Kateryna Garkavenko

Kate did an amazing job!
She was knowledgeable and helpful, making suggestions as we refined our itinerary.
She was very responsive as we planned the trip and for minor questions that popped up while we were in England.
We really appreciated how the itinerary grouped nearby attractions together, and lodgings were unique and in great locations- we would not have been able to find them ourselves without stress and effort.

Kate was amazing yet again!!! We had the most wonderful time on our adventure that she planned for us. She is attentive and always plans the best vacations. We hope to use her again in the future.

Kateryna was patient with us and very knowledgeable about ireland. She took the stress out of finding good hotels and arranging drivers. Everything worked out on time. She listened to our interests and planned our trip around them. We still had plenty of time and freedom to explore on our own.

Hotel Reviews

The Green

Dublin

Everyone at the hotel was kind and professional. The rooms were clean and pleasant. The breakfast was fresh and well prepared. Staff were always willing to help us with questions or arrange a ride, or make recommendations. Very pleasant stay.

Authenticity & Character

Very pleasant and welcoming staff

Location

Near shopping and many historical sites

Staff

Cheerful, helpful, polite and welcoming

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds were made up nicely every day. Clean towels, room always looked fresh when we reurned. Dining staff attentive

Scott's Hotel Killarney

Killarney, Co. Kerry

Hotel was pleasant, rooms were clean, staff was pleasant and helpful. Food was good.

Authenticity & Character

Near many restaurants, live music

Location

Near shopping and transportation, close to historical sites we wanted to visit

Staff

Pleasant, helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hallway carpet stained

The Victoria Hotel

Galway

Room was clean and fresh, food was good. Restaurant adjoining hotel was very good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Near everything we wanted to see in galway

Staff

We really didn’t interact with them, they were fine

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Dublin Private Walking Tour

Dublin

This was one of my favorite parts of our trip. She showed us all around Dublin, made great recommendations, answered questions we had, took us to historical sites and pointed out places of interest and the backstory.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

I thought she gave a fantastic tour, packed a lot into our 2 hours

Waterford Crystal Factory Tour: Discover Ireland's Master Glassmakers

Dublin

It was impressive how much work goes into this crystal. It was interesting to see and learn about all the steps involved.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

I really appreciated our driver who pointed out places of interest along the way

Killarney National Park Private Tour

Ireland

Seemed magical to experience this in a horse drawn carriage.

Quality of Experience

Driver was pleasant and knowledgeable. Very interesting to listen to

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Pleasant guy

Transport

Beautiful horse. Appreciated the caring demonstrated by driver, both to his animal and his passengers

Visit the EPIC Interactive Museum & Jeanie Johnson Famine Ship

Dublin

Lots to learn about, didn't know about the extent of the oppression by the British, and for so many centuries.

Quality of Experience

The stories of what the irish people suffered

Dingle Peninsula Tour

Ireland

Driver gave us a more extensive tour, way up in the hills. We really got to see a lot of the countryside. Driver was an interesting character.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Jameson Distillery Bow St. Dublin Tour

Dublin

Learned about the whiskey making process and hot to taste some good whiskey

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We loved our entire experience with KimKim - very responsive, very easy to work with, and knowledgeable.

Hotel Reviews

The Allan Park

Stirling

A great place to eat and wonderful staff; however, I would not recommend staying in the basement level. The kitchen is there and the music was very loud. Rooms are tiny but well done.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy to walk to everything.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kingsmills Hotel

Inverness

Wonderful stay - large, comfortable rooms, very pretty hotel. Nice pool and hot tub as well.

Authenticity & Character

Location

You can walk to town, but it is at least a 15 minute walk.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loch Eyre House

Portree

The house itself has a beautiful view of the loch. The rooms leave a lot to be desired. They are tiny. If there are two of you each with a suitcase, be prepared to struggle to find floor space for them. The shower is narrow, almost impossible to wash your hair without hitting your arms on the sides, one hand towel, minimal amenities. There is little to no soundproofing and it's like staying in someone's house, so you hear everything. The main room shown in the picture is beautiful but very small so if more than a couple of people want to use it, it's a bit awkward. The hotel is also very far from town, on challenging roads. There is nowhere to walk there for exercise.

Authenticity & Character

Location

If you're interested in being able to walk anywhere, this is not the location for you. If you want to be far from everything with a lot of quiet, it's good for that.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Towels were old, one had a hole in it, the most basic amenities provided. Bed was old and uncomfortable.

Victoria House Bed and Breakfast

Fort william

Wonderful staff and well appointed rooms; food was great and the bed was comfortable. We appreciated having minifridge as well and used the hot tub which was spotless and well maintained. It is not right downtown but there are things around the Inn to do.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Be aware that you will need to drive if you want to be in the town area. Lots of walking paths around it and cute cafe.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The Inn on Loch Lomond

Inverbeg

Very beautiful location and great staff. Comfortable rooms, well appointed.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Not near the town, but fine for us as we had a car.

Staff

Front desk staff was awesome!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bespoke Private Isle of Skye Tour from Portree

Scotland

Trevor was amazing - the best day of our entire trip. He was incredibly knowledgeable and patient with us, and worked with us to give us the best day. He thought of everything, including bringing us hot tea, towels, snacks, raincoats - you name it. Wish we had Trevor with us on the rest of the trip!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Stirling Old Town Private Walking Tour

Scotland

Perfectly paced trip - our guide was incredibly knowledgeable (and patient) with all of our questions.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Didn't apply

Loch Ness and Caledonian Canal Cruise

Inverness

Beautiful views and hilarious guides on the trip.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Loch Lomond Sunset Cruise

Loch Lomond

This was sold as a sunset cruise, but it was at 3:30 so there wasn't much of a sunset. You are gone for 1 hour and it's a very cursory view of the lake. The boat was very nice and the information was good to know.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip to Scotland, booked through kimkim and organized by Kateryna, was a delight from start to finish. We are a group of 4 friends (2 couples) with busy lives, none of whom had traveled to Scotland or even been abroad in years. Kimkim and Kateryna planned a 6-day trip for us that managed to hit all our highlights and left us all with the desire to return. Planning the trip was easy- I put our priorities and parameters into the kimkim survey, and Kate came back with a plan for our trip that included all our hotel stays, private tours, castle and historic site visits and lots of local flavor. Kate answered all of our questions quickly and efficiently, and when we decided to add a day to our trip she altered our plan, and even switched up a few of the hotels based on our preferences.
Once our flights and the trip were booked, we kept in touch through the kimkim chat and emails, downloading the kimkim app a few weeks before departure. The app had all our hotel, tour and other tickets contained right within it, usually including map and website links, so no searching through emails or looking up directions. We used the app every day during our trip!
When we arrived in Edinburgh we were met by a driver who kept in touch via text while we went through immigration and collected our bags. The driver (Nikolin with Eagle Transfer) was friendly and on the drive to the hotel gave us a lot of local tips as well as much-needed driving advice (we picked up a rental car after 2 days in Edinburgh). It was great to not have to struggle with our bags on a train, or figure out how to book our own taxi.
Two days in Edinburgh were not nearly enough, but we had other places to go! In Edinburgh we had a fantastic 2.5 hour walking tour of the city with Jack, an amazing Scottish tour guide who met us at our hotel, took us all over the city, also gave us great recommendations, and escorted us back to the hotel at the end. Definitely one of our trip highlights!
From Edinburgh we drove to Loch Lommond, then to Oban, Inverness, Stirling and finally back to Edinburgh to catch our flight home. We managed a flat tire when almost to our hotel in Loch Lommond, which threw a wrench into our plans. Reaching out to Kate via the kimkim app was easy and she helped get us connected with our tour guide in Oban. They adjusted the time of our driving tour the next day which allowed us to do a 3-hour (plus!) tour with John, another highlight. John saw that we had covered a lot of our planned tour with him on our drive to Oban, so he adjusted and gave us an entirely different tour that covered so much local history and sights- even letting us stop at a pub for a quick refresh! At the end he took us to Dunstaffnage Castle, a stunning ruin with so much history. From Oban we headed to Inverness, then the next day from Inverness to Stirling. At every stop we were able to experience the vast history of Scotland, and our own ancestral connections to it. Once we got the hang of the driving even that was a delight, with so much stunning scenery everywhere we turned. We were incredibly lucky with the weather during our trip, with only a little bit of rain (which treated us to no less than 3 rainbows) and very mild temperatures.
To anyone planning a trip to Scotland- especially if you have never been- we highly recommend the service, professionalism, expertise and guidance of Kate and the whole kimkim team. We can't wait to go back to Scotland, or to have kimkim help us plan another trip abroad!

Hotel Reviews

Apex Waterloo Place

Edinburgh

A great hotel in the heart of Edinburgh New Town. The rooms are modern and comfortable, with all the amenities you would expect from a 4-5 star hotel. The staff at the hotel could not have been more helpful and accommodating, from holding our bags when we arrived early in the morning, to the most wonderful and attentive service in the restaurant (with a truly delicious breakfast service) to helping us book a taxi to pick up our rental car on the day of checkout. Even though there was road construction going on on the street in front of the hotel, we were able to be dropped off and picked up right at the door. We would definitely book here again!

Authenticity & Character

This is a relatively modern hotel but retains a good deal of character, especially in the lovely lounge and bar area.

Location

Easy to walk to lots of places, nearby shopping, coffee shops, restaurants and local sights.

Staff

They were so attentive and helpful at every step and at every level of service, from front desk staff to housekeeping and restaurant staff.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Very comfortable room and bed, great temperature controls, terrific shower! Gorgeous garden tub we did not take advantage of.

Cameron House

Alexandria

Cameron House is a full-on luxury resort. We stayed in the original part of the building in a lovely ground-level room that overlooked the beautiful garden. The hotel has everything, and while we didn't have time to experience all of it we were able to see the gorgeous pool/waterslide/hot tub/spa area, the stunning whiskey bar, the fun and casual lounge restaurant, and the lovely lobby bar. At dinner at their off-site restaurant as both in the hotel were fully booked. Amazing location right on the shore of Loch Lommond. The massive, stunning buffet breakfast we had the next morning was beyond compare, with the best haggis of the trip and just an amazing selection of anything you could want. Wish we could have stayed longer!

Authenticity & Character

Hotel/resort that was obviously a grand estate in previous centuries.

Location

Right on the shore of Loch Lommond, absolutely stunning.

Staff

Above and beyond- from bringing our bags from our disabled car in the parking lot (flat tire!) to assisting us get our passports transferred to a later hotel after I brilliantly left them in the hotel safe.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Stunning room with all the amenities- robes, slippers, heated towel bars, shortbread! Incredibly comfortable bed.

Victoria Square

Stirling

This hotel was just lovely and we wish we could have stayed longer. Harriet (the owner/manager) was so helpful and kind, helping us with our heavy bags (no elevators in this historic property). Great location on the edge of Stirling, private car park, very pretty restaurant.

Authenticity & Character

Stunning decor, beautiful building, just gorgeous.

Location

Quiet but right on the edge of Stirling, an easy walk to lots of things. Overlooked a lovely green square/park.

Staff

Harriet accepted delivery of our passports from a taxi driver (left at a previous hotel) and held them for us to arrive. She also made dinner reservations for us at a local bistro and helped us with everything we needed.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Every detail here- robes, slippers, heated towel bars and tile floors in the bath, lovely complimentary sherry and shortbread in the room. Just lovely.

Dungallan Country House

Oban

Dungallan Country house is just that- a lovely country house. The rooms are stunning and have all the amenities you could ask for- including gorgeous bathrooms with heated towel bars, robes and slippers, giant shower, etc. Homemade shortbread and Scottish tablet (a treat!) in every room. The staff- lead by manager Michele- could not have been more helpful, setting us at ease immediately upon arrival when we discovered we had left our passports in the room safe at our previous hotel. The dinner we had in their restaurant was quite possibly the best dinner of our entire trip. Lovely breakfast too.

Authenticity & Character

Just like a lovely large country home, with only a few rooms that are beautifully appointed.

Location

A stunning view from the lawn and patio, although up a steep winding drive from the main road so be careful!

Staff

Michele- the manager- was absolutely amazing, as were David and the rest of the staff. We felt like honored guests!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Everything was so clean and so comfortable- lovely bath, comfy bed. I wanted to take home all their draperies.

Bunchrew House Hotel

Bunchrew

Rated one of the most romantic hotels in Scotland- and we could see why! We stayed in the Lovat Suite- huge, truly historical feeling while still being incredibly comfortable. Our friends and traveling companions had the suite next door which had a stunning view of Beauly Firth right out their window. We arrived late and left relatively early, but enjoyed a nice breakfast and a drink in the lounge/bar the night before. Wish we had had more time to explore the history of this beautiful property.

Authenticity & Character

Felt like we were staying in an incredibly well-preserved, very historic home.

Location

Right on the shore of Beauly Firth- really beautiful and lucky if your room overlooks the water!

Staff

Our visit was brief but everyone was very kind and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lovely bath with heated tile floor, heated towel bars, giant comfy bed.

Activity Reviews

Edinburgh Old Town Tour

Edinburgh

This guided walking tour of Edinburgh was one of the highlights of our trip. Jack- our tour guide- met us at our hotel and brought us straight up to Calton Hill, an historic sight very close by. From there he guided us through New Town, Old Town, the Royal Mile, New College, Grassmarket and eventually back to our hotel, offering history, local lore and knowledge the entire way. So much nicer than a larger, more impersonal group. Jack even took us inside the Edinburgh Supreme Court building (two of our group were lawyers) which was a great addition/side note. We absolutely loved this part of our trip to Scotland.

Quality of Experience

We learned so much and really got a feel for the city.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Jack was the absolute best- so friendly and kind, adjusted our tour to fit what we wanted, etc.

Transport

We were walking but Jack made sure we weren't exhausted- Edinburgh has a lot of stairs!

Oban Distillery Visit

Oban

Unfortunately we were unable to do the distillery visit as our earlier activity (driving tour) started late due to our later than planned arrival in Oban. I'm sure it would have been great.

Historical Tour and Seafood Experience

Oban

John adjusted the timing of our tour as we were late arriving to Oban (due to our own car trouble) and took us on a lovely 3+ hour tour of the area. The original route was one we had kind of traveled on our way from Loch Lommond, so John adjusted and took us to other places- the Bridge over the Atlantic, Dunstaffnage Castle, a lovely seaside village where they hold a rock-skipping competition and other memorable spots. Due to our delay we weren't able to take advantage of the seafood tasting experience, which was unfortunate, but now we have a reason to go back to Oban!

Quality of Experience

Got to see so much of the area around Oban, learn about the history and just soak it all in!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

John was just the best, and we so appreciated his time, local knowledge and landscape, and willingness to adapt the tour to what we wanted to see and experience.

Transport

John's tour van was clean, comfortable and he maneuvered it around the scary (to us) Scottish roads with ease!

Trip was great but traveling time from place to place could have been better. Site/ tickets were booked a d could not make it due to travel time weather and road closurez.
Katie's communication and initial set up was great

Our group of 26 (mostly) older adults from Laguna Presbyterian Church in California brought our own church history guide to Scotland to learn about our Presbyterian roots. Kateryna (Kate) was a wonderful, gracious specialist, always willing to find answers and solve problems. In Edinburgh, we loved our hotel location in Grass Market and the first-day walking tour by Chris. Another favorite was having tea in the Edinburgh Castle which we could not have arranged without Kate.
Although it rained one of our days on the island of Iona, most of the group would say Iona was the high point of the trip. Kate worked wonders to make this possible. She secured the hard-to-find accommodations on the island and arranged seamless private coach transportation via 2 ferries and a drive across the island of Mull.
All the other trips I have led were set itineraries with full- time guides and drivers. I found this custom trip much harder to plan and to lead. Choosing the right Edinburgh hotel, for example, took many weeks and several changes. As delightful as Kate was to work with, I will probably go with packaged trips in the future for the ease of planning and the luxury of a guide who leads us each day. If I ever want another custom trip, however, KimKim is the company I will call. You are wonderful! Kathy Sizer, retired Associate Pastor

Hotel Review

Apex City of Edinburgh Hotel

Edinburgh

Perfect location in Grass Market. A short walk up Victoria got us to the Royal Mile while an even shorter walk got us to Greyfirars and the National Museum of Scotland. Rooms were comfortable and staff was helpful. The only thing lacking was a restaurant and bar in the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Contemporary

Location

near the Royal Mile and Greyfriars

Staff

always helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Great shower

Activity Review

Edinburgh Old Town Tour

Edinburgh

Chris was a great guide with entertaining stories.

Kateryna is amazing to work with! She is responsive, professional, accommodating and a pleasure to work with. This is my second trip with Kateryna making dreams become reality.
Thanks Kate, for everything!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Passy Eiffel

Paris

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Jas de Gordes

Gordes

It's definitely not Bacardi Rum (white) in the Bacardi bottle... Friendly staff. Breakfast great but other than that, very limited menu to choose from.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Windsor Hotel

Nice

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Gardette Park Hotel

Paris

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Disneyland Paris: 2- Day , 2 Parks Entrance Tickets with Premier Access Pass

France

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Moulin Rouge Evening Performance

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Evening Eiffel Tower Tour

Paris

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Seine River Gourmet Dinner Cruise with Live Music

Paris

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tours were very good. Very satisfied.

Dear Kate.

Sorry for not finishing this sooner. It turned out I had jet lag longer than I thought, and of course arriving back didn’t just mean I could stop and take account right away. As John Lennon said, Life happens when your busy making other plans.

In any case. Here is my over summation of my trip you helped plan for Scotland.
I will not comment upon the flights to or from there since that is really a completely separate and overall headache inducing tangent. So will merely say to anyone who might listen. Don’t book a flight with Iceland air. Moving on…

Transportation both gong and coming to and from most locations were reliable and covenant. With very friendly drivers all around.

The first leg of the journey in Edinburgh, which lasted from Saturday through Monday was very inviting and convenient with regards to both the hotel, Apex, as well as its proximity to all that we had scheduled to accomplish. Highlights especially were the Royal Mile and Edinburgh Castle and The Johnny walker experience (though it was slightly disappointing we couldn’t purchase anything we sampled). Along with the pool in the hotel.

Our journey to the highlands on Tuesday was long but beautiful. And our tour of Dalwhinnie Distillery as well as their bar and staff were well stocked, informed and friendly. The only downside was that because the tour was essentially in the early afternoon, by the time we arrived at our hotel in Pitlochry, I was pretty well sauced and had to struggle the rest of the day to make sure I didn’t pass out before sunset. Overall the accommodations and the breakfast the next day however were the nicest we had thus far.

The Next day our Train was delayed, and we had to maneuver ourselves to The Redcliffe In inverness with a little more effort than was expected. However, once we were settled in, the accommodations were actually the most spacious, comfortable, as well as enjoyable concerning its location, beer garden, and food. Along with the next day, which took us down Loch Ness, and to the castle by the sea. Up until then I would say it was the most fulfilling day in terms of expectations. And of all the places I would personally return to I would say Inverness was the place.

The next day, Friday started off wonderfully. In fact, I would say for me and maybe even my dad the highlight of the trip up to that point was the morning trip and personal tour of the Highlands near Craigmore. Both our drivers were extremely friendly and informative. And we even got relatively good weather considering the time of year. Truly a magnificent time spent out in the Scottish wilderness. With hardly a soul seen.

Which is probably why the rest of the day, and sadly by extension the trip was such a come down. But then you knew this was coming. But I have to speak honestly. Perhaps it was the expectations, or maybe just the contrast from where we had just come from. Yet when we arrived at St Andrews, and tried to check in to what I assumed was a hotel, we instead found our selves locked out of the place without a single person to answer the doorbell, nor an explanation of how to check in. We had to wait for someone’s wife who was already staying there to come down and let us in. and even then not a single brochure, pamphlet, or even map of the city was waiting for us. I had to try and get the owners on the phone, and was spoken to quite rudely for not knowing what either our room # was or how to enter or exit the flat. On top of that, our room was three floors up with no elevator (A perk I would have declined had I known from the get-go considering my several heavy bags and my fathers age.) As well as staying in what was up till then by far the smallest room we had been in so far. Completely false advertising to all the photos broadcasting the place. So from the complete headache of trying to “check in” the cramped and falsely sold space we had, and the indifferent rudeness of the owners, my dad and I were more than miffed. We were at the time outright angry. But of course, you knew that by my immediate messaging of you. Which had a cascading effect on the rest of the trip.

Admittingly we probably overreacted at the time. Feeling the need to find more spacious and overall welcoming accommodations, I was ready to split the coop after a single night, and pulled the trigger on a flat in Clydebank Glasgow. Which meant we only got half a day at St Andrews golf course. And having to forego our city tour, only to find ourselves basically in a cultural dead zone for an extra two days. Disappointing to be sure, especially considering my dads love for golf, and our expectation of relaxing for the last leg of the trip. But I will take most of the blame for the overreaction. However, I must admit it wouldn’t have had to happen anyway if there was at least a better sense of transparency concerning what we where we were headed. It is what it is. Just let future travelers know what to expect if they get room 1 there.

That’s about all I have to say, as the last two days at the Jubilee hotel were honestly refreshing and completely low key, and really just a necessary
preparation for the hell day we had to get back home. But like I said, that’s outside the realm of your teams input. Ultimately it was a very fun memorable trip. And like all trips had it ups and downs. But at least we made it home in one piece, and I would personally return certainly to the highlands and inverness especially. Maybe we will plan one again in the future.

Sincerely and gratefully
Nicholas DuShane-

Activity Review

Cairngorms National Park Wildlife Tour

Scotland

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport