You will need to either raise the rest of the floor or install a transition strip that will help with the height difference.IMO that looks like more than 1/2 “ to me

Thank you! You've confirmed my fear- we're going to now tile the kitchen with a transition instead of running the flooring throughout, seems like the simplest 'fix it' option for us.

We had plywood nailed down to raise our floor in areas where it was low. It did cost a bit more but now there are no transitions throughout the house.

I would suggest 1/2" cork underlay = quick floor height raise (no nails, no glue) underneath the floating laminate to get you even with the kitchen. Remember: tile will raise the kitchen floor by 1/2" once it is set....Even if you remove the vinyl, prep and then lay tile you will be raising the height even more. Just remember that.

I wonder if the kitchen floor was raised because of the height of the carpet. It is *possible the vinyl can be removed by removing the underlayment it is sitting on. It might just be 1/2" chip board. If it is chip board, tiles don't like to sit on top of that surface which means more work.

A bit of effort and hopefully that underlay + vinyl floor will come up. A floor cutter will work at the base of the cabinets. Cabinets can stay in place. No problem there. Once that step is gone, you can make all the decisions without this elephant in the room.

It is possible to get rid of this step. It is such a small amount of flooring I would hate for you to make a "whole home decision" based on 60sf of kitchen. That feels like putting the cart in front of the horse.

Before you purchase anything - see if you can remove the step/underlay with the vinyl.

Not my project, but that cork underlay is a fantastic idea. My vinyl plank floors feel heavenly underfoot with the cork on the underside of the planks.