Mieke Arendsen

everything was amazing and worked out so perfectly. the timing of all activities, tours, adventures worked great with plenty of free time to explore. all recommendations could not have been better! can not thank you guys enough! min need to worry to get anywhere as the drivers and guides are so professional yet social and friendly! i can’t wait to use kimkim again for my next adventure!!!! read more

everything was amazing and worked out so perfectly. the timing of all activities, tours, adventures worked great with plenty of free time to explore. all recommendations could not have been better! can not thank you guys enough! min need to worry to get anywhere as the drivers and guides are so professional yet social and friendly! i can’t wait to use kimkim again for my next adventure!!!!

Trip planner/co-ordinator, Mieke, has been very professional and patience in putting the trip plan together over more than 2 years, due to multiple disruptions such as COVID-19 locked down. She is always responsive, obliging and accommodating to our requests and made changes swiftly.

We are also very happy and grateful for having Mr Maarten Ablij as our private diver to Zaanse Schans, Edam and Keukenhof. He is very gentle, polite and punctual in picking us from accommodation in the... read more

Trip planner/co-ordinator, Mieke, has been very professional and patience in putting the trip plan together over more than 2 years, due to multiple disruptions such as COVID-19 locked down. She is always responsive, obliging and accommodating to our requests and made changes swiftly.

We are also very happy and grateful for having Mr Maarten Ablij as our private diver to Zaanse Schans, Edam and Keukenhof. He is very gentle, polite and punctual in picking us from accommodation in the morning.

In summary, we had an enjoyable and wonderful time in The Netherlands, especially the visits to Anne Frank House, Naturalis, Boerhaave, Windmill de Valk, Madurodam and Keukenhof. We also loved the Dutch food such as bitterballen and stroopwafel.

Thank you Beat the Dutch Travel and Mieke for the good job well done.

Hotel Reviews

Dutch Golden / Velvet Lodge

The Hague

Hotel staffs are friendly and checking in/out was easy and fast. Room is of a good size, clean and comfortable.

Authenticity & Character

Refurnished old building with a nice welcoming vibe

Location

Within 10mins walk from The Hague Central railway station.

Staff

Both Oscar and his staff are super friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Was not told test the clean would not be cleaned and no towels changed on Koningsdag!

Inntel Zaandam

Zaandam

Disappointed with the check in experience and scare we had. We arrived at 11.30am but was too early as room was not ready. Returned to check in at 7.30pm and being assigned a room on 5th level. However, when we opened the door, we were astonished to see coats hanging on the coats hooks and a big luggage on the luggage rack. Went back to front desk and was told that staff from previous shift had failed to update hotel records when the customer made a room change. Although a new room was cleaned and assigned to us with a complimentary buffet breakfast for the next morning, but we were still very shaken that security and privacy are breached.

Authenticity & Character

Pretty architecture and colors like lego blocks stacked together

Location

3mins walk from Zaadam railway station

Staff

Not competent and did not honor promise.

Cleanliness & Comfort

House keeping did not empty out garbage and replaced clean disposal cups. However, room is big like a small studio with kitchenette.

Activity Reviews

Museum Card Netherlands

The Netherlands

Very convenient and budget friendly to have museum card if planning to visit many museums.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

OV card is handy and can be used on almost all kinds of transportation.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Daytrip to Cheese Farm, Edam and Zaanse Schans

The Netherlands

Not worth going to the cheese farm. A very short brief about the history of the farm and various cheeses, then being led to shop. Too commercialise! There is nothing much to do and see at Edam. Zaanse Schans is too crowded within tourists. Walking paths are narrow and hard to pass through when people were standing around to snap pictures of the windmills. Too commercialise and need to pay entrance fee to almost every sights inside the windmills.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private driver Mr Maarten Ablij is very nice and patience

Keukenhof & tulips fields by private transport

The Netherlands

The botanical garden is very well organised with many different types of tulips, other floral, trees and water features.

Quality of Experience

Need more than 2hours to enjoy the garden

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mieke organized a wonderful trip through the Netherlands & Belgium. The itinerary was perfect, well laid out & all our tickets / passes worked fine. She was extremely responsive to any questions we had both prior to and during the trip. Cannot say enough good things about her.
This is the second time we have used Kim Kim for our international trip needs and both have been great experiences.
Thanks for everything!

Mieke was very responsive and helpful with both planning our trip and with respect to a situation that arose during our trip. Overall the itinerary was very good and we enjoyed our time in the Netherlands.

Our son did 100% of the planning for this amazing trip to the Netherlands with Miecke. Absolutely everything from the hotels, to the itinerary, to the restaurant recommendations , to the guides, was perfect. All of our ticket purchases for admissions to museums events, etc. as well as train tickets, transportation passes were all purchased in advance. Everything went smoothly in everything that we did. We had one guided tour in Amsterdam with Caroline. She really customized it to what we... read more

Our son did 100% of the planning for this amazing trip to the Netherlands with Miecke. Absolutely everything from the hotels, to the itinerary, to the restaurant recommendations , to the guides, was perfect. All of our ticket purchases for admissions to museums events, etc. as well as train tickets, transportation passes were all purchased in advance. Everything went smoothly in everything that we did. We had one guided tour in Amsterdam with Caroline. She really customized it to what we were interested in and we learned so much from her. We used a driver Maartin who was so nice, pleasant.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel des Arts

Amsterdam-Centrum

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to almost everything

Staff

So helpful and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

No elevator. Tough when on top floor!!

Villa Augustus

Dordrecht

Omg this was the most amazing hotel. Coolest place we stayed in. Delicious dinner in the restaurant. Love how they grow everything they make right out on the property

Authenticity & Character

It was such a cool place. So different from anything we have ever stayed in.

Location

Not sure about the location. It was accessible for us to get to the water bus so that we could get to the windmills. That was all we did. It may have been a little far from the center of town.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Am amazing shower!!!!

Hotel de Wereld

Wageningen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Huys van Leiden

Leiden

Stairs to the loft were a little treacherous. But we took it slowly, and were safe.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Walkable to center of town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

Easy to use the past, but very often it was quicker to walk than to take the tram

Amsterdam - Private canal cruise to Rijksmuseum

The Netherlands

This was the first thing we did the morning we arrived in Amsterdam. We had an hour and a half private canal tour, which was wonderful. The guide was very informative, and because it was so early in the morning he was able to take us further in the canals, and he would’ve been later in the day.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Historic Amsterdam guided walk with private guide

The Netherlands

Carolyn was very informative regarding Jewish history in Amsterdam. She showed us many interesting sites and give us a good historical tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Keukenhof Gardens by private taxi

The Netherlands

Spectacular! Words and pictures do not begin to describe what these gardens look like. They are so beautiful. Some thing I have wanted to see for many many years and so glad to be able to check it off my bucket list!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Last August, I Googled "14 days Netherlands and Belgium" and I found Kim-Kim. It proved to be the best search result ever! Throughout the planning process and when we were on the trip, Mieke was very professional and full of great ideas. She steered us away from the ordinary and suggested terrific alternatives. For example, as opposed to staying in Amsterdam (which we have visited before), she suggested Haarlam and as an alternative to Bruges, we directed us toward Ghent. Moreover, she was... read more

Last August, I Googled "14 days Netherlands and Belgium" and I found Kim-Kim. It proved to be the best search result ever! Throughout the planning process and when we were on the trip, Mieke was very professional and full of great ideas. She steered us away from the ordinary and suggested terrific alternatives. For example, as opposed to staying in Amsterdam (which we have visited before), she suggested Haarlam and as an alternative to Bruges, we directed us toward Ghent. Moreover, she was available to help during our trip. When our flight to Europe was delayed, she was quick to help us adjust our schedule. And we even had the opportunity to share a glass of wine with her during our trip. We were particularly grateful that In the weeks before we began our trip, she offered to get us tickets to the Vermeer exhibit in Amsterdam. We didn't even know this much sought-after exhibit was an option.

We loved Harrlam and the Frans Hal Museum. We had a really fun boat ride in Giethoorn. The Freedom Museum and the Flanders Field Museum were informative and impactful. Ghent was excellent; a beautiful city and some great restaurants. And the tulips!

My husband and I had a fantastic time on our trip. We were greeted by our taxi driver Robert and driven to our first hotel. We continued to see and use Robert’s services throughout our trip and we enjoyed his company and tips so much! Our favorite part of the trip was riding our e-bikes around the flower bulb region and seeing all the farms in bloom. It was well organized and throughout and we appreciate Mieke’s tips/advice/and services so much! read more

My husband and I had a fantastic time on our trip. We were greeted by our taxi driver Robert and driven to our first hotel. We continued to see and use Robert’s services throughout our trip and we enjoyed his company and tips so much! Our favorite part of the trip was riding our e-bikes around the flower bulb region and seeing all the farms in bloom. It was well organized and throughout and we appreciate Mieke’s tips/advice/and services so much!

Hotel Reviews

Het Spoorhuis

Uithoorn

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dikker & Thijs Hotel

Amsterdam

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fletcher Hotel de Witte Raaf

Noordwijk

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Amsterdam - Private canal cruise

The Netherlands

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My husband and I had an excellent two week trip to the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. Mieke was very responsive and quickly answered all our questions. She helped us plan the perfect vacation that allowed us to go at our own pace and explore the cities of our choosing while helping to identify some off the beaten path locations for us. All of the hotels we stayed at were in great central locations and the few guided tours that we did were really enjoyable with very knowledgeable guides.... read more

My husband and I had an excellent two week trip to the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg. Mieke was very responsive and quickly answered all our questions. She helped us plan the perfect vacation that allowed us to go at our own pace and explore the cities of our choosing while helping to identify some off the beaten path locations for us. All of the hotels we stayed at were in great central locations and the few guided tours that we did were really enjoyable with very knowledgeable guides. Both my husband I have very busy jobs and the use of Kim Kim and Mieke helped us quickly plan a vacation that took all the fuss of planning for travel off our plates. Would highly recommend.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Parc Beaux Arts

Luxembourg

Very cute small boutique hotel with excellent staff and service. The morning breakfast is delightful and the room was quite spacious and cozy. It's central nature in the old city is perfect for wandering around and exploring but it is located in a popular spot and therefore can be a bit noisy on weekend evenings (this is only a problem if you leave the windows open while sleeping at night). Would highly recommend a stay here and would definitely stay again.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Amrâth Grand Hotel Frans Hals

Haarlem

A great hotel in a perfect location in Harlem. Lovely breakfast in the morning that is quite extensive. The rooms were a bit small, but as we didn't spend much time in them it wasn't an issue. We had a balcony room that faced the main street and therefore things were a bit loud late in the evenings on the weekend, but we otherwise enjoyed our stay. The front desk staff was quite helpful and made delicious dinner recommendations and helped us with reservations.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Pillows Grand Boutique Hotel Reylof

Ghent

A beautiful grand hotel. A little bit outside of the main bustling aspect of Ghent which we appreciated. The morning breakfast was the best we had on our trip. Lovely room, quite spacious with comfortable bed. Our bathroom shower had trouble draining one day and the hotel fixed it quickly once we called them. Only complaint was that renting bikes was extra but other than that would highly recommend a stay here. They also have a spa which had we known we might have tried and booked ahead of time, but they were all full when we were there.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

La Merveilleuse

Dinant

A fun place to stay for a couple of nights. However, the front desk staff is hard to get ahold of and often not at the desk. The room was spacious and comfortable. They are doing renovations on their spa so this was closed when we were there. The hotel is located at the top of a very large hill so make sure to have good walking shoes if you plan on walking to and from town.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Royal Bridges

Delft

Lovely small hotel in a great location in Delft. Easy access from the train station and to most of Delft's main attractions. The room was quite large and comfortable. The breakfast was decent but nothing fantastic. It suited our needs and we were very comfortable during our 3 night stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Historic Amsterdam guided walk with private guide

The Netherlands

Very knowledgeable guide who shared some secret insights into the beautiful and historic city of Amsterdam. We learned some fascinating tid bits and really enjoyed our time in the city.

Haarlem - day trip to Marken, Volendam and Hoorn

Haarlem

We loved Hoorn! Marken was mostly closed when we were there but we enjoyed wandering around the little sleepy town. Volendam is very touristy and I think we could have skipped it. Would have easily spent more time in Hoorn if possible. We loved our boat tour around Hoorn. This city is incredibly charming and full of great history.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private boat tour Hoorn historic harbor

The Netherlands

Such a fun hour excursion!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Public Transport Pass Amsterdam

The Netherlands

This made all our transport needs quite easy. We didn't have to think about taking any particular train, tram or bus.

Amsterdam walking lunch tour

The Netherlands

We were taken to a place with the most amazing Apple pie! All the food we had was delicious. We got a little rushed on our last cheese stop as we had tickets for the Anne Frank House. Otherwise it was greatly enjoyable and we loved all the food.

Ghent - Scenic Boat Tour

Belgium

We love a good boat tour and while we had already walked around most of the city it was fun to see it from the water.

This was a fantastic trip planned and organized with Mieke. Mieke was so easy to work with. She adjusted our itinerary at least five times to make sure we saw what we were interested in the most. We started in Amsterdam the day before our tour officially began with a trip to the Rijksmusuem for the Vermeer exhibit. What a stunning show! We then walked around Amsterdam and came upon the delightful Albert Cuyp Market. We ended our exhausting travel day with a gourmet meal at De Kaas. This is... read more

This was a fantastic trip planned and organized with Mieke. Mieke was so easy to work with. She adjusted our itinerary at least five times to make sure we saw what we were interested in the most. We started in Amsterdam the day before our tour officially began with a trip to the Rijksmusuem for the Vermeer exhibit. What a stunning show! We then walked around Amsterdam and came upon the delightful Albert Cuyp Market. We ended our exhausting travel day with a gourmet meal at De Kaas. This is a gorgeous restaurant set in its own gardens. There even was a stork next with parents outside the window!. We were able to follow Mieke's instructions to get back to Haarlem by public transportation.

The Boutique Staats was a lovely, old, boutique hotel with a delicious breakfast. Our rooms on the top floor were very small; I believe the rooms on the lower floors had very high ceilings and were better. The beds were super comfortable and the location was very good.

Highlights of the rest of the tour included the private canal ride to Amsterdam. We loved our captain. Caroline met us for a private tour of the Van Gogh museum - she was great, navigating us to the most important parts of the museum and educating us on Van Gogh's fascinating life. We were especially delighted with the trip to the Poldertuin gardens in Anna Paolowna. This is smaller and more accessible than Keukenhof and almost as gorgeous. The flower mosaics throughout the town were less impressive than I had imagined, but were fun to see. The auction house was fascinating. We didn't see an actual auction but did see the hundreds if not thousands of carts of flower being driven around for delivery to buyers.
Keukenhof was stupendous. Fully in bloom and almost too beautiful to describe. Our driver, Marten, also took us to a private flower bulb farm with rows and rows of tulips in bloom.
Haarlem was an excellent base for day trips and for dining at night. The restaurants were quite good. Plan well ahead, though, for many of them as they fill quickly during the high season.
Our driver Marten was excellent. Always on time and cheerful.

We, a family of 5 with three teenagers, really enjoyed our time in North Holland.
. First, Haarlem was a beautiful town to stay in— much nicer than staying in Amsterdam! Which was only 15 minutes by train!

Our absolute favorite activity was renting bikes and riding to the North Sea! My husband and I don’t normally ride bikes, but with the e-bike rental, it was a breeze! We felt like kids again! And since the Netherlands really was made for biking, there is no better place to revive... read more

We, a family of 5 with three teenagers, really enjoyed our time in North Holland.
. First, Haarlem was a beautiful town to stay in— much nicer than staying in Amsterdam! Which was only 15 minutes by train!

Our absolute favorite activity was renting bikes and riding to the North Sea! My husband and I don’t normally ride bikes, but with the e-bike rental, it was a breeze! We felt like kids again! And since the Netherlands really was made for biking, there is no better place to revive that!
We also went in a good tour of Amsterdam- Marc was an interesting character and showed us some
Non typical areas of Amsterdam with some traditional Dutch food. Glad to have heard about Dutch history in regards to food influences—makes sense- and got to try Genever— the original gin! Our wonderful tour planner, Mieke, had the forethought of getting us tickets to the Vermeer exhibit at the Rijksmuseum. What a treat to see this! Sadly, Easter Sunday and good weather made crowds, and took away from some of the joy. We’ll be back to the museum when it’s less full. The Anne Frank house was good for our children to see, and is well put together.
We also went to the flower auction just south of Amsterdam. Unfortunately not much to see since the auctioning is now done online. Mostly your busses of elderly folks to fight through.
And we also went to Keukenhof to see the spring plantings. The garden is open for only 8 weeks, I believe, and the gardeners make sure it’s all eye candy for this eight weeks with their brilliant planting methods. Very full, but that’s expected if you’re only open for a brief time.
Mieke was super responsive to our wishes, as well as answering any last minute questions. We could not have asked for a better organizer! Thanks for
Making this trip a memorable one for our family! Again, the biking was the best— do it, and you won’t regret it!

Mieke was fantastic to work with! She pulled together a varied and interesting itinerary for 7 days in the Netherlands, arranged a great team of guides and offered so many helpful tips to make the most of our time there. Mieke was also readily available for questions and assistance along the way.
We highly recommend!

We are very active travelers- meaning we get off the overnight flight and go straight into tours…seeing as much as we can see in the time we are in wherever we are visiting.

All I had to do is tell Mieke that’s what we wanted, and that we didn’t want to think about anything but seeing as much possible, and boom— she delivered just this.

Every tour guide and every driver was always where they were supposed to be on time. Not one misstep or someone not showing up. They had all... read more

We are very active travelers- meaning we get off the overnight flight and go straight into tours…seeing as much as we can see in the time we are in wherever we are visiting.

All I had to do is tell Mieke that’s what we wanted, and that we didn’t want to think about anything but seeing as much possible, and boom— she delivered just this.

Every tour guide and every driver was always where they were supposed to be on time. Not one misstep or someone not showing up. They had all communicated with one another and literally the logistics of the entire thing were perfect.

The Netherlands were amazing!!!! Every single guide and driver were subperb.

Plan your trip with Mieke- she’s seriously the best!!! I

We only had 4 nights in the Netherlands, but Mieke put together a great itinerary that made the most of our limited time. From the bustling pace of Amsterdam to the charming canal towns of Leiden, Haarlem, and Delft, we enjoyed every minute of each location. It was magical - a trip we will remember forever.

Working with Mieke was great. She offered cool and interesting suggestions such as the Upside Down which turned out to be a really fun activity for our family. She also put together an itinerary that gave us flexibility to do some exploring on our own as well as getting us tickets to the must see Van Gogh museum. The transportation in Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands also worked out smoothly with tickets that gave us flexibility in travel times. Our favorite tourist destination... read more

Working with Mieke was great. She offered cool and interesting suggestions such as the Upside Down which turned out to be a really fun activity for our family. She also put together an itinerary that gave us flexibility to do some exploring on our own as well as getting us tickets to the must see Van Gogh museum. The transportation in Amsterdam and the rest of the Netherlands also worked out smoothly with tickets that gave us flexibility in travel times. Our favorite tourist destination was the Gravensteen castle tour- it had everything you want to see in a castle plus a very funny audio guide. Loved it and missing the Netherlands and Belgium already.

Mieke provided us with a fabulous itinerary (Haarlem, Noordwijk, Leiden, Gouda, and Uithoorn) and carefully chosen hotels along the way. She accommodated us with many requests and some changes in the early days of planning this trip. Sebastian was very responsive to our needs regarding the bikes and GPS. The e- bikes provided were in excellent condition and fun to ride. Mieke arranged for transport of one rider on a day she did not wish to ride secondary to some physical concerns. We were very pleased with KimKim and I have told many friends about the company.

Had a great trip that Mieke had only a short time to prepare for us due to our cruise cancelling at last minute. Very easy to work with and great communication. read more

Had a great trip that Mieke had only a short time to prepare for us due to our cruise cancelling at last minute. Very easy to work with and great communication.

Hotel Review

Suitehotel Posthoorn

Monnickendam

Very nice staff and beautiful old hotel. If you enjoy 4 or 6 course meals you will love this place.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Flower bulb & Keukenhof excursion

Scheveningen

Very beautiful exhibition and our guide was amazing.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Thank you Maarten!

From start to finish, Mieke and Sebastian were amazing. They helped us shape our itinerary, provided the travel passes and all the local insight we needed for a great family holiday. I would highly recommend Mieke and Sebastian to anyone thinking of travelling in The Netherlands.

Our trip was amazing and Mieke was fabulous! We had fabulous experiences that we would not have had without her. I highly recommend allowing her to schedule guides around the cities. The experiences were so much richer!