Norway Travel Agents

What comes to mind is my interest, long before my trip to Norway, in the Viking Age and Norwegian explorations, as demonstrated in two musical compositions: (1) "Viking" by Peter Hammill who, with vivid imagery, stirringly sings: "Looking out forward over the prow of our long ship, pulling our oars and listening..." see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oXn7m_4Cog, and (2) "Amundsen" by Justin Sullivan (while I cannot speak to this its historical accuracy, his is a fine video regarding Roald Amundsen. In taking on the explorer's persona, Mr. Sullivan sings "long ago I learned how to sail...see: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_YZd6N978c.)

Without much thought of these works of art, before having arrived, and having no idea that Roald Amundsen's ship was still around, I was gladly surprised to find the ship, so well preserved, at the museum in Oslo! I was not even aware that there was such a museum in Norway. It was indeed memorable part of the trip.

And then there were the fantastic fjords, the climb made to Steinsdalsfossen waterfall, the Stave churches, the TB museum, all very rewarding. Also, while we were there the beloved King Harald passed away and with that event I was able to learn about his life. It was moving to be witness to so many of his followers paying tribute to the King at the parliament, while awaiting his funeral.

I would enjoy returning to Norway. The above accounts of my time there were made possible by Kimkim's planning, itinerary, and guidance, to include the wealth of knowledge displayed by our Oslo tour guide.

Steve

Krista helped us plan an amazing 31 day Scandanavian adventure through Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Highlights were the Folkmuseum and Vigeland Park in Oslo, kayaking in Flam, riding the funicular in Bergen to the park above and going to the Troll museum. The numerous fjord cruises were breath taking. We enjoyed the Cidery tour and lunch in Balestrand. And ending our time with a Midnight Sun kayaking in the Lofoten Islands. We loved Sweden visiting museums and castles. We took a day each to visit Sigtuna and another Uppsala where we had fun looking for Rune Stones. Our visit to Visby on Gotland Island, Sweden was fantastic. Starting and ending our trip in Copenhagen was perfect. The 3 hour Hygee tour is a must do and highly recommend traveling to Fredericksborg Castle. The hotels were very nice with delicious breakfasts. The hotel in Flam was okay but it made up for its plainness by its wonderful breakfasts and dinners. It was also nice to not be in the center if Flam with all the cruise tourists everywhere. We had excellent support by Matijs and Beni. They alerted us to the Norwegian Airtraffic controllers strike - luckily we were not affected. Thanks for the memorable trip!

Hotel Reviews

Copenhagen Island Hotel

Copenhagen

Our first stay here at the beginning of our trip was a room on the first floor facing the water with a small outdoor balcony where we could relax and watch people swimming. It has an excellent breakfast.

Authenticity & Character

Nice decor and lighting. The area for breakfast has good views and comfortable seating and layout.

Location

Great location, close to public transportation.

Staff

Breakfast was perfect.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotell Bondeheimen

Oslo

Nice room and very good breakfast. Easy walk from station.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Perfect for seeing the main sites. Centrally located.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heimly Pensjonat

Flåm

The hotel is small, only 42 rooms. The rooms are basic, no coffee maker in room. There was decaf coffee available but if you wanted regular coffee before breakast or later in the day, you have to buy it. But the fact that it is a 20 minute walk outside of town away from the deluge of cruise tourists and has beautiful views of the water and provided both breakfast And delicious dinners made up for the small, basic room.

Authenticity & Character

A place we're people stayed before the chain hotels. It had a homey feel.

Location

Away from crowds and beautiful water view.

Staff

The woman who worked the front desk was very friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean - just an older building.

Scandic Torget

Bergen

A very busy hotel in central Bergen. We could easily walk everywhere to see the sites and activities. It was a mad house trying to checkin and we had to request luggage storage since checkin is 4:00. There is 1 key for luggage storage area and it is just a room off the dining area with tables and chairs in it. That made it feel stressful.

Authenticity & Character

Very good breakfast.

Location

Excellent. Right in the center of everything.

Staff

Only 2 check in people who were not that friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Donners Hotel

Visby

Great location, very friendly and helpful staff. Cool older hotel. We had a room on the 4th floor in the rafters. It was a large space which accommodated twin beds.

Authenticity & Character

Quiet, older hotel with character.

Location

Excellent. Visby is a walkable town and the hotel is in the center.

Staff

Very helpful and gave excellent recommendation for dinner on our first night. Both young men who worked the desk were friendly and fun to talk to.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Havila Cruise

Fosnavåg

When we were first boarding, we didn't realize that when you scan your ticket you are assigned specific seats. We thought we would have to find seats. The seats were comfortable and the meals very good.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Relaxing way to get to Alesund.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Shower was great! Good water pressure.

Thon Hotel Ålesund

Ålesund

Nice room with helpful, friendly staff.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Centrally located.

Staff

Helpful providing excellent recommendation for traditional Swedish food.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Svinøya Rorbuer

Svolvær

Unique old refurbished fishing cabin. We stayed in 2 bedroom, and 1 bath on first floor and on 2nd floor was an open space with the kitchen, table and chairs and a livingroom. The bedrooms are tiny with built in single beds. Lots of character! The restaurant were breakfast is held is very old, charming and special.

Authenticity & Character

Most authentic place we stayed in.

Location

Beautiful views.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

The bedrooms can get hot and stuffy due to small size.

Hotel Lilla Rådmannen

Stockholm

Great place. Good location. Excellent breakfast. Excellent restaurant with Belgium beers.

Authenticity & Character

Great restaurant with Belguim beers.

Location

Near public transportation.

Staff

Friendly. Restaurant staff was very knowledgeable of their beers.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Norsk Folkemuseum - The Open Air Museum (museum tickets included)

Oslo

We enjoyed seeing the Stave Church, the old farms and buildings. We were lucky and saw a dancing performance. We tried the homemade lefties with butter. It is amazing that this musuem was started in 1881!

Quality of Experience

Historical buildings in a large open area.

Summer Kayaking Excursion

Norway

Nice small group kayaking experience in Flam's harbor area. Mette was a very knowledgeable guide and did a great job. The equipment was well maintained. It was a fun morning.

Quality of Experience

Guided Cidery Tour to Balestrand & the Sognefjord

Bergen

Balestrand is a very pretty town. The Cidery tour was fun and we had a delicious meal pairing 5 different ciders.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Midnight Sun Kayaking Excursion

Norway

Amazing kayaking experience. We had a good amount of time in the ocean. It was about 2 1/2 hours on the water. We landed on a small island for a small break for hot tea and cookies. Guides were excellent. The equipment was not as good as Flam's. The skirts were beat up and need to be replaced.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Need new kayak skirts

Sea Kayaking In Ålesund

Ålesund

We expected the kayaking to be in canals in Alesund to see Art Nouveau buildings. Tgat didn't happen. The group was too large and a good junk of time went to outfitting everyone with equipment. The guides were great but this tour isn't worth the time or money.

Quality of Experience

Smaller group. Kayak to see the buildings

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Friendly

Transport

Good kayaks

Hygge Tour Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Our tour guide Amit was fantastic. We spent 3 hours walking around Copenhagen. He provided a lot of information about the concept of hygge, the Danish culture, historical facts and present day information about education, taxes, etc. We stopped first for a delicious pastry, then a stop at a sweet shop and ending the tour in a cute, funky little coffee shop.

Quality of Experience

Great guide, valuable information and delicious snacks.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Amit was smart, friendly and easy to talk to.

Oslofjord Dinner Cruise

Oslo

Nice tour of Oslo by water with a very good meal.

Quality of Experience

Food

All of it.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kimkim did a fantastic job helping us organize our itinerary Norway, as well as offering possible activities and side trips. We are most grateful.
All the accommodations were excellent. Some trip highlights included The Hidden Gems walk in Oslo, the Romsdals Gondola and walk, The Loen Skylift, the Sor-Hidle Garden Visit and Dinner, and Lysefjord Cruise. The Borgund Stave church was incredibly impressive! The landscapes we drove through daily were absolutely stunning, and really reinforced why we were eager to see Norway in the first place.

From our end, we realize in retrospect that we probably tried to fit too much in for the time we had. Even though it was clearly posted on our itinerary, the driving some days ended up feeling like too much, with some days very long. We also had some major frustrations with the charging stations for our electric vehicle. It seemed like many of the stations required a unique app, and with all the instructions in Norwegian requiring us to use google translate, the whole charging process ended up taking far longer than we had expected.

We would definitely use kim kim again! Thank you for everything!

Activity Reviews

Explore Oslo's Hidden Gems with a Local Expert

Oslo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Norwegian Evening Cruise in Oslo fjord

Oslo

Way too touristy. The shrimp dinner required a ridiculous amount of shelling for some tiny shrimp, making it not worth it.

Quality of Experience

Food

Arrive in Loen

Loen

The Sky Lift was great!

Sør-Hidle Island Gardens Visit & Dinner

Stavanger

Excellent! A hidden gem!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

What a well organized and pleasant trip we had! Daniel was an enthusiastic and charming tour guide in Oslo. I loved each city: Oslo had so many sights to see-City Hall, Fram, Munch, and Open Air museums were fantastic. Opera House was fun to walk to and climb to roof. Transportation well organized by KimKim. Easy to get to train station from hotel, from cruise boat to hotel, to and from airport, etc. Train ride was beautiful and bike ride on path next to train going downhill looked like a great ride too! Flam and fjiords were gorgeous (my favorite pictures), but port was touristy with cruise ships. Our day trips in Flam were great with a challenging hike Brekkefossen and kayaking. I would replace Viking day Village with trip to Viking museum in Oslo when it opens. We were able to see Viking exhibit at Historical museum in Oslo, though. Bergen was interesting, particularly the funicular, hike, walk through Bryggen where we discovered St. Jorgen's hospital leprosy museum and church. Cruise to Rosendal was special, especially the Stone park, Manor and gardens.

Thank you for organizing a great trip!

The guides were very knowledgeable and helpful. They also took extra steps to make our handicapped group members feel comfortable.

The van driver from Farsund to Arendal went above and beyond to take some small detours at our request which permitted us to see some sights otherwise would be missed.

The extra effort to coordinate with family in Farsund and the guide making sure that their reception of us went very well made our group very very happy that we had made the journey.