Camellia Nguyen

Such an amazing trip to Thailand and Cambodia. Camellia picked awesome activities, mixed of adventure and local culture. Local restaurant recommendations helped us discover the wonderful thai cuisine. Thank you so much for everything.

Camellia did such a great job planning our ideal Vietnam trip. She listened and really took into account everything we wanted to do and see and made the perfect itinerary. Most all the guides and people we encountered were nothing but wonderful and excited to show us their country. Our favorite activity was the Ha Long Bay cruise as well as the numerous cooking classes and food tours we did. We felt like we got a true 'taste' of Vietnam. The only thing we would do differently if we knew then... read more

Camellia did such a great job planning our ideal Vietnam trip. She listened and really took into account everything we wanted to do and see and made the perfect itinerary. Most all the guides and people we encountered were nothing but wonderful and excited to show us their country. Our favorite activity was the Ha Long Bay cruise as well as the numerous cooking classes and food tours we did. We felt like we got a true 'taste' of Vietnam. The only thing we would do differently if we knew then what we know now is to spend less time in Ho Chi Minh and not do the Mekong Delta. We felt this was a waste of time to drive 2 hrs each way to float on some water. But you don't know what you don't know! Otherwise, great itinerary and another great trip planned by KimKim!

Wonderful time in Vietnam! Got to explore north to south Vietnam. Everything was well coordinated and we had an amazing trip.

We had a wonderful vacation in Vietnam! Every location we visited was memorable in its own way, ranging from the bustle of city life in Hanoi and Saigon to the mountains and indigenous communities in Sapa, the rock formations in the Halong Bay and the waters of Nin Binh and the Mekong Delta.

Camellia (local specialist from the Footprint Tarvel agency) made every effort to understand what we were looking for and did an amazing job planning out the itinerary in detail. I had a mix of... read more

We had a wonderful vacation in Vietnam! Every location we visited was memorable in its own way, ranging from the bustle of city life in Hanoi and Saigon to the mountains and indigenous communities in Sapa, the rock formations in the Halong Bay and the waters of Nin Binh and the Mekong Delta.

Camellia (local specialist from the Footprint Tarvel agency) made every effort to understand what we were looking for and did an amazing job planning out the itinerary in detail. I had a mix of phone/email interactions to finalize our plans.

Camellia was fantastic! She was creative in dealing with the situations on the ground since Vietnam had just opened to international tourists a few weeks before. We had excellent local guides in each place that gave us the experience we were looking for.

We loved the variety of the food. For those looking for adventurous items, they’re available too!

We were one of the first international travelers that the country was seeing in two years. They warmly welcomed us and were very appreciative that we were visiting.

For those of you thinking about going to Vietnam, jump in! You will have a fantastic holiday with warm, positive memories leaving Covid behind as a distant memory.

Our trip to Hanoi organized by Nga via kimkim was great. From the start, Nga was able to customize our trip to fit our schedule & needs. Accommodating our various requests, she was able to give us various options to choose from especially during this holiday peak season. We spent 5 days in Hanoi and our local guide Chris was fantastic as well. Nga and Chris from Footprint were very helpful throughout the trip and would highly recommend them!

This was a wonderful trip arranged by Victor from KimKim travel and with local guide specialist Nga. It was off peak and my family had the luxury of the full 9 sitter van to ourselves served by 1 driver (Mike) and 1 local guide (Tom). They have local names but it was too difficult for me to remember.

There was a lot of driving and the driver was key to a safe and pleasant journey throughout. The local tour guide gave a very nice tour of North Vietnam mountainous beauty and experience of... read more

This was a wonderful trip arranged by Victor from KimKim travel and with local guide specialist Nga. It was off peak and my family had the luxury of the full 9 sitter van to ourselves served by 1 driver (Mike) and 1 local guide (Tom). They have local names but it was too difficult for me to remember.

There was a lot of driving and the driver was key to a safe and pleasant journey throughout. The local tour guide gave a very nice tour of North Vietnam mountainous beauty and experience of local Vietnamese food throughout. The mountain trekking was also amazing!

I also like the relaxing iternary and at the end of the trip, i could see the relax and happy faces of my family members including myself.

We had a wonderful trip to Sapa with Ms May who picked us up from Lao Cai Train Station.
Ms May was helpful and took good care of us throughout the trip. She was with us from the start of our Sapa tour till the end where she sent us off at the Lao Cai Train Station for us to take our overnight train back to Hanoi.

During our tour in Sapa, she showed us the ways of the local and we went to the less crowded spots to have a splendid view of rice terraces. As it is very crowded to queue for the... read more

We had a wonderful trip to Sapa with Ms May who picked us up from Lao Cai Train Station.
Ms May was helpful and took good care of us throughout the trip. She was with us from the start of our Sapa tour till the end where she sent us off at the Lao Cai Train Station for us to take our overnight train back to Hanoi.

During our tour in Sapa, she showed us the ways of the local and we went to the less crowded spots to have a splendid view of rice terraces. As it is very crowded to queue for the cable car at Fansipan, she made sure we got in and prebought tickets for us.

Overall the tour is to our pace and we didn't feel rushed- which we appreciated. As she knows we like to visit markets, we made additional stops to see "pop-up" weekend/Sunday markets set up by local farmers and traders selling their produce.

She also brought us around Bac Ha market so that we didn't miss anything out. The Sunday buffalo sale is quite a sight not to miss!

Hanoi portion:

1) The pick up from the airport to the "cafe" (to take the train from Hanoi to Lao Cai) to wait for our tickets was frustrating at least. We were given a piece of paper (which apparently can be exchanged for train tickets) and with no instructions whatsoever. Do we wait for our tickets to be collected? Or do we collect them ourselves? In fact we walked out of the cafe and suddenly a kind gentleman told us to wait and have a seat whilst he collect our tickets. Then he disappears for quite a while- leaving us confused again.

But fortunately he returns in time for us to trolley our bags to the train station to board the overnight train to Sapa.

2) The pick up from Hanoi Station was at the same meeting point as we waited (see 1)) Unfortunately at wee hours in the morning 5am meant we had to exit the Hanoi Station at the other end of the block. In order to get to the same cafe (1), we had to make a huge detour around the block, in darkness. But luckily our driver was looking for us in the dark and we finally found each other and he drove us safely to the airport for our onward journey.

Our trip to Vietnam exceeded our expectations in every way. Victor put together an itinerary that was perfect for our group. He answered all of our enquiries promptly and was very flexible to suit any request we made.
Our English speaking guides were very friendly and more than willing to share their knowledge of Vietnam, its history and way of life. Our transport was comfortable and always on time.

The highlights of northern Vietnam were the evening street food tour of Hanoi by Vespa,... read more

Our trip to Vietnam exceeded our expectations in every way. Victor put together an itinerary that was perfect for our group. He answered all of our enquiries promptly and was very flexible to suit any request we made.
Our English speaking guides were very friendly and more than willing to share their knowledge of Vietnam, its history and way of life. Our transport was comfortable and always on time.

The highlights of northern Vietnam were the evening street food tour of Hanoi by Vespa, trekking in the Pu Luong Nature Reserve and the overnight Junk on Ha Long Bay.

Our accommodation in Ho Chi Minh City was very central and comfortable . Our day trips to Cu Chi tunnels and the Mekong Delta were interesting and well managed.

We cannot recommend KimKim and Victor highly enough.

We booked 2 trips with Victor. The first was a 3 day trip to Cat Tien and then transport on to Dalat. The driver was great, the car very comfortable. We did choose to upgrade our accommodations at Cat Tien due to the extreme heat and humidity and felt we needed to have air conditioning. He arranged for several events in the park, which went well. Overall, we were pleased with his planning!!

Our other trip was a 10 day tour of North Vietnam beginning in Hanoi, and traveling up along the... read more

We booked 2 trips with Victor. The first was a 3 day trip to Cat Tien and then transport on to Dalat. The driver was great, the car very comfortable. We did choose to upgrade our accommodations at Cat Tien due to the extreme heat and humidity and felt we needed to have air conditioning. He arranged for several events in the park, which went well. Overall, we were pleased with his planning!!

Our other trip was a 10 day tour of North Vietnam beginning in Hanoi, and traveling up along the Chinese border. Both our guide, Doan, and our driver were excellent. Doan’s knowledge was broad, including history, topography and his ability to identify flora, including medicinal uses. Given his experience guiding in the north, he knew lots of people and introduced us to multiple cultures. He also has a great sense of humor and we got to know him and really like him, which made the 10 days very special. We stayed in homestays much of the time, and met very interesting families that opened their homes to us. This trip left us with awe and amazement, at times, given the beauty and vastness of the mountain regions we visited. We can highly recommend this trip, the guide and driver and Victor’s attentiveness to our needs.

Working with Victor was excellent and he was always super responsive. We were very happy with his services. We probably did too much travelling in the course of our 2 weeks, our fault as we wanted to see a lot. We had little time to plan our trip so more guidance on how much we could realistically see would have been useful. Overall we could have concentrated our trip in North Vietnam and the Central zone, leaving out the Mekong delta. To get to the delta we travelled for 1 day, by car... read more

Working with Victor was excellent and he was always super responsive. We were very happy with his services. We probably did too much travelling in the course of our 2 weeks, our fault as we wanted to see a lot. We had little time to plan our trip so more guidance on how much we could realistically see would have been useful. Overall we could have concentrated our trip in North Vietnam and the Central zone, leaving out the Mekong delta. To get to the delta we travelled for 1 day, by car and plane to basically do a 2.5 hour morning visit the next day to the floating market and leave immediately for HCMC (a 5 hour drive). The market was lovely to see, but I felt guilty travelling by plane for such a short visit. Our time would have been better spent with a few more days at the beach near HoiAn, with day trips to some cultural sights in the mornings. Looking at our trip plan day 12 and 13 were not really done. There was a pick up from the airport, lunch and onto hotel. No time given to visit Can Tho. Next day, boat trip, a visit to a small fruit farm and on the road to HCMC. Our guide seemed more keen to get us back to the the city than show us anything more in the delta. A bike ride on an island as described in your other tours would have been nice.
Our stay in the Eco Lodge near Sapa was wonderful and the highlight of the trip. A really beautiful location and a great place to stay. Halong bay was also a beautiful place.
The KimKim service makes it easy to plan a trip. This is the first time we have ever used a service like this. I would use the service again, but want a more flexible option. Travelling independently gives you a lot of flexibility to change your plans and I missed that on the trip. We did end up cutting a couple of guided trips short as we preferred to do things ourselves and just sometimes had done too much travelling to want to be out a whole day on a sight seeing tour.
All our travel arrangements, pick ups at airports, hotels, etc. were perfect and there was always someone there to greet us. Execution was well done.

Dear Victor,

the trip was amazing and we were well looked after throughout! Especially the Tu Lan cave-trip was absolutely stunning and amongst the best I have ever experienced. The kids were completely in awe and we will all never forget the trip, the many friends we made and the many experiences we made. It is impossible to list all the other experiences but clearly, each component had its own value and exceeded our expectations.

Our guide for the food tour was very good, friendly,... read more

Dear Victor,

the trip was amazing and we were well looked after throughout! Especially the Tu Lan cave-trip was absolutely stunning and amongst the best I have ever experienced. The kids were completely in awe and we will all never forget the trip, the many friends we made and the many experiences we made. It is impossible to list all the other experiences but clearly, each component had its own value and exceeded our expectations.

Our guide for the food tour was very good, friendly, knowledgable and explained a lot.

Hung, our guide from Oxalis was amazing. He adapted the tour for us, added an additional cave (which required a lot more climbing), and was full of energy and fun.

Ni was an excellent guide with lots of energy making sure we always get the best out of it. She adapted the programme perfectly around the weather (rain, rain, rain) and our interests.

I have a few areas were changes could be possible (not to be regarded as criticism, just for future planning):
1.) Swimming in Ha Long is not allowed. Should be taken out of the description
2.) The hotel in Phong Nha (I think we were in a different than in the programme) was not the greatest. I would suggest two possible improvements: a) IF staying in this hotel it should be highlighted that they can wash the clothes from the treck but the laundry should be handed in before 6pm to avoid express charges - this could then be in the programme and used to plan packing and getting things clean and dry again after the treck. b) It would also be good to allow for a late breakfast. After the trek we were super-tired and a sleep-in, then breakfast, then cartrip would have been appreciated. b) Alternatively, rather than staying overnight in the Phong Nha area the car trip to Hue could be done immediately afterwards. This would allow us to sleep in the car but gain a whole day.
3.) The hotel in Hue was quite loud with lots of party across the road.
4.) In Hoi An the first fisherman experience was superb. Friendly, happy and "off the beaten path". The second fisherman village was then very touristy and a bit of a shock. The basket boat row could well have been done with the first fishermen (or skipped). Maybe alternatively, one could learn about local ways to grow crop and harvest and process it.
5.) The Mekong trip was interesting, but somehow less exciting than the previous parts of the trip. I had expected more nature and was a bit disappointed. In total we spent too much time driving relative to the experiences made. While it is important to understand that various religious groups live together in harmony (and I think it reached the kids that this is by no means the standard), the visit to the Cham village was rather disappointing. It also feels wrong to walk along a street and look at people. The floating market was nice but the number of tourists outnumbers the locals. Tra Su made up for it (but only lasted for about 1 hour).... We had fun in the evenings though, eating locally, strolling around and enjoying the locals (who enjoyed us...). If a "Mekong Experience" could be organised from HCM - maybe in combination with the tunnels it would save two days and a lot of driving. I would then rather spend another day or two in the Tu Lan area. Alternatively one could try to save a day and use the time to see Angkor What. It would also be nice if the car had internet for the long drives (the car from Pho Nah to Hue to Hoi An to Danang had internet which was very welcomed).

As said, these comments are not a criticism, we thoroughly enjoyed our journey, were exhausted from all the input (and still are), and thank you again for the great organisation and putting such a dense and exciting programme together.

Best wishes,

Eike.

I would, and have recommended Kimkim to help plan any trip. We used them for the first time to help plan our trip to Croatia and had such a good experience we used them again for Vietnam. Victor made planning so easy, from helping with the itinerary, booking hotels and internal flights, private tours with great guides, transfers and getting our visa letters. He was always available if we had any questions while in Vietnam.
Khai was a great guide in Ho Chi Minh City and thanks to him we made... read more

I would, and have recommended Kimkim to help plan any trip. We used them for the first time to help plan our trip to Croatia and had such a good experience we used them again for Vietnam. Victor made planning so easy, from helping with the itinerary, booking hotels and internal flights, private tours with great guides, transfers and getting our visa letters. He was always available if we had any questions while in Vietnam.
Khai was a great guide in Ho Chi Minh City and thanks to him we made our flights to Danang when there was a small problem at the airport with our names. The Vespa tour we went on one evening with Linda and her team was one our favorite things.
In Hoi An, we were well taken care of by our guide Than. Our hotel there, Golden Holiday, was the best and Hoi An was amazing.
Last but not least, our guide Anh in Hanoi was fantastic. She is energetic and loved telling us all sorts things about Vietnam life.
Needless to say thanks to Victor and his team we had one of the best trips we have ever taken and loved every minute of Vietnam.

Overall, the trip was great. I would appreciate more details prior to the trip. Mike was great but he wasn’t needed the entire time. I didn’t know we would have a full time tour guide. We didn’t really need that. We would have preferred 2 hotel rooms and might have paid extra at a few sites to have that. Again, we didn’t know in advance what we had. In Hanoi and Hoi An, the room was way too small for 3 people, especially Hoi An since it was 3 nights. I might have settled for a lower... read more

Overall, the trip was great. I would appreciate more details prior to the trip. Mike was great but he wasn’t needed the entire time. I didn’t know we would have a full time tour guide. We didn’t really need that. We would have preferred 2 hotel rooms and might have paid extra at a few sites to have that. Again, we didn’t know in advance what we had. In Hanoi and Hoi An, the room was way too small for 3 people, especially Hoi An since it was 3 nights. I might have settled for a lower rated hotel and had 2 rooms. So my primary feedback is to provide more detail of what we were getting so we could have more choices. The cooking class had a half day and full day choice. I would have preferred half day.

Hey guys.

Victor was a great operator. From beginning to end, he was responsive and explained things very well. I had bit of a negative review on our onsite local tour guide at Hanoi and I've given that input to Victor. He was very professional and made sure my feedback was heard. In my business, the question I always ask my customers is: Would you recommend our services to your friends, family and associates? I would definitely recommend KimKim to my friends and look forward to using you... read more

Hey guys.

Victor was a great operator. From beginning to end, he was responsive and explained things very well. I had bit of a negative review on our onsite local tour guide at Hanoi and I've given that input to Victor. He was very professional and made sure my feedback was heard. In my business, the question I always ask my customers is: Would you recommend our services to your friends, family and associates? I would definitely recommend KimKim to my friends and look forward to using you guys again.

On the note of the Hanoi tour guide, I've given my feedback to Victor and would follow up with him. (the tour was actually great, but the person giving the tour was mediocre at best)

Thank you.

Paul Oh