paddle so sat up front. Glad to have a wet suit. Most of the guides are young, certainly younger than I am. They provided the "power" to the raft and those of us paddling helped steer.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Prince William Sound cruise

Anchorage, AK

This was a great tour of several glaciers with opportunity to see them calve. We visited two significant glaciers in Prince William Sound. Bonus was the narrator from the US Forest Service providing information about the wildlife -on the water and on land- and surrounding mountains. We stopped to watch a pod of humpbacks swim though none breached. Also saw a raft of sea otters - and sea otter babies. Our trip started in Anchorage with a bus trip to Whittier via a 3.5 mile tunnel through the mountain that is shared with the Alaska Railroad (but not at the same time).

Quality of Experience

Several glaciers to see. You don't get to all 26.

Food

Hot chocolate chip cookies near the end of the cruise. "Chowdah" was nice and warm!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly.

Transport

The detour to Alyseska and the tunnel ride.

Denali Tundra Wilderness bus tour

Denali National Park, AK

We learned about the taiga and tundra, ghost forests, and boreal forests. Didn't get to see Denali but I am in the 66% that didn't. Apparently, Denali is better seen in later fall and winter and appreciated more from afar than in the park. Snack pack was provided to all- Kind bar, turkey stick, nuts, cheez balls. Park does a good job of recycling the trash from this trip. When we saw three caribou, we stopped for a sufficient amount of time to view them and then they crossed the road in front of the bus for a close-up!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Couldn't hear most of what the driver who was also the guide was saying as is voice frequently trailed off toward the end of his comments.

Transport

The tour operator uses school bus like vehicles for this tour. The problem is that school bus windows open from the top and stop half way, about the same level as my eyes, so I was looking a metal sash most of the time. That said, when wildlife was spotted, folks stood up to look out the windows. We didn't get off the bus except at limited stops to view the surrounding area.

Dogsledding on a glacier

Juneau, AK

This was an outstanding day. We had good weather. The helicopter ride was wonderful. The view on the glacier was out of this world, and the dog sledding was not only fun but very informative. Definitely recommended.

Quality of Experience

Overall just amazing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Great staff and helicopter pilot. The musher was really informative.

Transport

Denali Highway Jeep Excursion

Denali National Park, AK

Some nice views. Lots pf driving. Limited wild life. Be prepared for a 65 - 70 mph 30 min drive to and 30 min back on a highway. Then about 2 hours drive at 45 mph on a firm dirt road. They told us we would be back at the hotel by 10. pm. We arrived back at 10:55 and the restaurant closed at 11pm. Had we not pre-ordered dinner and asked them to save it, we would not have eaten.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Anchorage city tour

Anchorage, AK

Be prepared to visit selected retail shops for half the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fairbanks Riverboat tour

fairbanks alaska

Very informative. Excellent staff. A good thing to do in Fairbanks. If you are in Fairbanks definitely recommended.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

All of it.

Leo gave us an excellent itinerary for our California road trip. The hotel choices were always in a convenient location and the details in the hiking trails was appreciated. Links to google maps were provided. We spent time in Joshua Tree, Death Valley, Sequoia, Monterey & Carmel.

I can’t thank Leo enough. We had the best family vacation yet to Northern California and the coast. He took so much time get all the details, where to eat with fabulous restaurant picks, order of how to see the National Parks. (Sequoia and Yosemite) Fabulous reservations. Everything went seamless. I don’t think I will travel without an agent.

Leo arranged one of my best vacation week.
Not only he is knowledgeable about local hidden trails but also all other adventure activities.
I highly recommend Leo for west coast destinations.

Overall the trekking was very well organised with excellent commumication leading up to the trek itself. The rice terraces of Ifugao were truly amazing and better that I expected. Loved the villages and the warm welcome we received throughout our journey. Our guide Marvin was very friendly and led us through well, and has a superb knowledge of the local area, the environment, its people and its customs.

We had to make some initial route adjustmenst due the poor weather and track... read more

Overall the trekking was very well organised with excellent commumication leading up to the trek itself. The rice terraces of Ifugao were truly amazing and better that I expected. Loved the villages and the warm welcome we received throughout our journey. Our guide Marvin was very friendly and led us through well, and has a superb knowledge of the local area, the environment, its people and its customs.

We had to make some initial route adjustmenst due the poor weather and track conditions, and the unforeseen eco-tourism shutdown at Sagada was well covered by the alternative day to the Hapao valley and hot springs. Marvin made it all happen without any stress or fuss.

I would also recommend that hikers be made aware of the need to negotiate the many narrow walls in the rice terraces, some of which are quite high and slippery in places. We had one or two close calls!

For adventurous hikers, this area is a must-do

If you are looking for an adventure then book yourself the Ifugao Villages Trek.
Forget the telephone and fl-yin rescue teams. You depend on your buddies and the locals.
We combined our trip with a trip to Sagada. (8 day tour including travel to and from Manila.
Our tour guide Marvin is a local and answers all questions regarding the Ifugao region.
Unfortunately the day we arrived in Sagada all tourist attractions got shut down due to the covit-19.
Marvin took us back to Banaue where we were... read more

If you are looking for an adventure then book yourself the Ifugao Villages Trek.
Forget the telephone and fl-yin rescue teams. You depend on your buddies and the locals.
We combined our trip with a trip to Sagada. (8 day tour including travel to and from Manila.
Our tour guide Marvin is a local and answers all questions regarding the Ifugao region.
Unfortunately the day we arrived in Sagada all tourist attractions got shut down due to the covit-19.
Marvin took us back to Banaue where we were able to visit the hot springs instead.
Top hike. Highly recommended.
(If you suffer from vertigo, dizzy spells or are not steady on your legs do not book this trip!)

Leo helped me plan 2 great adventures in the Philippines. Highly recommend!
Ifugao Trek: Jody was an AMAZING guide for the Ifugao trek. Very knowledgable, personable, genuine, fun, and kind. He went out of his way to make sure we got the experience we were looking for while also being safe. We had such a good time we would love to bring our parents back to share this awesome experience. One of the best tour guides we had, that is now a friend .

Northern Palawan Tour: Jhonas was very... read more

Leo helped me plan 2 great adventures in the Philippines. Highly recommend!
Ifugao Trek: Jody was an AMAZING guide for the Ifugao trek. Very knowledgable, personable, genuine, fun, and kind. He went out of his way to make sure we got the experience we were looking for while also being safe. We had such a good time we would love to bring our parents back to share this awesome experience. One of the best tour guides we had, that is now a friend .

Northern Palawan Tour: Jhonas was very knowledgable about the area. We admire his dedication to the community and eco-tourism industry in Coron. He is a master of photography, and took some amazing pictures of us; he worked very hard to ensure that we captured the memorable moments of the Northern Palawan Tour. Jhonas also is an incredible cook; we did not go hungry on the trip, we felt very special and catered to which was amazing on our honeymoon trip.

I wasn’t sure what to expect as this was my first trip to the Philippines and my first experience with kimkim. The trip more than met my expectations and frankly, I was blown away. Leo from Uncharted Earth kept in touch, answered my questions, and made and adjusted arrangements quickly and graciously. He sent photos, bios and cell numbers for everyone I would be guided by in the Philippines so I knew who was supposed to be meeting me. While in the Manila area the guides, Don-Don, EJ and Jhon... read more

I wasn’t sure what to expect as this was my first trip to the Philippines and my first experience with kimkim. The trip more than met my expectations and frankly, I was blown away. Leo from Uncharted Earth kept in touch, answered my questions, and made and adjusted arrangements quickly and graciously. He sent photos, bios and cell numbers for everyone I would be guided by in the Philippines so I knew who was supposed to be meeting me. While in the Manila area the guides, Don-Don, EJ and Jhon were fun, friendly and knowledgeable. They helped me try new foods and I had a great time seeing the sights. I seriously underestimated the effects of heat and humidity and they adjusted accordingly, cheering me on and helping me out at Taal Volcano, Laguna Waterfalls and the boat ride down the rapids. We also saw historical buildings in the area. All must-see excursions. The Bayleaf hotel was also nice while in Manila. Ana Santos from Uncharted Earth was always available throughout my tour modifying travel plans and getting another driver for me when plans changed at the last minute; a flight was cancelled so that she had to fix my stay at the hotel and transportation. The only time I had problems the hotel was supposed to arrange transportation; I called Ana and she fixed that, too. While in Donsol, Donsol Eco Tours and Elysia Hotel were wonderful, adjusting for the change in flights cheerfully, the food was grand and I highly recommend the firefly boat ride, Krishna was a great guide. I would highly recommend Donsol Eco Tours and the Elysia Hotel for anyone seeing the area. While in Palawan, Stephen Tuboc showed me the sights and arranged my island hopping schedule so that I missed the crowds at each stop, the boat crew provided an amazing meal, as good as any restaurant, right there on the beach- heaven. They even managed our time so that I got to see a magical little enclosed lagoon all by myself. Truly a mind-blowing day. The Atremaru hotel was also wonderful, peaceful and felt like you were really living in the jungle. I would highly recommend Stephen as a guide, really knowledgeable. Everywhere I went the scenery was amazing, food was wonderful and I’m sure it was because Uncharted Earth did such a good job selecting the tours and lodgings. If I’ve forgotten anyone, I apologize. Two huge thumbs up.

Our trip was wonderful..Our drivers Ana and John were excelkent .Friendly and amazing druving skills and patient with our regular stops. They were wonderful to accomodate another person in our tour at the last minute.Marvin our guide was good and found great restaurants fir lunch Hillside Inn in Batad and Misty Inn in Sagada were both charming and served delicious food.
The terraced rice fields and Echo Valley were amazing and despite the long drive well worth it.Abother trip off my bucket list.Thanks Leo for your help and advice
Carina Law

Johnas was WONDERFUL. Thank you for a wonderful trip. Everything was handled expertly.