Beau Voyage

Alexia did an incredible job planning our 4 week and Spain vacation! Our accommodations, tours, transfers, recommendations completely met our needs. Alexia was very responsive addressing our questions or any issues we may have had to ensure a smooth and seamless trip. Thank you KimKim and Alexia!

This was my first experience booking with kimkim, and I would readily do it again. Our tour specialist/planner was attentive to our interests and what we wanted to do, and included all of those activities and more into our itinerary. She was also very responsive when problems or adjustments were needed during the trip. All of the vendors provided good programs and services. Having someone local and knowledgeable to create the itinerary was invaluable and we had a personalized experience we wouldn't have enjoyed on a group tour.

Paris - Mgallery Echiquier Paris Opera - paid ourselves ~$475 Euro/night)-4 nights. Nice, tiny, but just okay.

Seine River Dinner cruise - excellent first day tour, food was good, singer for entertainment. It would have been better to have had window table for better view.
Louvre - self guided with headphones was great
Versailles - Impressive tour, October was not great time of year for the gardens
Moulin Rouge - did not attend (poor reviews from others); attended Paradis Latin Show - was excellent and food was very good.
Pastry Tour - Fantastic!!
Side Car ride around Paris to Sacre Coeur Montmartre. Excellent.
Wine tasting at Louvre Cellars . Wine was not great for Paris.
Reims, Champagne (2 nights) - B&B Le Clos Corbier - very nice, large room. Lively and quiet. Too isolated and no restaurant/food within walking distance, uber was $60 euro into Reims for dinner! After a day of Champagne tasting, I did not wish to drive.

Champagne wine tour w/Thomas (3 wineries) - 1) Veuve Clicquot 5*, 2) Collard-Milesi w/ lunch 3.5* 3) Lancelot-Royer 4*

Strasbourg, Alsace (2 nights) - Hotel Du Dragon (good hotel, central). Great city! Great spatzle! Nice wine bar (Terres a Vin)

wine tour with Jerome (3 wineries) - 1) Wach winery - good wine, mediocre tour 4*, 2) Gilg- not great wine, poor tasting 3*, 3) Louis Sipp - good wine, good story

Beaune - (5 nights) (Ermitage de Corton, Chorey-Les-Beaune, Bourgogne, France - very nice B&B, large suite. Outskirts of Beaune (10km) and getting a taxi or Uber required a reservation or a potentially long wait. Other than the included breakfast, there was no food service other than full meal dinner and lunch. No coffee machine available in room.

Burgundy Wine Region Tour Operator: ( Emanuel ) France Intense tour company

Wineries: 1) Domaine Comte Senard Aloxe-Corton (8 tastings) 4*; 2) Maillard-Grivot (12 tastings) 5*;
Wine store - (5 tastings)
*** plus shared a bottle of wine at lunch and dinner
Great tour! A daunting number of wines tasted. Excellent quality!

Tours:
Hospices de Beaune - great private tour!
Mustard factory (on own) and could not gain access to the factory, only the store.

Side car tour - this was fun. Rode through the vineyards and had a glass of Kir Royal w/ gougeres!
Burgundy Cooking Experience - Fantastic day of cooking!! Made several dishes, then enjoyed a wonderful lunch. Great class! Highly recommend this class.

Dinner at La Table Du Square… Amazing!
Excellent Wine Bars: Le bout du monde (wine bar), L’arche des vins
Dinner at L’Ecrit Vin Beaune… great dinner.

Lyon (Le Phenix Hotel) 2 nights

Dinner at Le Boeuf d’Argent - great dinner and food presentation!
Beautiful historic centre
Secrets of Lyon’s Gastronomy food walking tour (good tour, just okay charcuterie, but excellent brioche dessert with red candy covered almonds), okay wine pairings

Bordeaux (Hotel Indigo Bordeaux) - 4 nights Oct 13-17
decent hotel, rooftop restaurant; awesome buffet breakfast!!

Discovered 2 great bars - Le Sobre, Bar de Vin

Chartrons, Bordeaux wine walking district food tour (3hrs) - tasted coffee, pastry, and something else; was not a great tour ☹️.
Saint-Emilion wine region tour 7 hr tour small group (incl picnic (mini van tour) - Ended up being a private tour! Went to 3 wineries, and had a lovely picnic lunch in the yard of one winery.
Day trip to Arcachon Bassin and Dune du Pilat. Was not a great tour. Sand dunes were pretty cool though . Went to an oyster restaurant and had disappointing wine ☹️.

River cruise - Would not recommend . Ambiance was rather cold (like a cafeteria), food was lousy, and the wine was just okay. The cruise in Paris was far better!

Madrid (Hotel Emperador) - 3 nights - very nice hotel, great lobby bar, nice rooftop bar/restaurant. Breakfast was included, and very good. A large hotel with some large tour groups which can make for morning elevator access waits and checkout chaos. Clearly they handle large groups frequently as it was very organized chaos at peak times.

Tapas Tour Oct 17 (really good, food was really good and plentiful); wine was just okay.
Private Madrid Winery tour (10-4pm) - Excellent tour, guide was amazing, winery tours were fantastic, and wine and snacks were great!
Royal Palace guided visit - great tour! Guide was excellent!
Flamenco and Tapas night - Great show!, but would not recommend the tapas.

Barcelona (4 nights) - Serras Barcelona Hotel - Magnificent in every way!!! The staff, the food, the bar, the restaurant, the service… all exceeding expectations! Very intimate hotel. The VERY best hotel!!!

Barcelona Market Tapas dinner Tour - Really good tour, food and wine were very good, food was plentiful.
Catamaran sunset dinner cruise - great cruise with live music ( guitar player) and very good food (intimate dinner on board)
Day trip to Montserrat and the Penedes region wine tasting region - Wonderful tour of Montserrat, and very nice winery Llopart Family Estates tour and tasting! Our tour guide was terrific! We were able to have lunch away from the crowds.

Transfers between airports and hotels were much appreciated. Drivers were competent and helpful with our luggage.

Alexia was instrumental in coordinating our travel and was attentive to our concerns and requests.

Overall trip was amazing! Loved the mix of history and market shopping. Celine Mancuso was the best guide. She is a true scholar and historian. Wish we could have extended her to the Avignon portion of the trip. Faure Brigitte was very accommodating and pleasant but did not have the depth of knowledge expected from a guide. She was more of a driver. The driver from Provence to Avignon did not speak English. This was a problem. The driver from Avignon to Aix was great! We did not get a chance to spend time with Chloe the guide in Aix. There was a mix-up as to whether we'd tour Gorde on the previous day or on the way to Aix. Alexia did not check with us to find out so we left Hotel Cambis much too early to arrive in Aix at 11 without being able to check in. Having nothing to do, we toured Aix by ourselves which was a long walk from the hotel and back. By check in time at 3, we were exhausted and wanted to enjoy the hotel. That was when the tour with Chloe was scheduled to start. That was very bad planning/timing. Alexia stated that break was time scheduled for lunch before the tour. We did not need 4 hours for lunch with nothing to do but a self guided tour. Should have checked out of Hotel Cambis much later. The Pigonnet hotel was nice but it was not 5-star service or food. It was too far from the city center to walk to the market on Tuesday so I missed that one. Nice grounds but not worth the price due to poor service, poor food and location. Domaine de Manville was awesome and Hotel Cambis was average but a good location. The breakfast buffet was terrible. Ran out of food and poor choice of food. The staff was great and recommended fantastic places for dinner. Your dinner list in Avignon is outdated with those restaurants closed altogether or closed the days we were there. Overall itinerary was awesome except for the last day.

Hotel Reviews

Domaine de Manville

Les Baux-de-Provence

The staff was great. Able to get a ride into town to eat dinner. The Michelin Star restaurant was outstanding! Breakfast was amazing. Property was beautiful.

Authenticity & Character

Furnishings

Location

Beautiful property and pool

Staff

Bell Service (Gerald) was great!

Cleanliness & Comfort

All clean but elevator did smell like fish the whole time we were there.

Hotel de Cambis

Avignon

Rooms were great and management staff was amazing but breakfast buffet was terrible. Not a lot of choice, inconsistent, ran out of mocha, eggs, bananas. Employees were chatting in the kitchen and slow to refill the buffet. Front desk was able to get us incredible dinner reservations each night.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Le Pigonnet

Aix-en-Provence

Hotel grounds are amazing but the bellman was not real helpful. No chance of checking in early. Wait staff was slow (someone delivered hot food on trays and left it sitting for a few minutes waiting on another server instead of serving right away which happened to multiple tables). French fries were cold and soggy and ham sandwich was dry and flavorless. Breakfast buffet was good. Room was big and nice.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Too far from the city center

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Visit Roman Sites and Medieval Heritage in Le Pont du Gard, Uzès and Nîmes

France

Visit Les Baux de Provence & Saint Rémy de Provence

France

Day Excursion to the Luberon villages of Bonnieux, Ménerbes and Lourmarin

France

Pretty countryside but too far to drive it all in one day.

Roman Splendors of Orange & Vaison-la-Romaine

France

Excursion to Gordes and Isle-sur-la-Sorgue

France

Self-guided exploration of Avignon

France

We visited the Pope's Palace but it was incredibly hot inside.

Private Walking tour of Aix-en-Provence

France

Did not go on this tour as it was scheduled at check-in time which would have given us no time to enjoy the hotel. Should have been scheduled between 1-3.

Free time in Les Baux de Provence and visit of the castle

Les Baux de Provence

Our local France specialist Audrey was wonderful. She did a great job helping us plan the trip tailored to our specific interests. She replied to our questions promptly and was available for a zoom call.
Our 2 week trip which included Paris and Provence went smoothly. Audrey was easily available when we needed to verify a few of the planned activities. Our personal tour guide at the Louvre was great. We took a guided group day trip to Normandy which was very informative and personally quite a “moving” experience.
We rented a car in Provence and toured many of the local hilltop villages which were lovely. We liked staying in Villeneuve-les-Avignon, much quieter than Avignon. The restaurants there were great as was the hotel. The Roman history in Nimes, Uzes and the Pont du Gard were worth the visit.
The Carrieres de Lumiere show and Les Baux de Provence were wonderful.
We enjoyed hiking the Sainte Baume Mountains and the Calanques National Park near Cassis. The views were stunning.
We flew out of Nice, were surprised by it’s beautiful architecture and lovely seaside promenade.

Hotel Reviews

Aquabella Hotel & Spa

Aix en Provence

Location just outside the old city was perfect. We did not use the spa, sauna, pool etc. Too busy seeing the sights.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Villa Victoria

Nice

Good location, They upgraded us to a bigger room which was very nice. Lovely garden space in the back.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Villa Panthéon

Paris

Room was small but we loved the location in the Latin quarter. Easy to walk to Notre Dame and even the Louvre. The restaurant next door had great French food. We ate there for dinner three nights.

Authenticity & Character

Location

As above, easily walkable. Quiet.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

L'Atelier

Villeneuve-lès-Avignon

Great location. Loved the town. Parked the car in an outdoor free parking lot just a few minutes walk from the hotel. Very safe. Lovely, old hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Full-day excursion from Paris of D-day beaches - U.S. sector

Paris

We did not know that we would be going with a group. So you might want people to know that they will be driving in a van with 8 other people for several hours each way. Our tour guide was an enthusiastic, very knowledgeable young man who gave us a lot of history about D day and took us to several locations.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided visit of the Louvre Museum

Paris

Our private guide was great. She took us to less crowded areas where she could spend time telling us the history of certain ancient pieces. Would highly recommend her!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Half-Day Visit to the Royal Versailles with Private Transfers

Paris

We downloaded the app and went along at our own pace, inside. The fountains outside were not running. Because of the time of the year there were no flowers or colorful gardens but we walked for about an hour outside. Five hours was the right amount of time.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Driver was very friendly, and professional.

Transport

Visit & Wine Tasting at Clos du Calvaire

France

We had our own private tour of the vineyard which was great.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable, friendly, . Enjoyed the wine tasting and of course bought some bottles to bring home!

Hop-on hop-off in Paris - 1-day pass

Paris

A nice way to get your bearings of the city on the first day and see the highlights while being driven! The audio didn’t give much information.

Quality of Experience

Dear Lucie, Anais, Alexia, & Audrey.
My husband & I thoroughly enjoyed Provence & Normandy. It was an amazing trip! All the transfers, train trips, & excursions went off without any issues. All the drivers were friendly, prompt, helpful, and personable.
We loved the Grand Hotel Beauvau in Marseille & Hotel Le Lion d’Or in Bayeux. Although the hotel in Avignon was historic & lovely, it wasn’t the right one for us. The narrow, winding staircase to get up & down the two flights of stairs to our room required a lot of caution. Additionally, there was only a bathtub with a hand-held shower head in the bathroom & getting in & out of the tub for us senior citizens, was a bit challenging. Fabrice & Veronique were lovely hosts & very welcoming & accommodating, and worked with us when we weren’t able to sit down for breakfast each morning because they didn’t serve it till 8:30 & we had to leave each morning by 8:00 to meet our tour guide for the day.
The Jangle Hotel was nice & the room was comfortable. However, the fire alarm sounded at 6:00am, and guests had to evacuate. This is certainly an unusual, unanticipated occurrence, but the alarm sounded twice within a short window of time, so we had to evacuate our room twice, leave all our belongings behind, all while we were trying to get dressed & packed to catch the hotel shuttle to the airport. I noticed that there was a Radisson Hotel right in Terminal 3E in Charles DeGaul, & this hotel would have been more convenient
All our guided tours were exceptional. The guides were very knowledgeable, informative, personable, & friendly. The itinerary planned for us, which was varied & comprehensive, was perfect. There wasn’t one activity we didn’t enjoy.
All in all, you ladies did a magnificent job. My husband & I are truly grateful for the care that was put into planning & executing this trip. Kimkim gets an A+ rating from us & I would highly recommend this trip planning organization without reservation.
Thank you for always being available throughout the trip, for being so responsive, & for being so thorough.
My husband & I will always have very fond memories of this trip. It not only met our expectations, but exceeded them.
Marci beaucoup,
Irene & John

Activity Reviews

Visit of City of Popes and Pont d'Avignon

France

Full-day visit of D-day beaches - U.S. sector, with a Small Group

France

Amazing @ very moving excursion

Marseille food tour

France

Semi-private Calanques Cruise & free time in Marseille

Marseille

Cassis and Aix-en-Provence tour

Marseille

Half-Day Van Gogh & Alpilles Tour

Avignon

Half-day tour to Gigondas and Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Avignon

Roman History Tour: Nîmes, Uzès & Pont du Gard

Avignon

Unfortunately, due to heavy rain on the day we were to take this excursion, Pont du Gord & Nimes were closed to travelers. Our guide adjusted the itinerary, & took us to a Roman Theater in Orange, which was interesting. Despite not being able to go to the original destinations, the places we visited instead were historic & interesting

A day at the Mont Saint Michel with a Small Group

Bayeux

Loved visiting St. Michel.

Morning tour to the hilltop villages of Luberon

Avignon

Alexia really knocked it out of the park! Truly an amazing experience from start to finish. The travel was immaculately coordinated, the daily adventures planned were exciting, and the hotels were fit for royalty! An unforgettable and unique experience in France, perfectly tailored to our dreams. We will absolutely be booking through KimKim again!

It was a great trip to wine country and Paris. Our guide, Alexia, was fantastic; very responsive, attentive, and available thoughout planning and the visit. We both learned a bit about what works for me and my partner. Every single guide we encountered was as good as you could hope for. The baking classes were perfect and we learned a great deal. I’m looking forward to planning a Spain/Portugal trip with Alexia next summer.

Hotel Reviews

Grand Hotel des Templiers

Reims

The Grand Hotel des Templiers in Reims was quaint and a bit removed from the city center, but manageable. It was clean and nice, and overall, it was fine for our stay.

Hotel de France

Beaune

The Hotel de France in Beaune was disappointing. The mattress in our first room was bad, and we had to be moved immediately. The room was very small and on the fourth floor. While it was clean and not too far from activity, it was not close to the fun parts of the city. Overall, it was a pretty poor experience.

Hôtel Le Mireille

Paris

The Hôtel Le Mireille in Paris was better than the hotel in Beaune but still not ideal. The location was not where we wanted to be, and in retrospect, we should have chosen a hotel closer to the main attractions. The hotel itself was okay, but the location was a downside.

Activity Reviews

Excursion in the world of Champagne: visit of Veuve Clicquot and a family grower with lunch

Reims

The excursion in the world of Champagne was really good. We had great guides and visited some excellent places. The timing was just right for our trip, and overall, we were very pleased with the experience.

Guided visit of Beaune and of the Hospices de Beaune

Beaune

The guided visit of Beaune and the Hospices de Beaune was very good. We loved the places we visited and thought it was a nice range of locations. The whole experience was very enjoyable.

Self-Guided Visit of the Eiffel Tower with Access to the Summit (Entrance Tickets included)

Paris

The self-guided visit of the Eiffel Tower was fine. By the time we got to Paris, I was a bit indifferent about doing it, but my companion wanted to, so we went ahead. The tickets and access went smoothly, and I have no complaints, but it wasn't a highlight for me.

La Baguette and ‘Boulangerie’ Class

Paris

The baking classes were fantastic. We had great instructors and a wonderful experience. The people in the class were fun, and it was definitely one of the high points of the trip.

Full-day excursion from Paris of D-day beaches - U.S. sector

Paris

The full-day excursion to the D-Day beaches was terrific. Although I was initially hesitant about the drive, it turned out to be just the right amount of time and a very worthwhile experience.

Lucie listened to us and our priorities for the trip. She then gave us choices of activities and itineraries. The final itinerary matched and even exceeded our expectations. We participated in some tours and activities that we would never have thought of doing. During the trip, Audrey was available to us via WhatApp when we had any questions or concerns. She always replied promptly.

Hotel Reviews

Résidence Des Arts

Paris

The location makes this hotel the perfect place to stay. Close to everything! A few minutes walk to Notre Dame, the Metro, cafes, bakeries and laundry. Great selection at breakfast. Friendly and helpful staff. Highly recommend. We would definitely stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close to everything that's important

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Maison Dauphine Appartment & Art Gallery

AIX-EN-PROVENCE

This is a wonderful place because it has a kitchenette, clothes washer and comfortable bed. However, we stayed there on a weekend and be aware it is a college town. We heard people partying and loud music until the wee hours of the morning. For this reason, I cannot give this place 5 stars.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Bastide De Tourtour & Spa Hôtel

Tourtour

The view from our room was amazing. Be sure you book a room with a view over the countryside. Breakfast was incredible. The bathroom tub was a nice bonus because I love soaking in a tub. The only downside of this place is if you want to eat dinner anywhere but the hotel, you will have to drive to another town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Le Clos du Petit Jesus

Cassis

You can't do any better than staying here! Rodolphe was a fantastic host. He answered our many questions promptly via WhatsApp or in person (with help from Google Translate). The room is absolutely beautiful. Especially loved the bathtub and the huge shower. The place is just a short walk to the harbor at Cassis. Breakfast was delicious. Highly recommend and would stay here again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Self-Guided Visit of the Eiffel Tower with Access to the Summit (Entrance Tickets included)

Paris

It was just OK

Full-day excursion from Paris of D-day beaches - U.S. sector

Paris

I recommend this trip, but was not happy about the overall trip because our tour van ran out of gas on the highway on the way back to Paris. I heard from our travel agent that this company is usually very good. But, my experience was dimmed by being stuck on the side of a busy highway while our driver made excuses for the empty gas tank.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Gas up the van earlier and often.

Transport

Gourmet food tour in Saint-Germain-des-Prés

Paris

Loved all the different food we tasted.

Quality of Experience

All the food was incredible, especially the cheese.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was interesting and knowledgeable

Provençal Market Visit & Cooking Workshop

Aix-en-Provence

The Provençal Market Visit & Cooking Workshop was fantastic and one of our favorite experiences. The chef was very engaging, charming, and made everyone feel included. He tailored the menu based on our dietary restrictions and explained the traditional dishes we were preparing. Although the shopping was mostly done by him, he talked us through it, and the cooking process was interactive and fun. I would highly recommend this activity.

Seine River Dinner Cruise

Paris

The Seine River Dinner Cruise was just okay for me. I expected some outdoor seating and fresh air, but the boat was fully enclosed, and our table was in the middle of the boat, away from windows, so the views were limited. The food was alright but nothing special. Also, there were some scammers near the boat trying to overcharge us for a ride, which was a bit unsettling. Overall, it was an average experience.

Private Notre-Dame Visit

Paris

The Private Notre-Dame Visit was informative and well worth it. Due to recent rule changes, our guide could not accompany us inside, so we explored on our own for about an hour. Afterward, she provided detailed information and showed us pictures on her iPad, including insights about the recent restoration. She was very knowledgeable and engaging, though I felt it was a bit of a waste of her time waiting outside for us.

The arrangements by Audrey were excellent. She was also very prompt with all communciations. All transfers and tours were well organized, except for a slight hiccup on the transfer from our Strasbourg hotel to the train station when the driver was a few min late due to a last-minute change by the company.
The tour guides were all knowledgeable and friendly.
Hotels: The reason for the 4-star rating for Audrey is the hotels. In general, we felt that the hotels did not merit the cost of the trip. We had requested 4-star hotels but except for the Hotel de Seze in Bordeaux, we would consider the other three hotels 3-star, even if technically designated 4-stars. In 2 instances we had to carry luggage up the stairs either to reach the elevator or to reach the room from the elevator. In general, the rooms were somewhat cramped for 2 people. In Amboise, the room was very hot and the hotel was unable to provide fans, saying that they were all in use, and so we did not have one available for even one of the 3 nights we were there.
On the plus side, the staff at all hotels were friendly and helpful. Breakfast buffets were plentiful. All hotels were well located.
Overall, the trip was very enjoyable and stress free. We appreciated the smoothness of the experience