Alivia Travel DMC (Croatique)

This was our first experience working with Kim Kim. We are usually 'do-it-yourselfers' kind of planners and actually enjoy that part of it. But, wanted to give this a try as we really wanted to experience our first visit to Croatia with an eye to 'local' favorites. Sara exceeded all our expectations. We felt like we had an angel on our shoulders (and whispering in our ears) the entire time. Not only did she identify a nice blend of places to visit - from heavily visited to off-the-beaten-path, we really felt like the trip was curated for our own unique interests. The service was over-the-top comfortable, which took so much stress out of things like hotel bookings, transport and timelines. Sara had it all mapped out. Another big highlight were the local guides along the way. Each were so wonderful and informative. I do want to give a BIG shout out to our favorite guide, in Zagreb: Josipa (Jo). She is knowledgeable, passionate, funny and filled with SO much information that she connected locally, globally and personally with stories, legends and humor. Fantastic!

Hotel Reviews

House Flora

Rastovača

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heritage Villa Nobile

Dubrovnik

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Piazza Heritage Hotel

Split

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bastion Heritage Hotel—Relais & Châteaux

Zadar

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Adriatic

Rovinj

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Amadria Park Hotel Capital

Zagreb

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Walking Tour of Plitvice Lakes National Park

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Zagreb

Zagreb

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hvar Day Trip from Split

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Split

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Konavle Region Culinary Experience (small group)

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We actually worked with Sara, as Antonia was on maternity leave.

Overall, we had a truly wonderful experience! The pointers and GPS links were excellent, and we were very happy with the activities, guides, sites visited, and lodging/hotels. Sara was also fantastic to work with. Her quick responses to our messages were much appreciated!

A few suggestions and observations that might be helpful for future itineraries:

Zadar: It was a long drive to Zadar for just one night, and then having to backtrack to Plitvice seemed like a bit of a waste of time on the road. In hindsight, staying closer to Plitvice would have allowed us to get an earlier start and make better use of our time in Zadar. We also felt we could have used another night in Split and more time in Hvar.

We arrived in Zadar after 7:00 p.m., and unfortunately, our hotel experience wasn't the best. The gentleman at the front desk seemed quite annoyed that we arrived late. He basically showed us to our rooms, told us about breakfast, and left. The hotel also wasn't in a very convenient location, as there were no restaurants within walking distance, so we had to rely on Uber.

Timing Between Destinations: One other suggestion would be to provide a little more guidance on how much time to allow for driving between destinations and how much time to plan for each stop. For example, we missed some activities in Bovec because it took us longer than expected to get there. We also had a difficult time finding a place for dinner, as many restaurants were already full due to reservations. Having a better idea of how much time to allocate along the way would have helped us plan our days more effectively.

That said, these are just a few things we learned along the way. It was truly a wonderful vacation, and we appreciate all the work that went into putting together such a memorable trip. We would absolutely recommend your services!

Thank you again!

Our trip was smooth in every way. Antonia did a great job of helping us plan the trip. Prior to leaving for our trip Antonia had her colleague Nikola work with us to finalize all the details and make sure we understood each day on the trip. He answered all our questions, and we felt comfortable knowing what to expect.

While on the trip, Nikola send us a What'sApp message every evening with all the details for the following day. Towards the end of the trip we decided we wanted to cancel one of our tours. We contact Nikola and he took care of it immediately. Due to weather, we also thought it might be best to change plans for a walking tour. Nikola agreed and made it all happen. Many of our guides and drivers commented on how great Nikola and Antonia are to work with.

All of our drivers and guides were outstanding. There are several that really stood out. Zenko who drove us to and around Rovinj. Rosanna who was our tour guide at Brijuni National Park. Ivanka who guided us at Plitvice National Park.
Salvador who toured us around Split. Pietra who guided us around Montengro. Maria who toured us in old town Dubrovnik.

This was our second trip with KimKim and bravo for another seemless and wonderful journey. Once we decide when and where to go next we will not hesitate to contact KimKim.

Blessings,
Elizabeth and Robert Sawyer

Hotel Reviews

Manda Heritage Hotel

Zagreb

Authenticity & Character

Location

near downtown

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Adriatic

Rovinj

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

16 Lakes Hotel

Rakovica

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Cornaro Hotel

Split

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel More

Dubrovnik

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Walking Tour of Rovinj

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Brijuni National Park

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Plitvice Lakes National Park

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Split

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Hvar Day Trip from Split

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Day Trip to Montenegro - Perast & Kotor

Dubrovnik

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Truffle Lunch with Presentation at Local Family Estate

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Gourmet Experience at Local Winery

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Wine Tasting at Local Winery on Pelješac Peninsula

Croatia

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

From the planning of our trip through to the final days on the trip, everything was effortless. Nikola listened to our requests, made suggestions/recommendations and we were all thrilled with the experiences we had. This was my second trip with Kimkim and I would highly recommend them. We will continue to use Kimkim for future trips.

We had the most marvelous, wonderful trip to Croatia and Slovenia. Spent 14 days there and every one of them was great. I thank Sara so much for her help in planning and making the necessary arrangements for this trip. I thought I could do this on my own but realized I needed help. Sara provided great suggestions and was with us every step of the way. From hotel arrangements to restaurant recommendations we were so impressed. Sara provided local guides in every city we visited and they were bright, enthusiastic and added so much to our experiences. Our drivers were always on time and we felt safe and glad to have each of them. I can't say enough of how great this trip was for us and give Sara 5 stars for everything she did to make this possible. If anyone is considering these destinations, you will not be disappointed. Croatia and Slovenia exceeded my expectations for beauty, cleanliness, friendly people and great food!
Thanks again Sara.

Hotel Reviews

Villa Tuttorotto

Rovinj

We loved Rovinj and this hotel was in a great location. Spacious room and clean. Fantastic bathroom - I like a good bathroom which is a requirement for me. One of our best meals was in Rovinj. Don't miss this city of going to Croatia.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Could walk everywhere from this hotel. Harbor and downtown area.

Staff

very helpful and polite staff - always remembered us when we came and went. Felt like family

Cleanliness & Comfort

One of the best bathrooms ever! Entering this charming hotel and then entering this room with an enormous bathroom was truly unexpected. Wish we could have stayed longer.

Hotel Degenija

Rakovica

Not a lot of choices by Plitvice National Park but this hotel was more than adequate. Clean and convenient to the park. Hotel had a restaurant across the path which was good.

Beach Bay Hvar

Hvar

This hotel was located in a great location. Clean and spacious room. Helpful staff. One of the bests meals EVER at the Mediterraneo Restaurant in Hvar. Not connected to the hotel but in walking distance. Fun place to be.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Truffle Lunch with Presentation at Local Family Estate

Croatia

This was a fun activity. We were greeted by the owner of the estate we presented us with samples of wine and brandy that are produced on their property. She explained the difference between the white and black truffles and showed us the variety of ways they are used. We were treated to a lovely lunch of eggs with truffles as well as homemade breads.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Plitvice Lakes National Park

Croatia

I was really looking forward to taking the walking tour of Plitvice. The lakes are beautiful and the area surrounding it incredibly well maintained. Our guide took us on various paths so we were able to see some of the lower and upper lakes. Nice break from the cities.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Ljubljana

Slovenia

We had a lovely guide in Ljubljana. Due to the EU bike championship race going on that morning our guide altered our original and took us up the funicular to the Castle first. We toured the castle and then retraced our steps. We were shown the bridges that separate the two sides of the city and explained the triple bridge with the attendant dragons guarding the city. Beautiful city with fantastic restaurants and shops that line the river on both sides.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Split

Croatia

We absolutely loved Split. Hard to separate out all the tour guides we had but I know it was a great experience. Split was worth every minute we stayed there.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Trip to Bled Lake & a small town of Radovljica

Ljubljana

Lake Bled was beautiful. A great way to end our trip. However we were supposed to have gone to Radovljica and that never happened. It was apparent to us that our driver was also doing work for a company that was picking up people from LJU airport. We were supposed to have been picked up at Lake Bled at 2:00 and then gone to Radovljica. Our driver informed us the pickup would be at 3:00 and he never took us or stopped at the town. He was a nice person but was obviously juggling two separate jobs.

Quality of Experience

Private Half Day Tour to Klis Fortress & Trogir

Croatia

The tour guide that took us to Kliss Fortress and then Trogir was also great. Very knowledgeable.

Hvar Half-Day Private Island Tour (Afternoon)

Hvar

We had a great guide in Hvar who drove us all over the island explaining so much about life there. This was a half day tour and we enjoyed every minute. Learned a lot and felt safe and comfortable the entire time. He took us to a konoba which was so much fun. He made the day really special.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

We had two different guides in Dubrovnik and both were wonderful. They were able to explain the history of the city as well as general history of the country before, during and present. We learned so much about the homeland war of 1991 and breakup of Yugoslavia. Fascinating. They both went above and beyond insofar as the time they spent with us and their overall knowledge of the city and country.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

To say that Nikola and Kim Kim was great is an understatement. Everything went exactly as planned. Every evening he confirmed the next day’s activity and made sure everything was going well. If we had a question it was answered immediately. All hotel choices were in the best locations and all tour guides were excellent. Ferry tickets showed up when they were supposed to and descriptions of who was to pick us up were right on.

What an amazing trip! We spent 19 days visiting Prague, Vienna, Budapest, Slovenia and Croatia. We did it all! Hot air balloon ride (owner Grega was very entertaining and made us feel safe) , biking around Prague, dinner cruise on the Danube, truffle hunting and oyster farms were some of our favorites.

Nikola was very attentive and easy to work with. He explained every option in the planning stage even taking multiple phone calls to answer all our questions The nightly check ins to ask about our day and give details for following day were so helpful!
Highly recommend this trip and especially Nikola!!!!

Hotel Review

Splendida Palace

Split

All the staff were extremely friendly and helpful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Half-Day E-Bike Tour of Prague

Prague

Gary went the extra step to continuously check the radar to make sure we wouldn’t get caught in the rain. It was nice to see Prague from high above the city.

Quality of Experience

P

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Guided Walking Tour of Bratislava

Vienna

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hot Air Balloon Flight Over the Bled Lake

Croatia

Definitely a highlight! The owner, Grega puts on quite the show.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Budapest Food Tour

Budapest

Our guide, George, was very knowledgeable of the city and its food. Was fun to taste some of the local food with someone who could explain its history. I even got a goulash recipe to try at home!!! Highly recommend!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

BUDAPEST – Restaurant Suggestions

Budapest

Pierrot in Buda part.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Working with Nikola for our first trip to Croatia was fantastic. It was easy to set up phone calls to plan our trip. He contacted us every day during our trip to check in and review the itinerary for the following day. He arranged, top-notch accommodations, excellent guides and lists of activities and restaurants, all of which met our needs perfectly.

Our first day in Split, we had a private tour of Diocletian’s palace given by Salvador. He was knowledgeable and friendly. The next two days we had tours of Krka park, Klis Fortress, Sibenic and Trogir guided by Ivana. She has spent so much time in the national park that she knew the location of every frog and snake! From Trogir we traveled to Dubrovnik by way of Mostar. Our driver, Alen, helped facilitate getting across the border to Bosnia and back seamlessly. The private tour of Mostar, with a guide also named Alen, was memorable and informative. In Dubrovnik, we stayed at a magnificent hotel overlooking the Adriatic sea. We received a free upgrade to a villa. The views and amenities were five star. We had a private tour of the old town with a guide who was a university trained archaeologist (also named Ivana). She had lived through the siege in the early 90s and was open to discussing her experiences.

In summary, I cannot say enough good things about how this trip turned out. Every guide, driver, and restaurant recommendation was top-notch. Most of all, I appreciate the transparency in terms of what to expect with every aspect of our trip. This was not the case with other travel companies we have used..

Hotel Reviews

Heritage Hotel Santa Lucia

Split

Perfect location in the heart of the old town of Split. Fantastic breakfast each day. Comfortable room. Friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to everything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel More

Dubrovnik

Beautiful views. Wonderful amenities, including pools, spa and saunas. Waterfront walking path accessible to beaches and restaurants.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Private Walking Tour of Split

Croatia

Enjoyed our tour with Salvador. He is extremely knowledgeable and friendly.

Quality of Experience

Private Day Trip to Krka National Park & Šibenik

Croatia

Ivana knows Krka like the back of her hand. Also enjoyed learning about her family and Croatian culture

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Half Day Tour to Klis Fortress & Trogir

Croatia

Another fun day seeing the sights and immersing in history with Ivana

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Dubrovnik

Dubrovnik

Our guide, Ivana, was fantastic. With a background in archeology, and having grown up in the old town, she offered a unique perspective. She openly discussed her experiences as a child during the siege of Dubrovnik.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Walking Tour of Mostar

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Great tour with Alan. He was knowledgeable and his love of Mostar was apparent. Made a great restaurant recommendation at the end. Very interesting and informative

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Alen was fun and entertaining throughout the trip from Trogir to Mostar to Dubrovnik

Sara was top notch from the time we started arranging our trip to Croatia. Everything was arranged and all events booked perfectly. Sara always responded quickly to our questions and concerns. At the end of each day or our trip she would prepare us for the next day. Our trip was wonderful; there were no low points.

Enjoyed learning the historical perspective of the cities from our tour guides. Andrew was a fantastic guide at Plitvice Lakes National Park and KrKa National Park is stunning. Duja was very personable, helpful, and took good care of us. We always knew when and where to meet him. Croatia has many spectacular sights to see.

Hotel Review

Vila Nepos

Split

Nice fit for multiple travelers staying multiple days who would like a bit of space to relax during sight seeing experiences. Tomas was thorough during his orientation and made our stay enjoyable. Particularly enjoyed listening to the music from below in the evenings.

Authenticity & Character

Views from the windows and listening to the music or singing in the evenings.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Private Guided Hike of Plitvice Lakes National Park - (Lower & Upper Lakes)

Croatia

Andrew is a wealth of knowledge!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport