Kimkim Trip Reviews for Norway

After clarifying our travel dates, which were for this year and a late booking, Ivan made it all work! We were especially delighted with our stay at the Kviknes Hotel in Balstrand! The demi-suite had a superb view of the fjord; comfortable room and lovely balcony.
The 4 course dinner was served to perfection; the lamb was prepared just right; the entire dinner was beyond what we had expected from a large hotel. Our compliments to the entire establishment of the Kviknes. Personnel are polite, professional and welcoming.
Thank you Ivan for your work in making our short stay in Norway so enjoyable. The transfers in Oslo and Bergen were enjoyed, thanks to the personable drivers.
Job well done. We appreciate it!

This trip was absolutely magical! Ingrid listened to our interests and constructed a trip that allowed us to see a good spectrum of Norway and participate in activities we enjoyed. Ingrid is a great communicator and answered all questions in a timely and straightforward manner. She also gave us suggestions on places to consider for meals and activities during our free time in Norway. We felt like we had a good balance of free time and activities during our vacation. We could not be more pleased with our KimKim experience!

Booking our trip with KimKim was a breeze. André and Ingrid from the Ethical Travel team were extremely responsive and helpful with questions we had as we prepared for our trip. The itinerary they created for us was great and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip and Norway in general.

They also provided many great recommendations and options of what to do or see in each location, which we really appreciated. They helped take the hassle out of figuring out the best route, hotels to stay at things to see, etc.

Overall a positive experience with the team and reccomend to others.

Incredibly, 5 months have passed since our trip to Norway and we still haven´t entered our review.
Maybe unconsciously we don't want to end it! But the truth is we´ve been talking about Norway and remembering it since we´ve arrived. 

It was a trip of a lifetime, so good that we´ve made a promise to go back, in summer to see the country's other season and in winter again because we truly loved it. 

The knowledge and understanding kimkim, and our local specialist Linda, provided along the way was invaluable and made the experience of planning the trip a wonderful thing. Since the beginning, Linda understood what we were looking for and most important she understood the way we like to travel. The going back and forward between the three of us with ideas and suggestions made the trip feel very much like our creation. It was a tailored made trip done by us, it was very special.

We arrived in Bodø then traveled to Lofoten, drove to Andenes, sailed to Tromsø and finally, we flew to the wild and fantastic Svalbard. We did see the Northen lights, the reason of our trip (5 times in 14 days), but it was much more than that. The road trip through the Islands, kayaking, horseback riding on the beaches, the snowmobile adventure in Svalbard, everything was memorable.

Thank you kimkim! Thank you Linda!

Rita and Eche

We can't thank Vilde enough for her great work on pretty short notice. She arranged the perfect trip starting in Bergen, migrating to the heart of the fjords/Balestrand, and wrapping up in Oslo at the perfect hotel for our last day. Some highlights include our fun and fantastic tour of Bergen, our ferry rides to Balestrand and Flam, our scenic hotel just outside Balestrand in Dragsvik, and our Flamsbana train ride.

We really wished we would’ve gotten to see what we thought we were going to see. On our itinerary, it showed pictures of beautiful places, but that was not what we got to see. One place in particular was over an hour away from where we were, but we were led to believe that is what we would see in the town we were staying in. We also were told that one of our train rides would go through waterfalls, which it did not. All of our accommodations were great.

Thank you for everything Linda! We had the best experience working with Linda and she arranged our trip so well. The communication throughout the planning process was very clear, punctual and helpful. Linda checked in with us prior to the trip, sending weather, maps, any last minute changes and made sure we were all set. The planning on her end was awesome!

We loved our tour with Stig, he was super informative about Oslo, Norway, Norwegian history and we had such a great time walking along the river.

Our road trip was very successful, even with our two year old! :-) Our favorite fjord town was Fjaerland. It was so quiet and peaceful and the Fjærland Fjordstove Hotel was beautiful (and the food was incredible!!) We had a beautiful hike with Karianne.

The Loen Sky lift was also a wonderful time. It was so beautiful up at the top and we enjoyed hiking and having lunch in the gorgeous restaurant, the view is insane!

The drive along Gaularfjellet Scenic Road should not be missed! It was truly an epic drive. The fjords are other worldly, magical and we felt so lucky to be able to experience this adventure.

We enjoyed Bergen very much as well. Hotel Norge is a beautiful hotel! Our guide in Bergen was Snorre. He was a lot of fun, very informative and chill, which was much appreciated at the end of our 9 day trip.

We very much enjoyed the time with all of our guides.

All of the logistics worked out very well, the car rental, the ferries, the hotels...everything was very seamless and the many transitions easy.

Thank you again for everything! Thank you Linda, thank you Ethical Travel and KimKim.

Although the trip was enjoyable overall -- and Ingrid was fabulous -- there are several areas in which improvements could be made. First, I would provide more detailed traveler information. Such as for arrival at Oslo airport, include instructions for how to pay for and get on the Airport express train. Detailed instructions are important for first-time visitors. Then, upon arrival at the Central Train Station in Oslo, include instructions such as "look for exit marked "[fill in name of street]" and then look for the green hotel with Egon restaurant at street level. That would have made it easier for us to locate the hotel. And for arrival in Bergen, include instructions such as "do not take the pedestrian street to get to your hotel because of the cobblestones; instead, take the following walking route (and fill in the details with street names, directions, etc.)." In terms of guides, Stig (in Oslo) was good but not great. He was just not personable enough, and he did not seem to be enjoying showing off his city. On the other hand, Ingrid's walking tour of Bergen was the highlight of our trip. She was animated and her enthusiasm was palpable. She was, in short, fabulous. And Ingrid was very, very helpful in arranging for room changes in our hotels in both Oslo and Bergen. I know the hot weather was not anyone's fault, but when I expressed concern months ago about whether there was air conditioning in the hotels that were booked for us in Oslo and Bergen, you should have given us hotel options (such as the Opus hotel right next door in Bergen) that did have air conditioning. The lack of air conditioning in all of our Norway hotels detracted significantly from our enjoyment of the trip.

Managed to arrange a fantastic short hiking trip on pretty short notice (only about three weeks). We didn't know much about Norway and were busy with work, but Vilde's suggested trip worked out great!

All we had to do was follow the trace of the DNT red T rocks, love the scenes and get to the next hut in time. Thanks!

We had an amazing trip thanks to Vilde. The for day hiking trip was not something we could have planned on our own (unless we did a LOT more research) and it was exactly what I was looking for!

Vilde was super responsive throughout the trip and helped us make changes along the way. It would have been even more perfect if she had suggested DMT membership for discounts and packing a thermos for teas during the hikes :-)

We met up with 2 guides Stig in Oslo and Ingrid in Bergen. We thoroughly enjoyed there company and both took us to places we would not have seen otherwise. Ingrid also arranged our itinerary which was amazing. We did give her some feedback which she has taken on board. We were very fortunate the weather was kind to us bar a couple of days which drizzled but that did not deter us. We were pleasantly surprised with the Hurtigruten and the fit out and food and Artic superior room were really nice. We had a variety of things to do and we really enjoyed all of them. I would highly recommend you arrange your Norway trip with Ingrid she was great.

Andre did a great job helping me coordinate logistics. Vilde and John were great hiking and walking guides in Bergen. Really enjoyed the entire trip and experience. Will work through KimKim again on future trips.

Fridur put together a great trip for us from start to finish. She was always accommodating to us before our trip and even during our trip. She was also able to help us on our extended trip to Iceland as well. We would definitely use Kimkim and Fridur again on our next trip back.

Ingrid was fantastic and helped us each step of the way. Highly recommend Kim Kim. Fast response times, good eateries were recommended and good hotels!!

Amazing trip and everything went perfectly and Emily's suggestions were excellent.

Working with Ingrid was amazing from start to finish! She listened to our preferences, built us a trip around them, and provided a detailed and highly organized trip plan. Her communication was wonderful and answered any questions we had. We particularly loved the breakfast at the Thon Hotel Cecil in Oslo, and the kayaking adventure we had in Fjaerland! We cannot recommend KimKim and Ingrid enough!

We had a wonderful trip to Norway and enjoyed having the expertise of our KimKim specialist, Vilde. Our Norway trip included visits to Oslo, Bergen and Ålesund. We had done our own research, but it was great to have the local touch from Vilde - including some lovely recommendations for where to stay, shop and eat. Our favorite spot was Geirangerfjord - truly spectacular scenery and we lucked out with sunny and clear weather during the majority of our trip (July 2019). Another highlight was the hike up Fjellstua to see the panoramic views of Ålesund’s architecture, the surrounding archipelago and fjords. Thanks KimKim and Vilde for a memorable vacation!!!

My wife and I just enjoyed a wonderful 12 day trip through Norway. Our local specialist Ingrid took care of all the planning for us including the hotels, transportation between our stays and several excursions. The detailed trip plan including maps of all the pick up and drop off points at the areas we stayed in was very useful, it helped take the stress out of traveling through unfamiliar cities.

Our Bergen guide Vilde met us at the airport when we arrived and brought us to our hotel where she made sure we were checked in and gave us some restaurant suggestions for dinner. Vilde returned the next morning and guided us on a walking tour of the city. We loved our time with Vilde, she is a gem. Stig was our guide for Oslo and brought us off the beaten path to what he called the hidden gems of Oslo. These are beautiful areas that we would not have expierienced without his guidance. Thank you Stig!

The highlights of the trip (other than Vilde and Stig) were the trip to Flor & Fjære where, because we don't speak norwegian, we virtually had a private tour of the gardens by the owners daughter, a trip to Merdø Island that was suggested by Ingrid, and of course the beauty of travelling through Norway and meeting so many wonderful Norwegian people which cannot be put into words.

The hotels that Ingrid booked were all very nice. The Scandics in Stavanger and Oslo were typical city hotel rooms, clean and neat but tiny. The hotels in Bergen (Bergen Bors) and Larvik (Farris Bad) were exceptional. These are both excellent hotels with a high level of service.

The only hiccup we had during the trip was checking in at Arendal (Grand Arendal Hotel). The not so nice desk clerk claimed the reservation we had was only for a single, the hotel was fully booked and there were no other rooms available for either night. When I said I wanted to contact our specialist she said she didn't have time and if we didn't take the single she would sell it to someone else. I sat in the lobby and contacted Ingrid and she contacted the hotel and I don't know what she said but 5 minutes later the now very nice desk clerk found a second single for the first night and moved us to a two room suite for the second night.

Our experience booking this trip through KimKim was excellent and I would recommend their service highly.

My wife and I decided to use KimKim to assist with planning our 3 week trip to Norway. Ingrid was our local specialist.
We wanted to travel to Norway with several family members and everyone had different ideas of what they wanted to do and see in Norway. Plus, some of our party were going only be with us for part of the vacation. So, our needs seemed to be a little complicated, and things did change during the planning phase.
I was impressed by Ingrid's ability to structure an approach to our visit to Norway that was uncomplicated, yet still offered excitement, and adventure. Ingrid's insight and recommendations were the difference between a confusing/challenging visit and a visit that we will remember for the rest of our lives - - - simply stated, Ingrid was amazing. At no point did she rush us into any quick decisions, she provided options and was able to accommodate the changes we had as we got closer to our departure dates. In addition, Ingrid stayed in communication during our entire planning process. All details were sent to us in advance and this was of great assistance. We discovered during our visit to Norway that Ingrid was constantly confirming our reservations and therefore we did not encounter any unexpected disruptions. I was also impressed with the quality of the recommended hotels, local guides (in Oslo we particularly enjoyed Stig, he was knowledgeable, friendly and fun), travel suggestions (for trains, buses, etc).
I am now a KimKim fan, and I highly recommend Ingrid as the local travel specialist.
If you have ever wondered if Norway is someplace you would like to visit, our experience leads us to say "Just Go, You Will Be Amazed and You Will Have Fun!" And if you want your planning to be easy, trustful and provide peace-of-mind, consider KimKim and especially, Ingrid.
Wes

Andre did an incredible job planning our trip from start to finish. Vilde was also very helpful once we got on the ground in answering a variety of questions as well. We really enjoyed all of our accommodations that Andre selected, especially the places we stayed in Aurland and Fjaerland. In hindsight, we wish we had made the decision to stay at each of those places another night each, as we realized we prefer little towns to larger cities. Alesund, and especially Hotel Brosundet, was very nice. But Alesund got a little old after 2 days. The food scene there was very disappointing. There was little variety and options were either on the high end (expensive) or on the low end (fast good). Big contrast to a city like Copenhagen, which is obviously much bigger, but has a lot more options, especially cheaper options when you think of a place like the Toverhallerne food market. Overall, we absolutely loved Norway. The country is incredible beautiful and picturesque, and many of the landscapes we saw left us speechless. We look forward to coming back in the future to visit and would definitely recommend kimkim and book through kimkim again. Also a shout out to Snorre, our guide in Bergen. We really enjoyed our walk around the city. Snorre took us to places and areas within the city that we definitely would've have seen ourselves. We were expecting a bit more of a history lesson on Bergen, based on Andre's description, but we really enjoyed getting to know Snorre and see the city through his eyes. Wish we had more time in Bergen!