Our Family Adventure to Bergen and the Western Fjords

Norway | May 27 - Jun 6, 2023

We stayed in the cabins with decks overlooking the fjord where we soaked in the peace and quiet as we took in the gorgeous views in all directions. We also very much enjoyed dining at the gastropub at this hotel.

We requested rooms facing the fjord and were glad we did. The rooms were spacious and updated. The hotel itself is large and offers many amenities including multiple pools, historic buildings, a dock with seating, a large restaurant, and a bar downstairs for after dinner .

Hotel Terminus is ideally located opposite the train station, making it easy to catch a train to the airport. The hotel is a renovated older building, but could use more refurbishment. The breakfast served at the hotel restaurant is excellent, however, the lack of a consistently open evening restaurant was a minor inconvenience. However, the location is very walkable, being a few blocks from downtown Bergen.

Brakanes Hotel was a good experience. The location is absolutely stunning, with cabins right on the fjord. Despite undergoing an ownership change, the hotel remains a great place to stay.

Great experience with guide Wilde who was very friendly, accommodating, and attentive to each person's needs in our group with a wide age range.

Ana gave us a full tour of downtown Bergen and the Bryggen area. She provided extensive information about the history of the area and offered suggestions for restaurants and shopping.

Driver Richard was great! He had a good sense of humor and gave our grandsons a thrilling ride in the speedy rib boat while not overdoing it. Loved it when he spun a yarn about how getting we in a waterfall with give you a longer life and then nudging the boat up to a waterfall at the fjord's edge so our grandsons could catch the spray! Only time will tell on the veracity of his yarn...

Our guide Christophe was genial and attentive to the widely varying abilities of our group. (Yes, I did bring up the rear!) He took us all across the bay at the end of the fjord where Ulvik is situated and then across the fjord. We stopped on an island where Christophe demonstrated how to start a fire using a rustic flint knife and a steel. Our grandsons were thrilled when he helped each of them to start a fire of birch bark and scraped tinder bits. He then made a fire on a portable grill and brewed us tea and coffee! Great experience!

This was a leisurely tour of Naeroyfjord after our tour of Viking Village in Gudvangen and ending in Flam. Beautiful scenery and ore waterfalls!

Louis, our guide, picked us up in a shuttle van and took us around the end of the fjord in Flam to Undredal on the other side. He took us on a walking tour of the tiny town while he explained the history of the area. We then visited the tiny stave church in town, which was an inspiration for the Disney movie Frozen. We admired the ancient painting on the wooden staves and ceiling inside the church and marveled at the two drawings dating from the Viking era, which were carved into small squares on the walls. We lunched on goat at a restaurant fjord-side where we tasted various kinds of goat cheese. The whole valley is famous for its goat herds and the cheesemaking.

The visit to Osafjellet and the Tunnel was interesting, but the guide spent too long on a PowerPoint presentation at the beginning, which was a bit dry. The tunnels themselves were fascinating, but the uneven, wet footing was a challenge, and the lack of provided lighting made it potentially dangerous. The overall experience was okay, but some aspects could have been better planned

The cider farm tour was a great experience, but there were some issues with communication regarding the amount of walking involved. The tour included a lot of walking, which was a challenge for some members of the group. The cider tasting was done back at the hotel rather than at the farms, which was a bit of a disappointment.