Hiking with teen age kids

Norway | Jun 26 - Jul 6, 2018

The whole trip was amazing and this will go in the list of the best holidays I have ever done. The trip was well organised and detailed, down to the time in which I had to catch a train or a bus. This was most helpful. The stay at the three mountain hotels/huts (Haugastol, Geiterygahytte and Osterbo) was most pleasantly surprising. I was expecting something rougher, but rooms and food especially were amazing. Same for the Ronda Hoyfjellshotell in the second to last day. Our preferred spot was in Kalvag. We loved it and we may go back there as it was a real paradise.

Linda was super helpful in designing the holiday and in creating the itinerary. She was patient with the changes I asked her to do and was very responsive.

The only suggestions for improvement are:
- the hut suggested for stop in the second hiking day (Stein Bergdal) did not appear to be open to the public. Other hikers stopped there but ended up eating outside on the grass like us. I think it needs to be clear that there are no hospitality places where one can stop. It helps setting up the right pace and mindset at the beginning of the hike
- all the hiking times are excluding stops and probably it is better to specify it
- the hike on the third day was too optimistic and strongly not recommended by the staff in the hut where we stayed overnight. It was possible to do it with no stops and no time for contingency, but it also required leaving at 8 am. Breakfast only gets served from 8! so we shortened it and we took the bus earlier in a spot suggested by the staff in Osterbo
- the overview of Bergen was good and with interesting insights in the culture. I would have probably cut a bit certain areas less interesting and added the bit around the old harbour. Also, I would have liked to hear more about the history. There was no coffee and cake :-(

Overall I thought Ethical Travel Portal was great and I would recommend them to friends. I would recommend Linda to anyone who wants to go to Norway.