Merée Ruzits

What a trip! The Kimkim group did a wonderful job planning our activities and customizing the trip for our interests. They were very responsive and highly communicative during the planning stage of the trip. We particularly enjoyed the time spent in the fjords on the Norway in a Nutshell section after we left Bergen. They were awesome! After seeing those fjords, I think the fjord boat ride from Bergen could have been skipped and spent the time enjoying Bergen. We loved the lodging in Flam! Perfect for what we look for--quaint and with a beautiful view. We did a guided bike tour in Oslo that we arranged ourselves which I would recommend. Unfortunately, I had Covid in Oslo and spent most of 3 days in bed. Except for the initial problem with payment at the Bergen hotel that took about 1 1/2 hours or so to get straightened out (I believe that was the hotel’s mistake), all the arrangements worked very smoothly.
We’ve already recommended Kimkim to others and would use your services again for another trip in areas that you cover. Thank you

Activity Review

Norway in a Nutshell Tour

Norway

Absolutely loved the fjords! This was the highlight of the trip. All the transportation was planned well, the guides were knowledgeable and we were very lucky to have dry, pleasant weather.

Absolutely beautiful country. Started in Oslo, for those looking for adventure I would limit your time here. Balestrand has amazing hiking, got to the Burasi peak for spectacular views. Take a few hours to kayak. The RIB boat tour is a quick way to see some other beautiful Fjords. In Bergen get a ticket to ride up to the overlook point and you can hike further up the mountain and enjoy some beautiful perched lakes along the way. Had a great time fishing, about a 5 hour experience with 2 hours in the water with lines in.

Hotel Reviews

Hotell Bondeheimen

Oslo

Great location and friendly staff. Rooms are modest in size. Lower floors can hear the nightlife.

Authenticity & Character

Older hotel with charm

Location

In the middle of everything

Staff

Nice at check in

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean

Kviknes Hotel

Balestrand

Great views and perfectly located property. Spacious rooms with a balcony. Great breakfast buffet.

Authenticity & Character

Great property surrounded by local history

Location

Perfectly located at the edge of the fjord

Staff

Friendly and helpful staff and bartenders

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clean and spacious

Scandic Torget

Bergen

Original room was very small and clearly wasn’t cleaned. The staff was initially in denial.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Good location

Staff

Not helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Dirty bathroom and the room clearly was cleaned

Activity Reviews

Catch & Cook Fishing Excursion

Bergen

They put you on fish and the fish soup was good. Very nice staff

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Kayaking in Sognefjord

Balestrand

High end kayaks with a rudder

Quality of Experience

The views

Finnafjord Safari by RIB

Balestrand

Quick trip with amazing views

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We totally enjoyed our trip to Norway! We started our journey by being picked up by a driver at the airport in Bergen who drove us to our hotel, the Hotel Norge. The three hotels we stayed in were lovely and very well located. We could walk everywhere, which was a huge plus. Highlights in Bergen included the walking tour with Thomas, the ride up the funicular, dinner at the top, and the fjord boat ride. We also liked having "wandering" time and enjoyed the fish market.

The journey to Flam was smooth and beautiful. We rode the bus (with a lovely viewpoint stop) and then the electric ferry. It was soooo quiet. We had beautiful weather the entire time which was lucky and great! Our apartment in Flam was perfect. We enjoyed the RIB boat ride and stop for brown cheese! Also, the kayaking trip added a new perspective of the fjord. We really liked the floating sauna, which was right near our hotel. It looked a little hokey on the outside, but was beautiful on the inside! We finished our Flam events by going on the scenic viewpoint van ride. What a harrowing experience, driving on that road. But our guide, (Peter or Paul from Hungary) was an excellent driver and very funny.

It was sad to leave lovely Flam, but it was time to head out on the train to complete the rest of the Norway in a Nutshell tour. Unfortunately, our train trip had to be modified because of a derailment near Oslo. We took the train to Myrdal (beautiful waterfall and dancer at the top!) and then to Al. We all had to get off and boarded a bus to take the rest of the way. Fenne and Rufo assured us that the train folks would be ready for us and they were.

We arrived in Oslo that evening and were able to walk to our hotel - The Grand Hotel. Again, very centrally located and lovely. The next day, we walked to our bike tour group. Our guide, Nike, was fabulous. Highly recommend her. We saw many highlights of the city and got a great overview.

By this time, David was not feeling well at all. I was just finishing up a mild case of Covid, but David's case was much, much worse. We stopped in a pharmacy and the pharmacist told us about a clinic called Dr. Doppin that we could visit to see a doctor. You should know that this is available for your future clients. I checked with Rufo back at the hotel and he said the pharmacist probably knew more this than he did . He then sent me the website I told him about. We made an appointment for the next morning and were seen by a very good doctor. He prescribed many medications for David. I went to two more pharmacies to pick up the drugs and got David on his regimen. Luckily, we were staying at the very comfortable Grand Hotel, where they even let me pack up a breakfast doggie bag for David the next morning. Unfortunately, we missed our dinner cruise that night, but Rufo did try to reschedule for us. He could not, but as it turns out, David would not have been able to make it the next day, either.

This was the end of our scheduled KimKim activities in Norway. I spent the next beautiful day going to the Munch Museum and the Opera House and bringing dinner back to David. The next day, I took the bus to the Folklore Museum, while David rested. By the next morning, he was better and we could actually walk to the train station to catch our train to the airport. All was smooth sailing after that. We are now in Stockholm with family and enjoying our time in Sweden.

Thank you for making our trip so enjoyable. We will definitely recommend KimKim to our friends!

Activity Review

Food & Culture Walk

Bergen

Our guide Thomas was great and knew the answer to any question we asked! Highly recommend him!

Quality of Experience

Thank you Meree and Fenne and Julia. Your care and attention in preparing our 6 week trip around Scandinavia, Tallin, Finland and Iceland has been exemplary. We’ve experienced countless ‘pinch-me’ moments and have loved every minute. We would love to return to continue the adventure and will definitely travel with Kim Kim again. Thank you!!! Marie-Claire, Jeff and family

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Bristol

Oslo

Beautiful hotel - elegant, luxurious yesteryear vibes in architecture and decor complimented by excellent service.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Scandic Copenhagen

København

LOVED the breakfast room - chic and stylish- and the breakfast was excellent too

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Radisson Blu Seaside Hotel

Helsinki

The staff here are wonderful. Great to chat with them!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Polar Night Dog Sledding

Svalbard

AMAZING. Interacting with the dogs was an incredible experience for my family who have limited experience with dogs

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private guided Stockholm tour + Vasa and Abba Museum

Stockholm

A must do to understand the history and layout of the city. Our guide was lovely.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided City Tour in Tallinn

Tallinn

Wonderful tour around Tallin - not just the charming old town. Jana our guide was knowledgeable and fun

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tour to Katla Ice Cave

Norway

The highlight of my northern adventures. A surreal experience walking over giant “pillows” of crystal clear ice. Otherworldly

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

This trip was incredible. While I may have been able to book this trip on my own - this was WAY easier. They picked great hotels that were closer to the sights. The igloo experience was something that changed my life. It was one of the best things I ever experienced. The only thing I wish was a little better info for the buses and trains - that is my only complaint. But this was a 10/10 experience and would highly recommend to anyone.

Hotel Reviews

Hotell Bondeheimen

Oslo

The Bondeheimen hotel was a pleasant surprise. The location was great and I didn't have to venture very far to get to things. Overall, I was very pleased with this hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Radisson Blu Hotel

Tromsø

The Radisson Blu Hotel was also well located. However, there were some communication issues regarding my stay on the night of the ice dome experience. I wasn't initially informed that I still had the hotel room for the night, which would have been good to know beforehand. Other than that, the hotel was pretty good

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

From Bergen to Oslo scenic train route - Bergensbanen

Norway

The train experience was generally okay, but there was a bit of confusion due to some work being done on the train tracks. I had to transfer to a bus at some point which was unexpected. I think it would be helpful if there were some checks closer to the trip to ensure everything is running smoothly.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Spend the morning in the ice domes and transfer back to the city

Tromsø

The ice dome experience was hands down the best thing I've ever done. It was just incredible. There were some communication issues regarding how I was supposed to get there and whether or not I had to carry all my luggage. But other than that, it was fantastic.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Aurora Husky Visit

Tromsø

The husky visit, was not my cup of tea. I felt a bit sad for the dogs that were there.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Northern Lights Hunt by Bus

Tromsø

The northern lights were very cool, I would have preferred doing another activity like this one versus the husky visit.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

We deeply appreciate the plans that you made for us.
The Kviknes motel was a high point of our experience. We stayed for the evening seafood buffet that ranks #1 in my mind so far of any place that I have been in the last 15 years, and I told the maitre'd this.
The opposite end of the luxury spectrum was at the Eidegard in Sjkolden. What a wonderful place, staying in a very old house. The kitchen was wonderful for the 4 meals we made there.
Our trip to Fortun to visit my grandmothers birthplace was breath taking both in scenery and physical exertion to go up 300 meters on foot.
Our stay at the Laerdal Motel was also very good. We got in before the 3 tour buses both days. Food was very good.
Going to the Bogrund stave church was amazing. Going to the Hauge church and finding 6 tombstones with my last name was bitter sweet. Good to find my roots. Visiting the city hall and library was very informative. Folks knew my family name and the farm they came from.
Tunnels-did I mention tunnels and ferries? Those people knew what they were doing.
The Voss Gondola ride was so much better than we anticipated. The weather really did cooperate at the top for us to wander around for an hour. We should have stayed in Voss.
Returning Bergen, the Food and Culture tour by Mateus was very good. It again exceeded our expectations.
We then went to the Cornelius. Another amazing place with amazing food, wine, ambience and just fun.
Our stay at the Augustin worked out. The original address was closed for cleanout and renovation. The "new" place was half a block away and that worked out very well. Luckily they had a single parking spot for our rental car. We did not know that breakfast was included. Very good! We were 5 minutes from the city center mall and the harbor and fish market.
We spent a day exploring west of Bergen, before returning our rental car.
We give Kimkim a rating of 10 out of 10 and highly recommend using them. A little investigation would have prepared us for the wonderful side trips.

We deeply appreciate the plans that you made for us.
The Kviknes motel was a high point of our experience. We stayed for the evening seafood buffet that ranks #1 in my mind so far of any place that I have been in the last 15 years, and I told the maitre'd this.
The opposite end of the luxury spectrum was at the Eidegard in Sjkolden. What a wonderful place, staying in a very old house. The kitchen was wonderful for the 4 meals we made there.
Our trip to Fortun to visit my grandmothers birthplace was breath taking both in scenery and physical exertion to go up 300 meters on foot.
Our stay at the Laerdal Motel was also very good. We got in before the 3 tour buses both days. Food was very good.
Going to the Bogrund stave church was amazing. Going to the Hauge church and finding 6 tombstones with my last name was bitter sweet. Good to find my roots. Visiting the city hall and library was very informative. Folks knew my family name and the farm they came from.
Tunnels-did I mention tunnels and ferries? Those people knew what they were doing.
The Voss Gondola ride was so much better than we anticipated. The weather really did cooperate at the top for us to wander around for an hour. We should have stayed in Voss.
Returning Bergen, the Food and Culture tour by Mateus was very good. It again exceeded our expectations.
We then went to the Cornelius. Another amazing place with amazing food, wine, ambience and just fun.
Our stay at the Augustin worked out. The original address was closed for cleanout and renovation. The "new" place was half a block away and that worked out very well. Luckily they had a single parking spot for our rental car. We did not know that breakfast was included. Very good! We were 5 minutes from the city center mall and the harbor and fish market.
We spent a day exploring west of Bergen, before returning our rental car.
We give Kimkim a rating of 10 out of 10 and highly recommend using them. A little investigation would have prepared us for the wonderful side trip

This was our second Kim Kim organized trip of this year and it was great. Travel logistics worked out quite well and we loved each of the venues. The only aspect that could have been better was in Bergen. That hotel, the Zander K was immediately adjacent to the train station (making arrival easy) but at least 10-15 minutes walk from any of the sights in the city. We would have preferred a hotel closer to the ‘action’. Also, we ended up canceling our final boat excursion. There was no need for two consecutive boat trips and the final one would have been an all day experience without much for the kids to do. We also never used the bus tickets to the airport given how inconvenient the times were of their availability (and the info for Saturday travel was different that what was shared with us).

But, not to belabor the Bergen issues, the rest of the trip was excellent…well conceived and extremely enjoyable. We added the sauna in Flam and suggest you offer that to other travelers.

Merée was just incredible at organising everything and very patient with us. We changed ideas a few times and Merée was so understanding and really receptive to any feedback we had. We had an awesome time on our trip to Norway and everything was organised perfectly

Hotel Reviews

Thon Hotel Maritim

Stavanger

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right near centre of town

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Lilland Brewery Hotel

Strand

Cute hotel but in a random location

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right next to a strip of supermarkets and stores and just not near anything

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Trolltunga Hotel

Odda

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rosendal Turist hotel

Kvinnherad

Authenticity & Character

Location

Kind of random town - not much near

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fleischer's Hotel

Voss

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right on the water, easy parking

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Heimen Hotel

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Close walk to anything in the city

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Kjerag Hike & Lysefjord Cruise Day Trip

Stavanger

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided Hike to Trolltunga

Odda

Michelle was AMAZING! Day was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Michelle was just awesome

Transport

Blue Ice Hike in Juklavass Glacier

Norway

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Whitewater rafting (Voss)

Voss

This is just SUCH a great experience - highly highly recommend for anyone, even with no rafting experience

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Our trip was amazing! One of the best things about the trip was how smooth the transportation went and how close the hotels were to public transportation. This allowed us to maximize our time at each destination. All the guides were prompt and very informative. They went out of their way to help us find the best local restaurants for our meals. The people were extremely friendly and all the views were spectacular! If you haven’t visited a Scandinavian country put it on your bucket list!

Hotel Reviews

Kviknes Hotel

Balestrand

This is a wonderful hotel. The accommodations were perfect complete with a balcony for optimum views. The restaurants in the hotel were very good. There is plenty of outside seating at the hotel to enjoy all the views of the Sognefjord. I hope to come back….

Authenticity & Character

The hotel has been around for hundreds of years. The furnishings and pictures were amazing!

Location

Convenience to the ferry and the wonderful views it has to offer.

Staff

Very helpful and friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Rooms are clean and very well laid out to maximize space and comfort.

Scandic Byporten

Oslo

The hotel has a very interesting location connected to the train station and also part of a mall. Location is very convenient! Staff was very helpful!

Authenticity & Character

The hotel is very modern.

Location

Convenient to transportation and in the heart of the city.

Staff

This hotel had plenty of staff and they were very helpful.

Cleanliness & Comfort

This hotel maximizes the space it has.

Activity Reviews

Private tour Copenhagen walking tour

Copenhagen

Ilsa was a wealth of knowledge. She knew so many “folklore” stories! Put on your walking shoes because there is much to see and much ground to cover.

Quality of Experience

Guides knowledge and willing to work with us.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We arrived late and she was able to accommodate us.

Oslo private tour

Oslo

Bjorn was very knowledgeable. He did not overload us with facts and threw in some amusing stories.

Quality of Experience

Guide did a great job getting us on and off transport so we were able to move around quickly.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide went out of his way to show us good lunch and dinner spots!

Transport

Our guide was an expert on all the “ways” to get around the city.

Kayaking Tour

Balestrand

Our guide was very patient and helped everyone have a good time. Our group was very large with different skill levels.

Quality of Experience

Our guide did a great job lining up the kayaks for fun group pictures.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Our guide was very laid back and took many fun pictures .

Orchard Tour & Cider Tasting

Balestrand

This was one of my favorite activities. It is a family run cider house that was started by his grandfather. Everything was interesting from how they grow the apple trees to how they pair the cider with food.

Quality of Experience

The amazing thing was how much the taste of the cider changed with the food pairings.

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The love for what they are doing!