Kimkim Trip Reviews for Norway

Eline helped us organise our trip to Norway. She was very good at listening to us and adapting the plans to what we wanted. Jacob from the bookingvteam was also very helpful.
We had a great trip and Eline made the booking process very easy.

We had excellent service with Mar and she understood very well our interests in respect with personal fastes and overall budget. Our travel went smootly and everything was vert well planned

Hotel Reviews

Hotel 1904

Ålesund

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Havila Cruise

Fosnavåg

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Home Hotel Havnekontoret

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fretheim Hotel

Flåm

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Thon Hotel Maritim

Stavanger

Authenticity & Character

Location

T

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Axel Guldsmeden

Copenhagen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Food & Culture Walk

Bergen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Private Floating Sauna Experience

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Summer Kayaking Excursion

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour to Borgund Stave Church & Stegastein Viewpoint

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Hygge Tour Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Theresa was great!!!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Copenhagen Card

Copenhagen

We just got back from a two week honeymoon in the Lofoten and Vesterålen archipelagos and we could not have had a better time! Mathia did an amazing job gaining an understanding of our goals for the trip and planned the perfect vacation for us. We did variety of activities and loved each and every one including whale watching, sea kayaking, and rib boat fjord tours. He recommended some amazing hikes for our less structured days and even met up with us to take us on a beautiful hike in Hadseløya. All of our reservations for activities and accommodations went smoothly and the hosts knew to expect us when we arrived. We were impressed with Mathia's responsiveness during planning and while we were on vacation. He even went so far as to proactively reach out and assist rescheduling our whale watching trip to avoid cancellation due to bad weather. He definitely went above and beyond with that one!

All told, we had a wonderful trip and would be thrilled to work with Mathia again!

Our Norway in a Nutshell vacation was very close to perfect. First, the KimKim arrangements were excellent. All of the reservations were made as stated, all of the connections were very carefully arranged and it was very clear how each step took place. The KimKim app made finding schedules, producing e-tickets, etc. very easy — even for this geriatric traveler. We spent a day and one half in Oslo. We found the hop-on-hop-off bus to be an excellent way to first see all of the high points and then go back and spend time at each one. One note, both here and in Bergen there are two hop-on-hop-off bus services that do not honor each others tickets but whose routes are similar (but numbered differently). The red buses with yellow writing look almost exactly the same. I have no reason to believe that one is better than the other, but it would be good if better info could be provided.
The trip to Flam on the Bergen and then the Flam railroad was awesome, a must see. Flam was great and the Fretheim Hotel was by far our favorite accommodation. The cruises on the Aurlandsfjord were fantastic, we had never seen so many waterfalls. The trip to Bergen by ship, bus and train gave us views of very impressive country side. In Bergen we also used the hop-on-hop-off bus (same bus company confusion) and got a good over view of the city. The highlight was a trip up the funicular to the top of Floyen mountain. It was raining when we got to the top but we went into the restaurant and had a nice lunch and when we had finished the fog had cleared and we had a beautiful view of Bergen. Wonderful experience. Kimkim is very meticulously supportive, but also unobtrusive.

Hotel Reviews

Scandic Torget

Bergen

Clean and comfortable, but very small room with view of an alley way. There was not a single chair of any kind in this room and it was not convenient to stay in the room to rest, check emails, etc. We went to the lobby where they had chairs but it was often crowded.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Fairly convenient to sites we wanted to see.

Staff

We only interacted at check in and check out. They seemed competent.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Buy some chairs.

Fretheim Hotel

Flåm

This is a lovely hotel with nice amenities and spectacular views.

Authenticity & Character

The information about the hotel’s history was interesting.

Location

Beautiful views of the mountains.

Staff

Everyone was very friendly and helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Scandic Byporten

Oslo

This is a very good hotel. The rooms are a bit small and lack chairs. Some of us old folks need to sit down.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Small, no chairs

Activity Reviews

Depart Norway

Norway

Our driver to the airport was very friendly recent emigrant to Norway who was extremely positive about his adopted country and will seek citizenship when he can.

Quality of Experience

Fjord Cruise & Seafood Dining Experience

Bergen

The venue is fascinating, and the adventure of a boat ride to a private island restaurant is exciting. Although I have not become a fan of whale tartar, the exotic variety of courses is interesting. The service is excellent, the bar is well stocked, and the owner’s recounting of his various business ventures and romantic escapades is entertaining. It is a long evening trapped at a island restaurant and dependent on the arrival of a boat home a bit later than you might have wished.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cultural Walk with a Local

Bergen

Physical limitations made it impossible to do a walking tour. Instead, your local expert agreed to provide us with an in-depth overview as well as a detailed description of what we would experience at each of the stops of the hop-on-hop-off bus route. We were thus equipped with a far richer and more detailed description of the features and characteristics of these sites than the tour operators were capable of producing.

Quality of Experience

He told us far more detail than the tour operator did.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

This young man is a great teacher.

Transport

Explore Bergen

Bergen

We enjoyed the tour of Bergen.

Quality of Experience

Ægir Viking Meal Experience

Flåm

This was a very nice meal, and the beer was good.

Quality of Experience

Njardarheimr Viking Village Day Trip with Nærøyfjord Cruise & Bus Transfer

Norway

The Viking Village was interesting, but not exceptional.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Flåm

Flåm

Flam is fantastic, the highlight was the train ride down to Flam.

Quality of Experience

Edvard Munch Museum in Oslo

Oslo

Unfortunately we ran out of time and did not get to go in to the Munch museum. We will next time.

Mathallen Food Court Visit

Oslo

Quality of Experience

Not terribly impressive.

Panoramic City Highlights by Bus

Oslo

We did the hop-on-hop-off bus tour which was not exactly as described in the brochure. We did not get to the Homemkolleren ski jump - a disappointment.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

There were no guides

Transport

Self-Guided Oslo Exploration

Oslo

We really enjoyed our time in Oslo, and thought that we had pretty good guidance. I would suggest that KimKim consider an alliance with one or another of the hop-on-hop-off vendors. We have found it effective in visiting cities like Oslo or Bergen or Edinburg to take a complete route on the bus to reconointer and then to stop at places of interest. We did essentially that in Oslo and Bergen and it worked well.

Quality of Experience

Anders was very helpful each time i asked questions within the itinerary —offering options for family according to my schedule and even working around my airbnb plans i had prebooked. Due to some work projects, it took me 5 weeks to review, make revisions and decide to book, and he was always patient and never pushy.

Hotel Reviews

Karl Johan Hotel

Oslo

Wow! This was the most beautiful hotel we have ever stayed in! I loved the location and the room!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom

Thon Hotel Maritim

Stavanger

Great location and easy to find from bus/train terminal

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Norge by Scandic

Bergen

Very eclectic decor and modern.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Very close to our train station exit from our Nirway in a Nutshell arrival

Staff

Helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Breakfast was amazing- wide range of options and even GF options I never find on travel.

Comfort Hotel Karl Johan

Oslo

Great location as it was very easy to port our luggage (family of 4) directly from the Oslo train station on our own after a transatlantic flight! The room and bathroom was really nice and quiet. Breakfast was spectacular and perfect for us to launch out into our full day.

Authenticity & Character

Interesting decor and dj themed room was cool

Location

Proximity to sentral station + walking distance to Munch museum and Opera house.

Staff

Very helpful checking in and getting bed linen sheets - we had nothing for the couch pull out

Cleanliness & Comfort

Bathroom was huge, clean and showerhead was super fine mist

Activity Reviews

The Viking Planet (Museum tickets and VR experience included)

Oslo

VR game was the best feature - my kids enjoyed the viking bow/arrow game. The other interactive experience was a bit hooky

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Lysefjord Safari by RIB

Stavanger

Book this excursion! My family (boys 10, 16) said it was highlight of trip! We had great weather, and lucky enough to spot a seal and see the famous pulpit rock + breathtaking waterfalls over 1000 ft!! Guide was very respectful and shared fascinating stories. Suits were clean, comfy. Boat was safe and fun at 45mph!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

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

Oslo

We had issues with qr code scanning but that was the only issue.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Had a wonderful time in Tromsø and Svolvær. A big thank you to Anders, Finne, and Riccardo for all of their support throughout the planning process and during the trip!

Our week in Norway was nothing short of magical! Working with Mar, Fenne and the KimKim team made our planning and reservations stress free. We loved the itinerary they suggested for us and they worked so well to tweak it to our specific family needs and to fit in the places we wanted to see. Every stop on our trip was a highlight. Bergen with its historic sites and fantastic food, Balestrand was it quiet peaceful atmosphere, Flåm with its breathtaking views and incredible outdoor activities and then Oslo with its city vibe and atmosphere. We had a wonderful time!

We had a wonderful time on our trip to Norway. The hotels were excellent (although in some cases a bit noisy) and the various transfers all worked out well. We particularly enjoyed the walking tour guide in Oslo (Marja), the train to Flam, the activities from Aurland, the fjord excursion from Alesund, and the Grieg concert in Bergen. However, there were a few things that, in retrospect, could have been changed:

1. We were under the impression that the Oslo dinner cruise would include views of the fjords, but it did not go very far away from the port, so we would not have taken that cruise.

2. The food and culture tour in Bergen did not offer enough of either category, so we would not have taken that tour.

3. Although we did enjoy the cable car ride, we wound up spending too much down time in Andalsnes, waiting for the bus to Dombas.

4. Had we known that almost all retail establishments and museums in Trondheim are closed on Sunday, we would have tried to alter our itinerary so that we would have spent an extra day in that city.

Overall we had a nice trip,

We were only disappointed by the room grades in some of the stays, they seemed secondary to what was available.
A few times when I asked to upgrade to better room the hotel staff told me this was not doable because of the booking grade that was made by Kimkim?

Mar was pretty much non communicative once the payment for the trip was made, and she never responded to my last message while on the trip?
Jacob on the other hand did an outstanding job at customer service and always responsive and available!

The first hotel drive from Oslo was extremely long (8 hours, 10 with rest stops and fueling ) I feel should be shortened since it was just driving not very scenic at all, or maybe train to Bergen from Oslo to begin the road trip would be a lot more relaxing ? ( electric vehicle charging proved to extremely difficult to get to work with American credit cards until finally the car rental company explained the situation) might want to alert your staff?

The silent cruise trip in Oslo was boring and the food quality was not great, I would eliminate this unless you are looking for a senior night out?

On the positive side overall hotel choices and locations were outstanding!

The itinerary itself was very nice and made for a wonderful trip

Thank you for the trip and we will give Kimkim another try for a upcoming trip I’ll just be more specific about the room locations.

Hotel Reviews

Radisson Blu Airport Hotel, Oslo Gardemoen

Gardemoen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel

ÅNDALSNES

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotell Utsikten

Geiranger

The best hotel of the stay- charm, Amazing views, great restaurant, and friendly staff!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Loenfjord hotel

Loen

Authenticity & Character

Pretty vanilla

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice river view

Hofslund Fjorhotel

Sogndal

Terrible hot upper attic room that felt dated and weird!! Top attic floor rooms were extremely hot as well! Couldn’t wait to leave

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Not very flexible about room change, I feel they very pretty much rude , I also noticed other guests complained about some conditions

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Aurlandsfjord

Aurland

Great food, we had an attic room that was very hot and with a view of the backyard with a house overlooking you, nice hotel but only if you have the lake view!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Det Hanseatiske Hotel

Bergen

Wonderful and outstanding location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Victoria

Stavanger

Horrible room condition initially with views of a construction site that started working very early

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Christiania Teater

Oslo

Loved it!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Romsdalsgondolen - Romsdalen Cable Car (round-trip)

Åndalsnes

Short and sweet! Nice hike ontop

Quality of Experience

Transport

Geiranger Skywalk Visit

Geiranger

Quality of Experience

Geraingerfjord Safari by RIB

Geiranger

Fun !

Quality of Experience

Faster!!

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Cider Tasting with Food Pairing

Balestrand

Quality of Experience

Food

Amazing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Summer Kayaking Excursion

Norway

Did not provide supports for seating so whole time your back is being dug into by rim of kayak, at least three people were complaining and guide never took breaks. Very uncomfortable experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Equipment

Transport

Na

Flåm Railway Round-Trip Experience

Flåm

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Floating Sauna Experience

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Food & Culture Walk

Bergen

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Preikestolen cruise & hike - Summer

Stavanger

Outstanding

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Oslofjord Dinner Cruise

Oslo

Boring and couldn’t wait to get off!

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Alex did a fabulous job and had been to the places he recommended so he could give inside info. Loved this trip!!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Victoria

Stavanger

Loved this classic beautiful elegant hotel right on the water!

Authenticity & Character

Lovely old beautiful hotel

Location

Right on water, watched boats come and go from window, walkable to museums and food

Staff

Front desk lady was lovely

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nice bedding!

Hotel Norge by Scandic

Bergen

Oh my word we loved this nice hotel with a view of the Ferris wheel and garden and the location was fantastic- we walked everywhere and saw so much! We walked to the fish market and wharf and around the beautiful lake and gardens as well as to the floyen funicular which is a must! But- one of my favorite things about this hotel is the breakfast buffet, 3 rooms of food- it was spectacular! I would stay here over and over again, and the rooms were spacious too!

Authenticity & Character

Loved it

Location

Amazing

Staff

Friendly and helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spacious plus amazing buffet

Activity Reviews

Depart Norway

Norway

Prompt reliable transport

Quality of Experience

Sør-Hidle Island Gardens Visit & Dinner

Stavanger

Wow!! A must see for anyone remotely interested in gardening and landscape- can’t believe these are all annuals! Loved the gardens and the dinner was great too. What an amazing story

Quality of Experience

Loved these gardens so much!

Food

Beautiful tasty dinner

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lysefjord Safari by RIB

Stavanger

This was a fun couple hours but the view is much better from the top 🤩

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Preikestolen Hidden Trail Hike & Canoeing Adventure

Stavanger

OMG the highlight of the entire trip! We did the hidden trail tour with guide that included canoeing and although it was longer we did not see ONE other person on the hike! We joined the main trail for last mile and that was a steady stream of people so less enjoyable. The hike was challenging at a few points (scrambling up rocks) and was about 6 hrs total but the VIEW! One of top 3 hikes in world that we have ever done

Quality of Experience

Stephen was amazing

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore Stavanger like a Local

Stavanger

Fabulous location of hotel, walkable to all activities

Quality of Experience

The canning museum was actually pretty interesting

Fjord Cruise to Rosendal

Bergen

Nice day trip, we hiked to the waterfall! Hiked through pastures of sheep, was delightful. Steep hills at times during hike that were good workout for cardio (not leisurely easy stroll at times)

Quality of Experience

Explore Bergen

Bergen

Went on funicular to floyen, explored area, hiked up mt ulrichen

Quality of Experience

Quality of Experience

Great hotel choices, memorable activities, and good pacing with some busy days and some very relaxing days.

Highly recommend kimkim for their personalised trip planning service, as you get to collaborate on accommodation options, activities, transport and destinations. Krista offered recommendations/suggestions and I was able to tweak the itinerary to my liking! Fenne from the booking team was fabulous as everything was booked accurately, and logistics wise, all ran smoothly. Understandably there was one hiccup, the 9am Naeroyfjord cruise got cancelled last minute on the morning of (we only found out when we arrived at the wharf). It was cancelled due to operational issues - being an electric boat there was a mechanical issue, however the booking team worked their magic and simply rebooked us on the 5pm cruise later that day (luckily it was fixed by then)!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Victoria

Stavanger

Hands down best accom in my itinerary, the best buffet breakfast - so much variety, and in the best location!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Trolltunga Hotel

Odda

The only confusing thing was trying to figure out how to turn the tv on (its not as straightforward/easy). We thought the tv didn't work at first, and had to get staff into the room to show us! My only suggestion is in the future, for staff to point this out and show guests! The positives - gorgeous location, boutique style decor and the most friendly happy waitress at the restaurant!!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Just be mindful there is no airconditioning if that is something you expect. However opening the window for the natural breeze is fine when you're out most of the day anyway, and only return when its cooler later in the evening.

Wangen Apartments by Fjord Resort

Aurland

Super clean, new apartments, with lux furnishings and fjord views

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hardangerfjord RIB Safari & Dinner Experience

Norway

Hardangerfjord RIB Safari was more like a transport option, to get you to the Siderhuset Ola K restaurant - just don't expect a tour with detailed commentary! Its a fun, fast option to speed your way to your dinner destination. The restaurant's food and ciders were amazing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Lysefjord Safari by RIB

Stavanger

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Full-Day Summer Hike to Trolltunga

Norway

Just be wiling to wait up to 2 hours as there is a longgg line for the trolltunga photo!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kjerag Hike with Lunch

Stavanger

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Njardarheimr Viking Village Day Trip with Nærøyfjord Cruise & Bus Transfer

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Flåm Railway, Zipline & Cycling Adventure

Norway

Dont do the return flam railway, do this option instead - blown away by the scenery when you get to cycle at your own pace down the valley back to Flam. This option gives you a good variety, an experience from all angles!

Quality of Experience

Kristina was fantastic to work with! We bounced ideas and thoughts aback and forth and she came back with an itinerary that met 100% of our expectations…. Even more importantly, it provided us an amazing experience during our trip. Her suggestions for activities were outstanding and provided us alternatives to work around weather or time of day. Her app recommendations for EV network, parking, etc etc. made the trip seamless. Jacob supported with all of the bookings and prearranged activities - hotels were incredible, the activities were built around missing the “cruise ship crowds”, and as I mentioned earlier - proved to be seamless in execution during our trip. We worked with them to stay 2 nights in each hotel/location which was perfect for blending hiking, activities, and relaxation. The room selection/class was top notch.

Overall - first time user of Kimkim… didn’t disappoint and will certainly use them for future trips!

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Brosundet

Ålesund

Old whse converted to boutique family owned hotel…. AAA+++. Rooms were comfortable & well appointed. The staff was incredibly friendly, helpful, and there to meet any need or question. Great location to explore Alesund

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on canal, easy walking to all the attractions, activities, restaurants

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Alexandra

Gorgeous facility, restaurant was excellent, views were stunning - highly recommended upgrading to the deluxe 7 rooms (a little extra cost, but worth every penny)

Authenticity & Character

Location

Views of the fjord and valley were incredible

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clarion Hotel Admiral

Bergen

Stately hotel right on the harbor across from Bryggen. Bed was amazingly comfortable, service was great. Well positioned to hit all that Bergen has to offer

Authenticity & Character

Location

Directly across from Bryggen

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Flåm Railway & Cycling Adventure

Norway

It was amazing … what topped it off was there was not a cruise ship in Flam when we did the train, hike, & bike

Quality of Experience

Views, quality of bikes,

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Limited interaction with people… pretty much on your on pace and pleasure. The bike pick up was easy and efficient.

Transport

We had a wonderful trip to Norway! Krista was a fabulous trip planner, who helped us figure out a great itinerary, and made really helpful suggestions. It would have been very time-consuming and complicated for us to book all our transportation, activity vouchers, and hotels ourselves. Krista, and the Booking Team, made it easy for us, and everything went off very smoothly. We're happy to recommend KimKim and Krista!

Activity Review

Stegastein Viewpoint by Bus

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Katie did a fantastic job of organizing and coordinating our trip -if we could give more than a 5 star rating, we would! In the past we have planned trips on our own -Australia (trips to Tasmania and to the main island), New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, and England, but we could never have managed as complex of an literary as this in a non-English speaking country without Katie's expertise, guidance, and attention to detail. She listened, she heard us, and planned accordingly and created a custom experience we will never forget.

Every new place we visited seemed to be our favorite, but we think Geiranger will be the place we remember most fondly for its amazing beauty, raging waterfalls, fine dining, and views of the fjord.

If we ever return, we would choose Katie again. She has our lasting gratitude for a wonderful trip and for taking such good care of us!

We had a wonderful vacation! Our daughter commented several times that this was her favorite trip. All of the accommodations that were reserved for us were great and in ideal locations where we were able to easily walk to everything we wanted to see and do. All of our transportation connections between our different stops were seamless and the instructions and maps provided made it easy to make those connections. Katie’s communication and assistance along the way was awesome and very helpful. We would definitely recommend Katie to others as a travel specialist to use when planning trips. Thank you for everything!

This was our first experience with Kim Kim and we were delighted with the results. The process of working with them to envision our dream trip was fun and engaging and Krista and Fenne were excellent to work and very responsive. We had a wonderful experience and they picked a great mix of activities. We loved the areas we visited and the hotels they picked were fabulous, especially the Kviknis in Balestrand and the view at Wanger Apts was incredible. We especially liked the hotels, the kayaking, the fjord and glacier tours and the sauna experience. ETours private tour to Stegastein Viewpoint and Stave Church was awesome. Aurland was a great place to stay also and so nice to get away from the often crowded hustle and bustle of Flam. Highly recommend the Aegis Brewery. in Flam for dinner The day trip to Rosendal was amazing (check out the Stone Park) and I would have liked to spend a night or at least more time there. Beautiful. When we had a cancelled fjord tour due to the breakdown of the electric boat and 450 people suddenly were in Flam trying to change plans! KimKim staff handled the crisis and were super responsive for us via WhatsAp to solve our problems. Overall, it was a nicely designed itinerary with a good mix of things but not too hectic or overbooked. We will consider using Kim Kim again!

While not knowing the cost of individual aspects of the trip is a "calming notion", it would be preferable to have a more detailed cost breakdown provided so we could chose between some activities. For example, the boat ride and gourmet meal to the Cornelious seafood restaurant was very over hyped and the food was not that great but I have a feeling it was very expensive.

Hotel Reviews

Det Hanseatiske Hotel

Bergen

Very nice hotel with amazing staff, incredible breakfast and a great location. Can be a bit noisy at night.

Authenticity & Character

Wish the rooms were a bit more historic in nature.

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Kviknes Hotel

Balestrand

This is an absolutely beautiful old historic grant hotel. Views and staff are amazing. Decent comfortable rooms but nothing fancy. If you miss the buffet dinner you are really missing something.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Needed a fan for the room. West facing was kind of stuffy

Wangen Apartments by Fjord Resort

Aurland

Very nice accomodations and the view from the apt was impossible to beat. They really need better signage though for the new part. We spent over 30 min trying to figure out where we were going when we arrived and we helped direct numerous others during our stay who were very confused and wandering about after reception had closed..

Authenticity & Character

Location

Quiet beautiful town with convenient restaurant, coffee shop, grocery, etc.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Fjærlandsfjord Cruise & Bøyabreen Glacier Visit

Balestrand

This was an incredible trip on a small boat. It was a little bit crowded on the boat but still highly comfortable. The trip was very well run and we had just the right amount of time to spend. The Glacier trip and museum were awesome.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Summer Kayaking Excursion

Norway

Very nice paddle with a delightful guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Tour to Borgund Stave Church & Stegastein Viewpoint

Norway

ETours were great and we had a great fun local guide from Aurland. These are not to be missed activities. The drive over the summit above tree line was an unexpected treat.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Floating Sauna Experience

Norway

Beautiful sauna and with a dip in the fjord, it was a once in a lifetime experience. Highly recommend Aurland for this. The view is spectacular!

Quality of Experience

Round Trip Fjord Cruise & Bus Transfer via Gudvangen

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The Electric boat is incredible way to see the fjord.

Fjord Cruise & Seafood Dining Experience

Bergen

I thought this was over hyped and the food was not that great. Each of the 5 courses seemed to be more focused on artful presentation rather than taste. It also was a very long dining experience over 3+ hours to finish when it would have been nicer to relax with a drink and enjoy some of the location.

Quality of Experience

Food and efficiency

Food

Lacking in taste and quantity and highly overpriced.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We had a phenomenal trip to the Lofoton Islands! I don't usually work with travel agents to plan trips, but I am so glad that I found KimKim and Alex and Nick. Alex had traveled there extensively and he listened carefully to the kind of trip we wanted and made perfect suggestions. He figured out quickly that we would prefer rorbuers to traditional hotels and they were perfect. Our 16 year old grandson brought his fishing rod and would fish until midnight after returning from our day's activities. We even spotted a pod of orcas on our midnight sun kayak tour. Our transportation worked like clockwork and when our flight was delayed the travel agent was in touch to let us know. If you had a question, KimKim would get back to you immediately. I would not hesitate to use them again. Their personalization and responsiveness were truly outstanding. You work with a real person who knows the location well and not an AI bot. Thank you KimKim, Alex and Nick for a fabulous trip.

Hotel Reviews

Clarion Hotel Bergen Airport Terminal

Bergen

Perfect place to stay if you have an early morning flight! Restaurant was great and it couldn't have been easier to walk to the airport.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Sakrisøy Rorbuer

Reine

This was charming. I loved being in Sakrisoy, but only minutes from Reine which is a more touristy town. Anita's was right across the street and we ate there twice. Don't miss the cod burger! We loved the quietness of Sakisroy yet we were less than 10 minutes from Reine where we met our guide for our midnight kayak adventure. It's a perfect location to explore the southern part of the Lofotons, do the Reinebringen Hike, hire a fishing guide in A or do other hikes in the area. If you have forgotten any outdoor gear, there is a good shop in Reine.

Authenticity & Character

You felt like you were truly in a fisherman's cabin. Loved the ambiance and decor.

Location

Cleanliness & Comfort

Beds were super comfortable!

Grand Hotel Terminus

Bergen

Loved the location and the architectural details from the early part of the 20th century. It was an easy walk to the fish market, funicular and you were right across the street from the train station. There was a wonderful restaurant in the hotel, but you were within walking distance to many fabulous places to eat.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Trollfjord Cruise by Electric Boat

Svolvær

Not only will you travel down a beautiful fjord with waterfalls, but you will see sea eagles up close and personal. You glide along silently as you enjoy the mountains and wildlife.

Midnight Sun Kayaking Excursion

Reine

Monica was a terrific guide and the change in light on the mountains was magical! We were lucky in that we spotted a pod of orcas which Monica said was unusual. This is a trip for beginners to experienced kayakers.

Fjord Cruise to Rosendal

Bergen

It was wonderful to be on the water, but this is not one of the narrow fjord cruises. We loved getting to Rosendal and hiking to the waterfall. We had a wonderful lunch at Gjoa and caught the boat back to Bergen.

Fløibanen Funicular Ticket

Bergen

This is a must do especially on a clear day! We did not explore the hiking trails, but you could spend hours up here. We particularly loved the cashmere goats who keep the area trimmed up. This would be a great place to sit, have a drink and gaze at the Bergen harbor and the mountain. Get one of the adirondack chairs and enjoy the view.

Quality of Experience

An amazing 10 day road trip up the stunning Norwegian scenic coastal route - Trondheim to Bodo. Tom chose some fabulous, out-of-the-way places for us to go which were would never have found on our own! Each stop was different and unique in its own way. Vega was a real highlight - both the natural beauty, the activities to do and the amazing accomodation (and fabulous dinner suggested by Tom!) The whole process of planning and booking the trip was super easy, and our guide, Tom, continued to check in with us along the route, making the whole experience feel personal and well-curated. Thankyou so much Tom and the Kim Kim team for a fabulous adventure. :)

Hotel Review

Vega Havhotell

Vega

Gorgeous hotel! Very peaceful and private, in a good location, with good facilities like kayaks etc. The 5 course dinner was a spectacular bonus which we didnt expect in such a remote beautiful place. Would highly recommend.

Authenticity & Character

Loved the grass on the roof.

Location

Quiet and peaceful

Staff

Very helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Spacious room overlooking the pond with our own deck chairs.

Activity Review

Træna Sauna

Træna

Great to be able to have an authentic sauna in this gorgeous location. Helps having a great pub right next door too! 😁

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Norway and Sweden are both fabulous travel destinations and the trip we planned with Julia's assistance was absolutely wonderful! Despite having a great time in both countries, I regret that, aside from Julia, who was a delight to work with, our experience with Kimkim was less than positive. At times it was extremely frustrating, not to mention that the service you provide is quite expensive and more time-consuming than if we had booked the entire vacation on our own.

First and foremost, I disagree with your business philosophy. Julia was wonderful. I gave her clear cut direction regarding the vacation experience I wanted, and she provided me with guidance and advice as to how my expectations could easily be achieved. Based on how well we worked together, I asked her to give me a quote, which she did. The price was high, much higher than I expected. I then took the time to price the trip myself, and discovered that Kimkim's mark-up was approximately 20-25% higher than if I booked everything on my own. Yet, I wanted to work with Julia. I felt she put time and effort into planning our vacation. I wanted her to get some remuneration, so I asked her to provide a quote, just for the transfers and tours, to which she agreed.

Even though it was still high, I accepted the revised quote because I wanted Julia to get credit for the booking. Then after paying a non-refundable deposit, Julia told me that she only worked as a travel planner. Since the planning process was now complete, one of her colleagues , a woman named Fenne, was now in charge of booking our trip. After a brief introduction, I never heard from Fenne again.

Five months later a new person, Jacob, pops up in the chat. He told me he was taking over for Fenne. Frankly, at this time I was somewhat worried that over five months had elapsed since my last conversation with Julia, and I had yet to hear from anyone at Kimkim confirming that our tours and transfers had been booked. I was concerned that we wouldn’t be able to obtain the tour guides we previously had requested from Julia, despite having paid a deposit months earlier. Unfortunately, this delay created some problems. In both Oslo and Stockholm, the most knowledgeable and professional tour guides had already been booked.

In Oslo, Jacob booked a private guide for us. Her name was Ana Maria. Abby and I have visited more than 60 countries in the world. Never have we ever experienced a guide who was so incompetent. First of all, we never asked for a private guide. A group tour would have been fine. Secondly, Ana Maria was not Norwegian. She was an unemployed free-lance publisher from Columbia, South America who had lived in Norway for less than two years; only because her husband got a job in Oslo.

Our tour documents said we should meet Ana Maria at Jembanetorget, but we couldn’t find her phone number on the voucher. Jembanetorget is a main square in Oslo with lots of people milling around. Another tour guide was standing at the tiger statue holding a sign up for a walking tour, but our name wasn’t on his list. He phoned Oslo Walking tours on our behalf and was told that the meeting place was Oslo’s National Theater. Since we didn’t have time to walk there, he was kind of enough to ask us to join his tour, which we did. Ten minutes into the tour, my phone rang. It was Ana Maria calling to find out where we were. As things turned out, she had been at Jembanetorget all along, but she didn’t carry a sign with our name on it, so we could find her. BIG MISTAKE! We finally connected at the Oslo Opera House.

While Ana Maria is a lovely lady, she was the worst tour guide I ever had. She had no plan regarding what we should see, nor did she have any experience other than referring to a guidebook and then reciting what she had read, back to us. Fortunately, we were able to see the Opera House as well as Oslo’s new library right next door, but nothing else. As our travel agent, Kimkim made absolutely no effort to use tour guides with five-star reviews from other travelers. They simply subcontracted all of our tours to Nord DMC or to some other some other Destination Management company.

We also never requested a private tour guide in Oslo, especially a guide as inexperienced as Ana Maria. In our case, a group tour would have been far preferable. I blame this solely on Kimkim, as we were traveling during the peak season, and Kimkim waited five months before starting the booking process. Our tour guide in Stockholm, who also was booked through Nord DMC, was equally incompetent. I believe his name was Daniel, but I’m not sure.

There were two reasons for my dissatisfaction with the Stockholm guide. First and foremost, he was not as prepared nor was he as thorough as other tour guides who we observed walking a group of tourists through the Old City to the same sites. Other guides spent 2-3 times longer at each site than our guide and the information he dispensed was superficial at best. The other guides also provided their visitors with an audio headset to block out street noise so visitors, who were not standing right next to them, could hear every word they had to say. Our guide also seemed to be more interested in talking about us, who we were and where we came from, as opposed to engaging in an in-depth conversation regarding the history of Sweden and Stockholm in particular.

Unlike Visby and Bergen where we did have excellent guides, our guides in both Oslo and Stockholm were a total disappointment. Visby, on the other hand, was fantastic! But, I think this may have been a stroke of luck! Our guide’s name was Ronny Larsson, a retired Swedish Army Colonel, who commanded the last regiment on Gotland Island, before it was disbanded in 2005. We couldn’t have asked for a better guide. Not only was Ronny "au currant" on foreign affairs and Sweden’s current role in NATO, he also was a fountain of information about the historic role of the Hanseatic League during the medieval period, when Gotland’s many churches were being constructed. We had a great time with Ronny during the two days we spent together touring Visby as well as the surrounding north island vicinity.

However, the reason I say Ronny was a “stroke of luck” is I don’t think Kimkim had anything to do with assigning him to us. The reason I say this is according to Kimkim’s trip plan and tour documentation, Gunilla Laustrøm was assigned as our guide for both tours. Ronny Larsson was a last-minute substitution. We just lucked out!

While overall, we had a wonderful experience touring Scandinavia, I can’t really say that our experience with Kimkim measured up. At the beginning of my review, I said that I disagreed with your business philosophy, namely, having a person other than the trip planner with whom you were used to working, book our tours. The booking person, in our case Jacob, had no idea as to our likes, dislikes and travel interests. He simply dumped our tour requests over to a Destination Management Company, Nord DMC, and let a third party do the heavy lifting. Then Nord DMC selected various tour operators located in each city visited to assign our guides. (i.e. Oslo - Fjord Tours, Oslo Walking tours; Balestrand – Glacier Tours; Bergen – I Love Bergen Walking Tours; Visby – Gotland Guide Service; Stockholm – Tours of Stockholm)

I was under the impression that Kimkim would book our guides directly, based on the information I previously had given to Julia. Obviously, this was not the case. For this reason, I cannot give Kimkim a five-star review. Aside from the information Julia provided while we were planning our trip, I don’t see any added benefit to using Kimkim as a travel agent. I also suspect that Julia Mattos is actually an employee of Nord DMC, and not Kimkim. Julia lives in Kristiansand, a city in southern Norway where Nord DMC has their home office. However, this could just be a coincidence.

Kimkim is also not the first time Abby, and I have used an online travel agent. Last year we booked a 4-week safari vacation, visiting three countries in Africa: Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. The agency we used was “go2africa”, one of Africa’s leading safari destination companies. Our travel arrangements were extremely complex, involving multiple countries, hotels, plus internal flights between six different safari camps using scheduled plus non-scheduled private airlines where we were the only passengers. Our entire vacation was booked electronically, and all services were personally handled by “go2africa” employees. Nothing was subcontracted as is the case with Kimkim. Similar to our Scandinavian trip, this also was an unescorted private tour. I think Kimkim could learn a lot from them.

Sincerely,

Jim Brown and Abby Everson

Activity Reviews

Stockholm Archipelago Tour with Guide

Stockholm

The scenery was gorgeous. I was under the impression that lunch was included when we booked this tour. Other passengers had lunch. We didn't. Big disappointment! I thought we paid for lunch.

Quality of Experience

Transport

We booked this because it was a luncheon cruise. Somehow Kimkim dropped the ball regarding this. That's a problem when you have someone other than a travel planner book your itinerary.

Walking Tour Stockholm

Stockholm

Our tour guide was not very knowledgeable regarding the sites we visited.

Quality of Experience

Provide headsets to all participants

Welcome to Visby

Visby

Excellent transfer. Our driver was a retired Olympic athlete.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Day Tour of Gotland

Visby

Ronny Larsson was our guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Walking Tour of Visby

Visby

Ronny Larsson was one of the best guides we have ever had.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Past & Present City Walk

Bergen

Excellent tour guide but too many people were booked on the tour. Future tours should be limited to 15 passengers, maximum. As a tour guide we had in Amsterdam once said, "any tour over 15 people is not a tour; it's a parade. Headsets should also be provided, so you can enjoy the experience without being immediately next to the guide.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The tour guides knowledge, what I could hear of it.

Fjærlandsfjord Cruise & Bøyabreen Glacier Visit

Balestrand

This was an excellent tour but should be expanded to a full-day program. We didn't have enough time to thoroughly explore the Glacier Museum and also see the film.

Quality of Experience

You don't get to see a glacier in most parts of the world. However, you need a full day to really make this tour worthwhile.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was more of an escort than a knowledgeable guide.

Transport

The boat to the glacier could have more amenities.

Grand Tour and Fjord Cruise

Oslo

Our tour guide was excellent. We especially enjoyed our stops at both the Fram museum as well as the Norsk Folk Museum. However, the downside was traveling on a bus with a large group of cruise passengers having so many people on the bus, not only slowed things down, it made it impossible to hear the tour guide where we did stop unless we stood right next to her which was not always possible. Vigeland Park is a perfect example. Our guide had lots of interesting information to convey, but because of the size of the group, most of the time we couldn't hear her. Knowing our interests, Kimkim should have recommended we take a private tour instead of booking us on a bus tour where the majority of passengers were part of a cruise shore excursion. We also lost half an hour picking up passengers at the port of Oslo. The fjord cruise portion of the tour was a complete waste of time. A recorded explanation of all the sites we passed was not what we expected. This was a big disappointment compared to the Archipelago Cruise we took in Stockholm.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable and interesting guide. With a group this large, headsets should have been provided.

Transport

Get rid of the cruise passengers. Charge more and use a small van. Delete the fjord cruise and spend more time at the Folk Museum as well as the Fram museum.

Essential Oslo Walking Tour

Oslo

Ana Maria, our so-called private tour guide which we never requested was the most unknowledgeable guide I have ever experienced. (see my general write up for more detailed information.

Quality of Experience

Our Walking Tour Guide was a complete waste of time.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Ana Maria, our guide, added absolutely nothing to our experience in Oslo.