Marta Trzeciakowska

* Our walking tour of Lisbon guide (Hector who goes by Eric?) was outstanding- theatrical, entertaining, thoughtful, flexible, educational, fun- a pure delight.
* Our guides for Sintra (Teresa and her husband) were exceptional- we ran late- our own fault- and they were very patient with us and helped us fit in the most treasured part of the adventure (Quinta da Regaleira). They ensured we were comfortable while filling us with a deep history of the place and fun anecdotes.
* Our driver Cesar was professional and very thoughtful and patient with us.
* The choice of both our hotels (Epic Algarve and Hotel Portugal in Lisbon) were excellent to meet our needs. Location of Hotel Portugal was perfect for walking to everything. I loved access to the beach and pools at Epic Algarve as well as their delicious breakfasts.
* A serious disappointment was that KimKim apparently did not pass on the information we provided about shellfish allergy to the restaurants where we had reservations. When we arrived for the dinners, it was too late for them to make accommodations since they require this information in advance. Our group leader contacted KimKim after the first dinner to ensure this did not occur for the second dinner, and she was informed by KimKim that they were contacting the 2nd restaurant. Upon arrival at the 2nd restaurant, again they had not received this information and again could not change the menu. These were each Michelin star restaurants, so I paid nearly $1,000 to have 2 meals where I could not eat much of the food or feel safe. For the 3rd restaurant, I did not feel safe going through this again, so I suffered the loss of the prepaid money and went to a different restaurant on my own. Mishandling a food allergy is a grave mistake at the most basic level, and I hope KimKim never makes this mistake again as it could be life-threatening for some people.
* Another disappointment was that the meet-up information for our catamaran cruise out of the Algarve was not clearly communicated, causing us to race around the harbour for an hour and nearly miss our boat.
Overall, I am very glad we went, and I was highly impressed with the individuals we met while in Portugal. If KimKim can fix the mistakes made for future travelers, then I think they will provide an excellent service.

This is the first time I’ve used a travel service, and I would definitely consider doing it again. Communication with Marta during planning was easy and she was always quick to respond. When she was on her own vacation during the time of our trip, her colleagues were always there if I had a question. I didn’t book as much through Kimkim as perhaps other travellers do, but all the activities we booked through Kimkim were professional and informative, and definitely enriched our time in Spain. I appreciated what Marta booked as it did save me some time. I loved that our trip was in one place in an app, including accommodations, activities and restaurants that I booked myself. Marta even verified that I had reserved our rental car from the right location. I found the direct message on the app reassuring, and did use it a couple of times. However, for some reason, I lost the “message” ability at one point and even access to the app. I could still get needed info and even communicate with the specialist through email.

Activity Reviews

E-Bike Tour of Barcelona with Wine and Tapas

Barcelona

Our tour guide, Rory, shared a lot of info on Catalan history that we would not have otherwise been aware of. We covered lots of ground and sites within the Gothic Quarter, El Born, Ciutadella Park, and the waterfront, Cycling was difficult, however, due to the large number of tourists always present in Barcelona. E-bikes we’re not necessary since there were not many chances to actually cycle much. The bikes definitely did enable us to cover more sites than being on foot though. One disappointment with this tour was that we ended at a tapas resto that was not El 4 Gats, as specified. The food and wine was very good where the tour ended, but we had to go to El 4 Gats on our own after because this was somewhere we specifically wanted to experience. I will add that our tour guide, Rory, was very helpful during the tapas part of the tour in giving all participants tips on restaurants, etc, for the rest of our trips. He even wrote them down on a little card for each group:)

Quality of Experience

Maybe do the tour earlier in the morning when there might be somewhat fewer people around?

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Rory was helpful and enthusiastic.

Transport

E-bikes are not necessary. Regular bikes would be fine.

Local Market Visit and Paella Cooking Workshop

Valencia

This was a great experience. Guides were knowledgeable, enthusiastic and funny. The market visit was at a smaller market, not Mercat Central, which was okay. In the kitchen after we were all put to work with different tasks to make a traditional Venetian paella, and we had fun with others in the group. It’s the first time I’ve geared tomatoes! This is definitely an experience we can bring home with us to share:)

Quality of Experience

Fun and well-organized.

Food

Delicious!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Funny, enthusiastic.

Transport

We walked there.

Wine Cellar Visit and Sensory Wine Tasting

Spain

We loved this visit to Mas Oller winery. A beautiful place just to walk around. Our winery tour was really interesting with an explanation of the process from vine to bottle, and challenges they’re experiencing due to warmer summers. The tasting itself was longer than expected (which was fine!) with generous samples of each wine ( if I recall it was 5 in total). One of our party decided not to finish all their samples because somebody had to drive after! We had fun with some other people on the tour as well.

Quality of Experience

Scenery and explanation of their process of wine making.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Informative and welcoming.

Transport

This winery was easy to find by car.

Boat Ride Roses to Cadaqués, Visit of Cadaqués and Dali House, and Boat back to Roses

Costa Brava

Unfortunately we didn’t do this activity. The hour long drive to catch the boat, and again at the end of the day, combined with an early start, was more than we felt we were up to in the moment. We had been quite busy and we were enjoying this relaxing part of the trip in the Costa Brava One of our party also hadn’t been feeling 100% just previously and we were taking it slowly. We know we missed a beautiful tour and hope to return and try it again!

Quality of Experience

Jardins du Cap Roig has stunning views, smells and sounds.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The Jardins du Cap Roig are a self-guided tour but still informative.

Transport

Jardins du Cap Roig are easy to drive to.

Barcelona Mediterranean Cooking Class

Barcelona

This proved to be a great, “ chill” activity for the last day of our trip. It was good to walk along The Ramblas on a Thursday morning, as our previous visit there was on a Saturday afternoon ( not recommended!) The guided tour of the Boquera Market, again in the morning, was enjoyable. Our guide explained about different Hans and traditional desserts, suggested where to buy cheese and olive oils…. For the cooking part, we made a seafood paella. We had already made paella in Valencia, but this was a different kind and so the process wasn’t the same. We took away some additional recipes to try at home. The location of the cooking class was in a lovely Barcelona flat above a busy square.

Quality of Experience

Market visit and delicious paella

Food

Delicious tapas and paella!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Informative, enthusiastic.

Transport

We walked. Meeting point was fairly easy to find.

Our trip was amazing . Our guide in Marrakech took excellent care of us in our tour and during our short visit to the clinic.

A few suggestions:
1. Find a better hotel in Casablanca. There was black mold in the shower, light bulbs out in the room, a broken lamp , no towels , drinking glasses or Kleenex tissue. We asked twice for these items . We got towels and 2 glasses the first night; nothing the 2nd night.
2. Our route should have been planned better and I should have caught this error. We should have gone to Madrid LAST and then flew direct to Marrakech instead of being in Granada and then having to take 2 flights to get to Marrakech.
Avoid Iberia Airlines and go with Air Arabia. They are friendly, accommodating and have much better service and planes. The Iberia jets don't have seats that move. They are in a permanent position. They never offered us anything after a 2 hr delay, gate and plane change. Upon asking them what they were going to do to compensate the passengers for this delay they stated , "this is Iberia airlines ". My response was : "and your point is? They are an international airline." We got nothing !!

The guide in Madrid for the walking tour was so so. When he finished with us he didn't return us to our starting point. We had to figure out where we were and how to get back to the hotel.

We highly recommend the Barcelona Hotel Catedral for Barcelona. Excellent breakfast , room, location and a free happy hour daily.

The other hotels, guides, transfers were excellent.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Odyssee Center

Casablanca

Black mold in the shower ; light bulbs burned out ; a broken lamp; no towels or water glasses. Nice location but the room wasn't good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Read what I wrote

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Attention to details

Petit Palace Posada del Peine

Madrid

Great location. Small but pretty room

Authenticity & Character

Location , breakfast

Location

Not far from the main square and shop

Staff

Friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean!!

Petit Palace Puerta de Triana

Seville

Great location Great breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Boutique hotel

Location

Close to the sights. Easy walking distance to most of the sights

Staff

Friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

Palais Sebban

Marrakech

Beautiful venue Older but authentic feeling It is down a few alleys and without a guide we couldn't find our way out

Authenticity & Character

Authentic. It felt Moroccan

Location

Street signs !!!

Staff

Friendly and accommodating. Extremely helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean!

Hotel NH Collection Granada Victoria

Granada

Clean and good breakfast

Authenticity & Character

Pretty

Location

Far from the sights. We walked a lot of miles. Street signs. It well marked

Staff

Very friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean!

Hotel Barcelona Catedral

Barcelona

Excellent location and breakfast. Room was very clean and comfortable. Love the free happy hour

Authenticity & Character

Comfortable

Location

Easy access

Staff

Friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Excellent room

Hotel Regina

Barcelona

Very expensive for a bare bones "superior" room Breakfast was very good

Authenticity & Character

Hang a picture; Make the room feel warm with some color

Location

Staff

Friwndly

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very clean

Activity Reviews

Explore Casablanca

Casablanca

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Insider's Old Madrid Tour

Madrid

Only 1 hour. Saw the cathedral and palace from a distance. should have walked to it

Quality of Experience

A different guide

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Flamenco Experience

Spain

1 hour show. No explanation as to how, why they did what they did.

Quality of Experience

Tapas Culinary Experience

Barcelona

Excellent tour!!

Quality of Experience

Specific for the area

Food

A large variety

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Visit of Barcelona

Barcelona

Guide was very knowledgeable and thorough

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Privately Guided Tour of Hassan II Mosque

Casablanca

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Privately Guided Visit of Marrakech

Marrakesh

We walked through the market after the palace. The market repeated itself over and over again. We didn't need to see every corner of the market. Lots and lots of walking

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Visit: Alhambra & Generalife Gardens

Granada

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Full Day Excursion to Ronda & White Villages

Seville

Good your company

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full Day Excursion to Cádiz - Europe's Oldest City

Portugal

Lovely tour and stop at. Local winery. Lots of knowledge and information.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a wonderful time on our trip to the Canary Islands. Marta, our travel agent, did an amazing job of planning the trip for us. We had flights to take, cars to rent, and tours to take and everything went very smoothly.

Hotel Reviews

Secrets Lanzarote Resort & Spa

Puerto Calero

Amazing, adults only hotel. Beautiful hotel, good buffet, great drinks, great location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Palma & Teneguia Princess Vital & Fitness

Fuencaliente de la Palma

Very nice hotel. Took about 45 min to arrive at the hotel from the airport, but the drive was amazing along the coastline. The hotel was nice, clean, beautiful surroundings, and good food!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Stargazing Excursion to Roque de Los Muchachos

La Palma

Amazing tour! Would definitely recommend this tour to others. We saw the sunset above the clouds, and then we experienced stargazing like I've never seen it before. Definitely a once in a lifetime tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very steep, winding roads! The driver was awesome.

Transport

Explore Lanzarote Island's Volcanoes & Vineyards

Lanzarote

Perfect day with our awesome, private tour guide. I would definitely recommend this tour. Our guide took us all over Lanzarote, and explained to us all about the volcanoes as well as the vineyards. He even stopped at a couple different beaches at the end of the tour so we could see those sights. He packed us a delicious, local to the Canary Islands, picnic lunch which we enjoyed in a lava tube!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lanzarote Cruise Day Trip to la Graciosa

Lanzarote

This activity was a blast! We took a short ferry ride to La Graciosa were we were able to explore on our own for about an hour. Then we boarded a catamaran and sailed around the island, stopping for lunch and a swim. This was a perfect day that I will not forget!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What an incredible 5-city 8-day trip, made possible by Marta's thoughtful recommendations and local knowledge. Despite having spent some time living in Sevilla, when it came to planning our Andalucian road trip I felt overwhelmed by options and struggled to discern quality and authenticity from slick marketing and cleverly framed photos. Marta did not steer us wrong once - the place we stayed in Sevilla is probably one of my favorite places we've ever stayed, anywhere. The location of our apartment in Granada could not have been more perfect - well-appointed with a direct view of the Alhambra and within walking distance to all the key sites. She even booked us a day hike through the majestic Sierra Nieves that seamlessly fit into our rather packed itinerary between Sevilla and Ronda, and set us up with the most delightful hyper-local (lived around the corner from where we stayed!) guide in Tangier that made that experience all the more special. The transportation she coordinated (trains, ferries, rental cars, and drivers) all worked out perfectly and saved us a not insignificant amount of stress in knowing it was all taken care of. And she did this all while patiently adapting our itinerary several times so that it fit our budget and evolving interests. This trip would not have been nearly as successful and low-stress without Marta's expertise - thank you!

Hotel Reviews

Las Casas de la Judería

Seville

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

NH Atocha Hotel

Madrid

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Palais Zahia

Old Medina, Tangier

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Parador de Ronda

Ronda

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bibo Suites Oro delDarro

Granada

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Guided Visit of Tangier

Tangier

These five stars are a direct result of our tour guide, Lina. She was given a tricky assignment - to show us Tangier in three hours or less. She wisely kept us in the old quarter - not only did this mean we were able to see some historical sites and visit some local artisans without spending precious time covering long distances, but this is also where she grew up, and therefore where she was most familiar (and recognized!). Lina was warm, engaging, and knowledgeable about her home neighborhood and the history of Tangier. We had lovely conversations as we meandered the winding streets and somehow left as the proud new owners of two Moroccan rugs.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

There was some confusion as to the timing of our tour and we were consequently left waiting at the ferry terminal for an hour while this was sorted out.

The accommodations and the planning of the whole trip is well curated.

A couple of guides stand out for both Linda & I. Our guide for the day trip to Douro Valley was João & he took us to exclusive wineries for a wonderful experience where we were the only tourists. Our lunch with him at a vineyards restaurant was incredible. He taught us how to debone a fish that day & we had one of our favourite meals there.
Our day trip from Lisbon to Sintra with Nuno was another favourite. He was a local from Sintra. We did 2 hikes that day with a picnic at the top of the coastal cliffs.
Marta & her team were fantastic, always available with quick response time if we had any questions or had any timing issues. The team would check in on us throughout the trip to ensure all was well.
This was a trip of a lifetime where we had the opportunity to celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary. We just can’t say enough good things about this team & have already recommended you to several of our friends.
Thanks again for providing a wonderful travel experience!

Hotel Reviews

The Editory House Ribeira

Porto

Nice hotel but rooms were small

Authenticity & Character

Larger rooms

Location

Central to restaurants, near river

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Miramar Hotel & Spa

Nazaré

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dear Lisbon Bordalo House

Lisboa

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Évora Olive Hotel

Evora

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cascade Wellness

Lagos

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Meliá Lisboa Aeroporto

Lisbon

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Foodie Experience in Porto

Porto

It was a nice experience for our first night exposure to Porto

Quality of Experience

Food

Exploring different wines & restaurants

Guides, Drivers and Staff

It was a walking tour

Vintage Car Tour of Porto

Porto

Not really a vintage car that we expected to have

Day Excursion to Douro Valley, Wine Tasting & River Cruise

Porto

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Evening of Fado

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Get to Know Lisbon with a Local

Lisbon

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Sintra Heritage Hike: Hidden Secrets

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Tour of Évora

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Excursion to Alentejo - Jeep Safari Through a Cork Fork & Visit to an Olive Oil Estate

Lisbon

This was not available on our trip

Lagos & Ponta da Piedade Bike Tour

Portugal

Unfortunately this was cancelled due to rain

Boat Excursion to Benagil Caves & Carvoeiro Beach

Portugal

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport