Liz Neal

KimKim offers us great ideas and even helped us out in the middle of our trip. They kept an eye on us the entire time. and addressed any concerns we had. KimKim works with some great and knowledgeable vendors to help make the best of our experiences and excursions.

Not enough can be said about Liz, our travel planner. At the very beginning of planning, we had been in touch with a few other travel companies. After talking with Liz a couple of times, there was no other companies involved. We could tell she IS the expert we were going to use. She took her time, because we had never been to Australia before and wanted a good "taste" of what Australia has to offer. Australia has a lot to offer, and Liz helped us narrow down where and what we could do in 16 days.
During our travels, if we had a question, she was there to answer it or find out what could be done to correct it. Most travel agents wouldn't be there throughout a vacation to make sure we were having the experience we expected. Liz was always quick to follow up with us. We appreciate all she did throughout the entire process of planning and then executing.
Need a travel company? Use KimKim.
Neen a travel specialist? Liz is the right person and expert.

Thank you, Gordon Cable
April 3-20, 2024. Australia Trip. Sydney, Ayers Rock, and Port Douglas areas.

Hotel Reviews

Parkroyal Darling Harbour

Sydney

Authenticity & Character

Location

Great location, just off Darling Harbour. Wonderful staff. Not too far from the Opera House and The Rocks.

Staff

Extremely helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Port Douglas Peninsula Boutique Hotel

Port Douglas

Located just across from the beach and a short walk to the city center. Nice pool and good breakfast. Just wish the bar area was open later.

Authenticity & Character

Very nice staff and pool area.

Location

Located across from 4 Mile Beach and walking distance into the city center.

Staff

Good, caring people.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Always short on towels. Bar closed after lunch. Bed was comfortable and had a kitchen area, which was nice to have,

Desert Gardens Hotel

Yulara

We were only there for an overnight stay. Nice facility and friendly staff. The Room were very nice and clean. Has a pool, but we didn't have time to use it. Others in the pool were enjoying it.

Authenticity & Character

The place had an Aboriginals feel to it.

Location

Close to Ayers rock

Staff

Very helpful and friendly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean, Updated and had all the amenities we needed.

Activity Reviews

Afternoon Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

Driver was friendly and knew the areas we went past or stopped at. a good taste of Sydney and provided ideas ot things to do or place to go.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our driver was wonderful. Wish I could remember his name. Sorry...

Transport

Comfortable bus. Loved to small group.

A Night at Field of Light

Uluru

We had a beautiful clear night to see all of the stars. The sky just lit up. The bugs in April are quite annoying until the sun goes down. Buy a head netting to keep them off of your face. Once the sun goes down, they all disappear. Beautiful vies of Ayers Rock

Quality of Experience

The lights are spectacular. We had never seen anything like that before. The food was really good with a nice variety. Very enjoyable evening. The rest rooms need something!!

Food

good variety for everyone.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

the gentleman who gave pointed out the stars and constellations was very knowledgeable and easy to understand. The dinner staff was great,

Transport

Just a short drive from the hotels

Morning Camel to Sunrise

Australia

What a great time riding the camels. We had the early morning ride, watching the sunrise and seeing Ayers Rock. We beat the bugs for most of the trip. Again, We suggest netting to cover your head.

Quality of Experience

We had more fun than expected. We had no idea what to expect. Just to ride a camel? Who doesn't want to do that!

Food

Just a Good cup of coffee and bread when you're finished with the ride. Enough for us.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guides were very helpful and easy to talk with. Funny stories along the way. You have to do this if you're out there.

Transport

Easy pick up at the hotel and short ride to the camels

Welcome to Port Douglas

Port Douglas

Had our share of rain, but that's nature. Nice area. Couldn't figure out what restaurants were going to be open because they would be open one day and closed the next. Beautiful drive from the Cairnes airport to Port Douglas along the water.

Transport

We secured our own transportation from the airport.

Hartleys Crocodile Adventures Admission and Breakfast with Koalas

Port Douglas

So much to do. A lot of Crocs. Eating and getting up-close with the Koala bear was interesting. Many different animals and reptiles to see.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Drivers were on time and very friendly.

Transport

Full-Day Barrier Reef & Coral Cays Boat Tour

Port Douglas

Had to cancel, dues to the weather. This was a bucket list for us. Was not the company's fault. Blame nature. I hate to give it a rating, but the system would let me move forward with the reviews.

Full-Day Kuranda Rail & Skyrail - Gold Class

Australia

Due to weather, the rail was cancelled. The sky rail was great and the views were spectacular. The waterfall was roaring, due to all the rain that had come down the previous days.

Quality of Experience

4 stars only due to the rail not running.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Blue Mountains Hike the World Heritage

Sydney

It's called Blue Mountains for a reason. The beautiful blue tones the area gives off.

Quality of Experience

The hike is beautiful, but not for out of shape people. The trails need to be marked better and the maps updated to show ALL paths and roads.

Food

had a sandwich. Could have used a couple of napkins.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide Chris was wonderful. He was very knowledgeable, friendly, and easy to talk with. Use a small group tour if you go.

Transport

What an incredible New Zealand trip!! Liz actually listened carefully to my very particular interests, and crafted a trip that took it all in. My highlights: A custom private guided tour with Peter from Bush and Beach. Peter was especially chosen for me, as he is also a botanist and Arborist like myself. I had asked about going to the Coromandel Peninsula, so Liz hooked me up with John, the owner of Kiwi Dundee for a semi private tour emphasizing my study of Captain Cook. We got to visit a Māori Pa, (hill fortress) mentioned in Cook’s journals, as well as a great scenic overlook of Cook’s Bay. A trip to Sanctuary Mountain was good, but one of my best experiences was the overnight on Kapiti Island with its incredible bird life! A small group tour of Zealandia Preserve at night finally got me a wild Kiwi sighting. Oops, lol, I forgot to mention my private tour of a Kiwi hatchery which was awesome! Thank you Liz! Last but not least, was my private tour of the New Zealand Museum in Wellington, where my guide exceeded my expectations as she changed her standard tour to cater to my paleontology interests and Captain Cook exhibits there. All in all, a dream trip of a lifetime, well done!

Each experience in Australia was outstanding. From Melbourne to Adelaide to Kangaroo Island to Sydney. Penguin Parade, wine tour, koalas, wallaby’s and kangaroos in the wild, climbing Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House opera were rich and satisfying endeavors!!!! Also, the accommodations were superior!!!

Thanks to Liz, our specialist, only the best was recommended to make our trip memorable.

We’re grateful for the ease of planning and execution of a remarkable journey.

Hotel Reviews

The Savoy Hotel on Little Collins

Melbourne

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Mayfair Hotel

Adelaide

Authenticity & Character

Location

U

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shangri-La Sydney

The Rocks, Sydney

Authenticity & Character

Location

U

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full Day Phillip Island & Moonlight Sanctuary with Dinner

Melbourne

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Blue Mountains Deluxe Day

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Yarra Valley Food and Wine Journey

Melbourne

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kangaroo Island In Style — 2 Days / 1 Night

Australia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Morning Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

Quality of Experience

T

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Liz was incredible! This was the first time we’ve worked with a travel agent and I think we will be using them for all big trips moving forward. Liz really listened to our needs and what we were hoping to see and do while in New Zealand. We had the most amazing trip, saw the best sites, and experienced as much as we possibly could. Liz helped make the trip go off without any issues. She even went above and beyond to help us out with transportation when our flight was delayed upon arrive. Liz also checked in with us a few times while we were in New Zealand to see if we needed anything! I hope we can work with Liz again because any other travel agent we work with will have some very big shoes to fill :)

Hotel Reviews

M Social

Auckland

We loved this hotel!! The breakfast was great, the staff was wonderful, and it was in the best location. We wished we could have put this hotel in our suitcase and brought it with us the entire trip.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right across the street from the boardwalk and tons of restaurants and shops

Staff

They were all so kind and willing to help

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pohue Pure Pod

Pohue

We loved this bnb type experience. It’s remote-ness made for the perfect middle stop on our trip to just spend time together and reconnect. Absolutely stunning views as well. We also ordered the breakfast and dinner package and that was the best decision!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Novotel Rotorua Lakeside

Rotorua

This hotel was pretty old. I think we just had a bad room because they were hosting a large conference at the same time, so those attendees seemed to get the staffs attention and best rooms. The location was great, right by the lake and city center!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

I think the room could have been cleaner. Part of that is due to an older hotel, but some of the sheets and towels had stains on them and the floor wasn’t clean either. When we got room service it took a long time to get it and then the tray in the hallway wasn’t picked up for more than 24 hours.

Scenic Suites Queenstown

Queenstown

We were in the suites and it was a bit weird to open our door and have a random person in one door and then we were in the next. Didn’t love that, but would be great if you were with a group and got both rooms

Authenticity & Character

Location

Nice and close to everything

Staff

Friendly and attentive

Cleanliness & Comfort

Crowne Plaza Christchurch

Christchurch Central

Great location! It was a fancy place for us which was a treat

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Very friendly!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half Day Mt Tarawera Crater Walk Experience

Rotorua

The guides we had really made this experience. We have never done a hike like this, it was so unique, put us out of our comfort zone, and was a lot of fun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Fantastic

Transport

Welcome to Pohue Pure Pod

New Zealand

This is what I was most looking forward to on our trip and it didn’t disappoint

Quality of Experience

Full Day Famous Routeburn Trail

Queenstown (NZ)

This was a tough hike, but we loved it! We hiked the entire day, which was about 12-13 miles. The views were incredible

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide walked so fast that our group was separated frequently. Made me feel like I couldn’t totally enjoy the experience because I had to keep up. Thankfully the trail is very well marked and easy to follow. He was very knowledgeable though so it was interesting to learn about the area, plants, etc.

Transport

Auckland to Rotorua visiting Hobbiton with lunch

Auckland

Such a fun experience, even if you haven’t seen the lord of the rings movies (definitely helps to have seen the though)

Quality of Experience

Food

The buffet was so good!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I just came back from a 3-week perfect vacation in Australia. Kimkim travel made by dream vacation possible. From beginning to end Liz ( my kimkim agent) arranged everything and it was seamless...absolutely no stress on me because Liz had every plane ride (5), every chauffeur, every hotel, every ticket to an event etc. done to perfection. She even did my car rental. Obviously Liz and I communicated frequently before the trip and she understood my style and planned accordingly. There were so many great moments in the trip but I'd like to give a shout out to The Merrijig Inn in Port Fairy. It is a B &B that is so quaint and so comfortable and where I had the best dinner of my trip. From Sydney, to the Great Barrier Reef, to Uluru, to Melbourne, to driving the Great Ocean Road, to ending in Adelaide for the Fringe Festival, kimkim made it all happen with perfection.
Thank you, Lori Christensen

Liz did an amazing job in planning our family trip to New Zealand and Australia! The only thing I wish is that we could have stayed for longer! Queenstown (New Zealand) was amazing...the most adorable small town with many great restaurants and shops. Milford Sound was simply stunning! The e-bike tour through the vineyards was so much fun! Sydney was wonderful as well. We climbed the Sydney Harbor Bridge at night with the beautiful skyline and Sydney Opera House in full view - awesome (Anna, our guide, was amazing)! Not only did we tour the Opera House, but we were able to squeeze in a play while we were there (RBG: Of Many, One). The tour of Sydney was great and we took the ferry over to Manly Beach, which was fun and nice to get out onto the harbor! Auckland was nice (Sky Tower visit was neat) and Rotorua provided great insight on indigenous people with the Matai Maori Village show. Glow Worm Kayak tour at night was great (Jess was an amazing guide) and we saw the Southern Cross and Orion constellations. Stunning!! I wish we had more time in Australia and we will definitely be using Liz again when we head back to Australia. I would also definitely go back to the southern island of New Zealand again as well!

Hotel Review

Copthorne Hotel & Resort Queenstown Lakefront

Queenstown

Great location close to town. Friendly front desk personnel.

Location

Easy walk to town

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Twilight Glow Worm Kayak Experience - 3 hour guided

Rotorua

Jess did an amazing job in taking us through tunnels and caves to see the glow worms...stunning! She also showed us the southern cross and orion constellations - very knowledgable!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

TE Puia: Te Ra (Day Pass) Guided tour (90 minutes)

Rotorua

Cool to see the geothermal mud pools, geysers and boiling pools at this location.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Coud be more informative about the history. Guide was OK, but did not answer questions in a meaningful way.

Garden Onsen Outdoor Soak - 1 hour

Queenstown (NZ)

Our originally-scheduled time slot of 4:30 had to be changed due to a flight cancellation. Onsen was able to move our time slot to the following day at 9:30pm - which happens to be sunset this time of year. It was stunning. The glass of champagne and chocolates was perfect and 1 hour was a perfect way to end our busy day!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sydney Opera House Tour

Sydney

Super interesting to learn about the design, construction and operations of Sydney Opera House. We enjoyed it so much that we squeezed in a trip back to see a play while we were there (FYI - there are several venues in the Opera House in addition to the Concert Hall).

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Auckland to Rotorua visiting Hobbiton with lunch

Auckland

While I've never seen any Lord of the Rings movies, this was a very interesting and beautiful tour.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mitai Cultural Experience & Dinner

Rotorua

Wonderful exposure to Maori culture with the dinner and show. Great job!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Milford Sound Glass Roof Van/CruiseVan

Queenstown (NZ)

The weather the day of our visit was PERFECTION, which I hear is not normal for Milford Sound since it rains there 180+ days a year. We had perfect blue skies and the scenery was gorgeous! The boat tour was awesome! Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Sydney Bridge Climb at Night

Sydney

One of the highlights of our trip! Anna did an amazing job in leading us to the summit of the bridge - perfectly clear night so we could see the Opera House, Sydney Skyline and wonderful views of boats in the harbor! Definitely recommend!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Anna was great!

Skyline Gondola Ride

Queenstown (NZ)

Great overlook for Queenstown! Would highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Morning Panoramic Sydney Sights

Sydney

Great overview of Sydney! Seeing Bondi Beach and the Sydney Opera House and Harbor Bridge was very cool, among other sights!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What another terrific trip we had thru the KimKim portal. Working with Liz Neal and her staff was truly a blessing since we had generated quite an aggressive "vacation" down under. In those 2-weeks we had a # of airline tickets, hotel stays, transfers to/from airports/hotels and excursions. It went like clockwork on the receiving end as all went very smoothly. I felt comfortable knowing that the major details had been put in place and that I could count on airline tickets being correct, hotels were ready for us and ride transfers were always there when expected. We could concentrate on merely enjoying the trip.

We saw & did many things on our trip and still trying to decide which major activity was our favorite:
NZ Gondola & Luge
NZ Shotover Jet Boat
Sydney Opera House
Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb
TAS Port Arthur tour
AUS Rottnest Ferry & Island

We'll have many lifetime memories from this trip and also opens the possibility of returning to these areas to spend additional leisure time.

Thank You so much for all your help in setting up our trip, and making it a reality, Liz. It was a pleasure working with you on this one and looking forward to the next trip.

Hotel Review

Copthorne Hotel & Resort Queenstown Lakefront

Queenstown

Loved this hotel for its location, easy walking distance to our needs and beautiful room view. There was only 1 King sized bed in our room but worked out just fine for the 2 of us travelers. Friendly and helpful staff were an added bonus.

Authenticity & Character

The views of the mountain range "Remarkables" and Lake Wakatipu were constantly viewable from our large room window. Very pleasing to watch the weather roll across them in an ever-changing kalidescope of patterns.

Location

We had excursion meeting points on nearby Shotover Street. The heart of Queenstown was a nice, easy walk along Lake Wakatipu.

Staff

Very helpful with local maps, check-in/out and information about the area.Comfy

Cleanliness & Comfort

Large comfy bed, clean room and fresh towels

Activity Reviews

Full-Day Jet-Boat Adventure & Funyak River Safari

Queenstown (NZ)

This trip was canceled due to weather but we separately booked the Shotover Jet Boat ride on the Dart River in its place and super happy that we did! This review pertains to the Shotover ride instead. Such a beautiful and pristine area with the river and mountain ranges. Our boat ride was exhilarating and our driver, Hamish, was the best. He knew how to handle that boat and make it dance on the shallow water, coming perilously close to the nearby cliffs and then 360's where possible. Woo-Hoo!

Quality of Experience

Thrilling jet boat ride with a great driver!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our boat driver, Hamish, could not only thrill us with his expert handling, but also told a lot of background and history of the local area as well as the boat design

Sydney Opera House Tour

Sydney

Have seen numerous times on television this iconic masterpiece. To actually be there in person to touch, feel and see the building was a bucket list item. An amazing work of sculpture, art and functionality all rolled into one design.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excellent tour guide who really knew her stuff. I liked that we all had headphones and could easily hear and understand what the informative guide was saying.

Full Day Experience Rottnest with Bike, and Snorkel hire

Perth

Yet, another highlight of our trip was going to Rottnest Island. What a blast it was to ride bikes on the well paved paths, snorkel in the beautiful blue waters of the Indian Ocean and see all the cute little Quokka's. Really enjoyed biking around the island and going as far west as possible to Radar Reef and Fish Hook Bay.

Quality of Experience

Enjoyed the freedom we had to set our own pace and see and do what we wanted . Would've liked it better if our bikes had been E-Bikes rather than just pedal bikes.

Climb the Harbor Bridge

Sydney

This may be one of the best highlights of our trip, actually climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Such a surreal experience where, despite being so high, felt very comfortable, due to our pre-training and strapped securely into the harness. The views were amazing along the way and the stories of the build fascinating.

Quality of Experience

The fact that we were actually climbing the bridge along the walkways, ladders and girders was astonishing! Being elevated above the vehicular traffic below was exciting, especially when climbing the ladder between lanes 7 - 9 with the cars, buses and trains whizzing past!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We had a fantastic guide, Kat, who helped familiarize us with our climbing gear, made us feel comfortable during the climb and provided many interesting facts about the bridge and surrounding area with friendly banter and timely jokes. Thanks again for the wonderful time, Kat!

Full Day Port Arthur Tour

Hobart

Having read several books about this area and time, I thought I was mentally prepared for the experience. I was amazed at at how serene and beautiful the area had become over the years. The historical plaques located by the major structures were very informative and helped remind visitors how awful a place it was during its heyday. Very much enjoyed the short harbor cruise as well as the gardens, Such a lovely place now...

Our Australia/New Zealand trip was such a wonderful, memorable trip! Liz’ activity suggestions were all great! We appreciated the small group tours ( no more than 12 people) and the tour guides were top notch. All of our airport and tour pick-ups were on-time/ early. It was so nice to see someone greet us at the airports and not having to arrange our own transportation. Even though we had intentionally selected mid-range hotels, they mostly exceeded our expectations and we had some amazing views from our room. The complementary breakfast at each hotel was also nice. We will certainly recommend Kimkim and Liz to our friends and family!

Liz put together for us an amazing 18-day self-driving journey through both the North and South Island. She was very patient, flexible and able to accommodate our specific wants such as a focus on culture, nature, food and wine, but limited physical activities such long hikes. Also, our travel dates had been set before talking to Liz and she was able to fit it all nicely while still giving us plenty of "free" time, which we then filled with some of her suggestions and some self-Googled highlights. Because of our points and status with hotels, car rental companies and airlines, Liz gave us the flexibility to make our own reservation where we could benefit from the status or use point/earn. The hotels she selected were, with two exceptions, excellent. I could have better communicated the level of comfort and service we like. We will be more specific when booking our next trip with KimKim. Due to rain and wind our flight back from Milford Sound to Queenstown got cancelled and we returned by bus. The refund for the missed flight was received within a few days. Greatly appreciate the prompt and honest service. Overall a wonderful experience and thank you Liz for your time and dedication to make this New Zealand trip one of our best world exploration adventures.