Western Norway Fjord Road Trip - 8 Days

Norway | May 13 - May 20, 2019

I want to specifically thank Ingrid for planning our family vacation. I chose to book lodging ourselves and left activities and local transportation in Norway to Ingrid. She gave us an itinerary which covers all places and activities on our wish list. She planned for our local transportation and transfers so we could focus on the pristine sceneries and fun activities without worrying about many logistics on self tours while not being in restricted times while traveling in a group tour. Ingrid was also reachable in case we had any glitches during our journey. Really best of both worlds.

For places/activities which Ingrid planned for us, the most memorable are:
1) Geiranger Kayaking tour (with the Geiranger Kayak Center at Homlong. The tour guide was knowledgeable in many aspects in how the fjords were formed, local legends/myths, geopolitical facts, economics, etc. And most of all, top places to visit in Geiranger in our two days of stay.

2) The Fjordcruise from Flam to Gudvangen (on the Naeroyfjord) was also spectacular. Before the ship entered the Naeroyfjord, the captain offered us a private tour to the engine room which featured the totally electrical engine. We were truly impressed by Norwegians effort in preserving the environment.

3) Dragsvik Fjord Hotel: although I found this hotel myself. However, Ingrid approved of it. We wanted to bike around the neighbor. Ingrid managed to find out for us that the hotel actually has a few bicycles for hotel guests to borrow (helmets included). That was SO nice because, with Ingrid's arrangement, we did not have to worry about transportation from Dragsvik to the Balestrand town!

I list the following most memorable places we visited (some are suggested by Ingrid and others by our Kayak tour guide):
1) Dragsvik hotel - My family loved our stay there. It was situated in a ideally situated vantage point of the fjord and the mountains. Also, we really appreciate the hotel manager Magnar (?). Although he does not speak much, but we felt that he really tried his best to accommodate our family's needs. We were rather troublesome during our stay: borrow bicycles, laundry machine, etc.
2) Geiranger: a) Westeras Gard - farm and restaurant
b) hike to behind the Storsæterfossen waterfall
c) Ørnesvingen
d) Geirangerfjordsenter - great cabin lodging for family or small group
e) of course, our kayak tour
3) Bergen Budget Hotel: I booked this hotel myself and I want to express it so that your future customer could avoid it. It is poorly equipped, old, and rather unfriendly. Finally, it has no luggage storage, even for a few hours because the reception is UN-manned.

J.