Kimkim Trip Reviews

love the location - again just a place to spend a night - breakfast buffet as well great -

just a place to spend the night - as always breakfast buffet great

an amazing experience from beginning to end - all the staff amazing - activities, meals, guides made everything seamless -

only there for a night prior to our amazon trip but staff kind and breakfast buffet decent

food was not good at dinner - buffet breakfast fine

spectacular views

this is a definite must see if you want to see the authenticity of the area outside of the big city -

I loved going into French based fragrance and jewelry stores where we made some purchases. I'm not sure I learned any specifics of French fashion which I kind of though I would but I liked our guide Sabine and how she was told us about the area and the unique shops. She was able to arrange an chocolate demonstration and tasting for us which was very cool.

So fun and pretty to experience. We were able to go around 8:30 pm which was great timing to catch the Eiffel Tower light up around 8:45-9pm. I kind of wish we could have arrived a day or 2 earlier before doing this as we were very sleepy during the tour since it was our first day in Paris.

This is our second time "glamping" in a desert. Our first stay was in Dubai, which we absolutely loved, but this one exceeded our expectations! Our "tent" was SOOO clean - no "icky" feeling, it was nicely decorated and felt new. There was a really nice pool and the water was actually "cool" being in the desert! There was a nice dinner, with more food than I could possibly eat, that was delicious, and we had energetic live entertainment. We only stayed overnight - but it felt like the kind of place I could have stayed for several nights and really had some nice chill days!

This place has a very good location. Our room had a balcony that overlooked the pool and we had the mountains as our backgdrop - we spent hours sitting there and just enjoying the view. We informed our host that we were having stomach issues, and they brewed us a special tea that helped a lot. Our dinner as traditional and very good (which means a lot as we were recovering from food issues on Turkish airlines and in Marrakech). We only stayed one night, but we very much enjoyed the hospitality of the host and the superb view!

This Riad was centrally location in the spice market, very walkable. The host was gracious and very accommodating. Our room was very nice and comfortable, decorated traditionally. They have a great rooftop where I spent evenings privately, writing and unwinding. I had a delicious dinner dinner at the property my first evening (where you can get wine) and each morning a (bread heavy) breakfast. The only reason I don't give 5 starts here is because you do need to request/pay for bottled water and I'd just stayed in 5 star hotels in India. . .and I want to be honest:-)

The guided trek through Toubkal National Park was truly wonderful. Even though we faced some health challenges with my husband being sick, the local guide was incredibly considerate and arranged for a mule, so he didn't miss out on the experience. This made the outing memorable and enjoyable, allowing us to take in the beautiful scenery without worry.

Framing this, I've done spas in multiple countries in the world. As a prude American, I always have to say to myself, I'm not in America, you're gonna be naked. But, my "scrubber" who kept leaving the door open, could tell I was uncomfortable and at one point, she actually laughed at me (I laughed too). My massage was firm, and my therapist kept checking in to make sure the pressure was good - it was very, very good. I enjoyed my experience very much, but I am not giving 5 stars because the scrubber poured water on my face and it went up my nose and down my throat, and the experience felt a little rushed. I do understand when your operation turns over a lot of people in a single day, but I as the client never want to feel that.

I had a really great time with my guide! He allowed me to ask endless questions about the culture and at no point did he seem annoyed. I'm a shopper that hates having someone hover, but to be honest, with the endless streets and shopping areas, it was nice to have someone to navigate and help negotiate while I was shopping. We also had a late lunch together, and he was so personable, it felt like I was having a lunch with one of my friends. He did a great job and we had a lovely day together.

Excellent hotel. All staff from front desk to rooftop were wonderful!

Very stylish and beautifully decorated public areas, great breakfast service, convenient but quiet location. A great base for walking the downtown/old town area.

Very good location WRT views, a little bit of an uphill hike from the station but worth it. Perfectly charming and helpful staff. We asked to move to a different room further from the elevator and were "upgraded" to one in the original section - a long walk from the stairs or elevator and a flight down to the room in a stairway smelling faintly of deep frying oil. We could exit the building directly outside our door but not enter that way, but the room was relatively spacious and well-equipped. Noisy people upstairs , but it's a hotel.... Breakfast service is excellent - so much to choose from that it's hard to just grab a quick breakfast without a couple days of reconnaissance to know where to find what you want, and the elaborate automated coffee machines are kind of a bottleneck.

Quiet area but convenient to the station and town, clean contemporary decor, good amenities (reading lights, charging ports), little hanging space outside of a small armoire, or layout area for unpacking (pretty typical - fortunately we didn't need to dry out any wet gear). Breakfast service is great, like almost every Swiss hotel we visited. There is a new hotel blocking the view toward the Matterhorn. Check-in was easy, recption staff helpful and friendly, knowledgeable about local hiking.

This was magical. The only way to truly appreciate Santorini.

The rooms are very small, you will be stepping over luggage to get around. The location is good but don't bother to stay for breakfast.

The owner is a wonderful woman who is so very welcoming. She made all efforts to make us feel home as we arrived late and hungry. I would highly recommend staying here if you plan to spend some time in the inverness area. It is a great place that provides an at home feel. The rooms are spacious and very well appointed with everything you need.

Beautiful hotel, I would love to have spent more time here. The hotel is furnished in beautiful antiques and woven fabrics produced locally. The pub and restaurant looked wonderful, sadly we did not get there in time to try them. The breakfast was very good and the staff were wonderful. The only note is there is no lift / elevator so it is not conducive to those travelling with a lot of luggage or mobility needs. Stairs are the only option.

We all enjoyed this tour, although I believe there is room for improvement on how the mill and process works it was an enjoyable and educational experience that we would recommend.

We did not know what to expect from this tour but it was above and beyond any other tour experience. A one on one opportunity to ask all the questions and delve into any aspect of not only Bannockburn but the overall history of Scotland was fantastic. I will look for similar bookings on all of our future trips.

We all enjoyed learning about the story behind the Kelpies. The tour was informative and being able to go inside the structure was something I will remember each time I see photos of the iconic pair.

The castle is amazing. The history and views are not to be missed but book the guided tour.

Fantastic feat in engineering, we enjoyed seeing it but the boat ride was not worth the time.

Excellent for our large family. The breakfast was amazing.

It is not what you expect. It is more. It is very well out together about Irish Folklore. It was amazing.

Book of Kells were lent out.

This is a must see for anyone visiting Ireland.

Amazing. Kids really enjoyed as much as adults.

This was a true highlight for the children.

Our ferry arrived a while before check-in but they were able to accommodate us when we got there. It's a bit of a walk from the ferry terminal but nothing too bad. We had backpacks which made it easy - you probably could take a taxi if you had a lot of luggage. Overall location was great though. We were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go.

Great location. The lobby is so cute. It's attached to an indoor mall which was nice because it was raining when we were there. The included breakfast was wonderful. The kids loved the bunkbeds!

The hotel was our favorite of the trip. The views are spectacular. The food is delicious. The staff couldn't have been more gracious and helpful. We had two rooms for four of us. They are minimal, with no tvs, but the gathering areas in the lobbies and outside were perfect for enjoying each other's company. They even had a shuttle you could use to get into Balestrand since it is a drive around a fjord to get there.

This was a fun activity for us after walking around the city all day in the rain. It was raining on the trip too, but they have a tarp that keeps you dry and you can still see everything. The staff was very friendly and informative. When they say all you can eat shrimp, they mean it! We unfortunately didn't get to see a sunset due to the rain, but the lights in Oslo harbor were lovely.

perfect location and ambiance - great breakfast and ok staff - not as friendly as other locations but typical for a Big City Hotel

great Zambia location for walking to the Falls.

wish we didn't have this unexpected stay but this City hotel was good.

Great tent but hot in the daytime and cold at night. Beautiful looking out onto river, but too far into the reserve - a 2 hour drive from the entrance.

very wonderful and unexpected interactions with all the camp. it has left an impression on our lives. Food and outdoor eating meals excellent. Great for 2 days.

Excellent location and big beautiful lodge and ground. Excellent food.

Great location and super friendly staff. Small room and a little worn but beautiful manor home and gardens.

Very large and comfortable. We had the 3 bedroom compond with 4 staff to ourselves. Private very clean and beautiful. Beautiful views. Saw animals everyday. Great location.

the weather was bad but we did see great locations. Our guide arranged a private small family vineyard tasting.

disappointing because of weather conditions, rough seas and very long 5 am drive from Cape Town. Beautiful location

great drive , boat ride and tour

Not a great meal but fun entertainment.

The Elephant Cafe was terrific

We did not need a guide for this activity. Easy to walk and enter the Falls area at no charge. Paths and walkways well marked and safe.

so special to meet the remaining 2 in the world and feed them

excellent in every way

interesting but we have Giraffe at our zoo that we can feed.

fun and informational

Good intro to Kenya - saw lots of animals including a Rhino charging our van.

Excellent location , spacious and modern room, great bathroom, and staff was friendly! They even met us out at the Main Street outside of the palace walls in split so they could take our bags and show us where the hotel was!

Amazing hotel and really nice staff! Small bathroom and small room, but it had a lot of character and we enjoyed the hotel a lot! Only thing to note is there is no elevator and LOTS of stairs down and up; staff was helpful with our bag though. Location is INCREDIBLE, 2 minute walk from everything

Beautiful property and amenities just a little dated—rooms (even the superior rooms) were small; however other than that we loved it! Breakfast spread was excellent and the free luggage service (van meets you at the dock to take your bags so you don’t have to carry them to the resort) was a great touch

This hotel was literally incredible. Our favorite of the stay, amazing hospitality and the room and property were gorgeous

My whole family loved Capitan Suizo! Our room was beautiful and had a wonderful sitting area by the front door looking out into the gorgeous landscaping of the resort. The beach was awesome and had surf boards available. We also enjoyed the pool and bar area very much. The food was very good. The restaurant even cooked a tuna that we caught offshore fishing.

This hotel has beautiful views, but it was a little more rustic than I like. It is situated on a very steep hill, making it very difficult to walk the grounds. Thank goodness they have a shuttle bus to pick you up and drive you to the on site restaurant. The food was delicious.

Beautiful, well appointed hotel. We loved the thermal pools and the swim up bar.

This was so much fun! It is SO dark! The guides are superb!

A must see if you love plants and wildlife. The cloud forest is like no other place on Earth.

Simple beautiful! Worth the hike!

Our guide was very informative and we learned so much about Arenal. We had an amazing hike even though it was raining!

Nothing quite like soaring through the jungle over waterfalls! Awesome!

Not close to old town, but walking distance to one beach. Very large and busy hotel. Beautiful outdoor pools and seating.

Very friendly and helpful staff. Clean and comfortable rooms. Convenient location.

We enjoyed the evening, but it wasn't quite what we expected. We stopped at several times along the road to Sagres, but didn't explore Sagres as described in the tour info. The transport was the same old jeep as the day before.

Nicholas was very friendly and interesting. We loved seeing the countryside and learning about all the different things that grow there or are produced there. The lunch that was included was one of our best meals of the trip.

This was one of our favorite days of the trip. Rudy and Tina were very good at their jobs. We couldn't get into Benagil Cave due to congestion, but Rudy took us to an alternate cave that was beautiful. The yacht was gorgeous! The views were incredible! It was such a great break from all the walking.

This day was completely changed for us because of the previous day's issues. We saw Cascais the previous day, which was lovely. On this day, Marta took us to Obidos, which we really enjoyed. It was a great alternate plan. Then she took us back to Queluz Palace, which was absolutely incredible! We appreciated that Paulo spoke to Marta about making sure we could get back to Queluz on this day.

This day was a bit of a disappointment because we were unable to see Pena Palace and Quinta de Regaleira because the mountain was closed due to the fire hazard that the heat caused. We were given the option of seeing the National Palace and Queluz Palace instead, which we agreed to. Paulo was our driver and guide of Sintra. He was informative and good company. We were late getting to Queluz Palace, though, so we had to go back the next day with Marta.

Josez was friendly and informative. It was a very hot day, and he did his best to find shade whenever possible. We enjoyed the restaurant that he recommended for lunch.

The restaurant, Clube de Fado, was beautiful and the entertainment was excellent. Table service was very good. Not my favorite meal of the trip, but adequate.

Eva was very knowledgeable and friendly.

Joao knows exactly how to make this an incredible experience. We enjoyed every single minute of the day. The Quinta lunch and tour was authentic in every way. The river cruise was very peaceful and beautiful. The views were breathtaking. Joao kept us engaged in interesting conversation during transport.

Sandra was a lot of fun and very informative. The tour was longer than described, but very enjoyable.

This is a beautiful hotel with a very authentic old world safari feel. Pics of Dr Livingstone are everywhere. The outdoor pool and bar area are very nice & I wish we would’ve had a day just to spend hanging out there. We enjoyed the breakfast every day and they had great coffee. Very glad we stayed here. It is walking distance to Vic Falls but I would caution anyone to not walk there with just two people. My husband & I walked back after touring the falls and had a difficult time getting past the vendors and panhandlers. If you have 4 or more people you should be ok.

This was a modern and very unique hotel. Beautifully decorated. The free breakfast and coffee each morning was very nice. The staff was very friendly and helpful.

This was an amazing experience! We saw so many animals & the views were incredible. The meals were delicious and we enjoyed getting to know the other couples on the boat. This is a must do!

The staff was very attentive and helpful. Amazing breakfast and dinner. Rooms are spacious, quiet, and clean. The bathroom is open to the rest of the room with the bed (it’s one room). Overall pleased with our stay. It’s about a 30 min drive to the airport.

This was a once in a lifetime experience! Amazing!

We loved our dinner cruise. The sunset and views were spectacular!

Beautiful views! Bigger than I thought it would be! Bring a jacket it gets cold!

We loved Fairview Winery. Our guide Radheeka even arranged for us to see the goats!

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Thon Hotel Tromsø. The staff were friendly and helpful with providing plenty of suggestions for local pubs or restaurants to try during my free time. The room was comfortable but it felt cramped with minimal ports for chargers because a desk was in my room with "ports" for charging but none of those ports worked, and there wasn't enough room to move the desk to access the outlet that desk was plugged into. Shower was very tight but worked. With each night, you get a ticket for "Evening Fare" in the dining room on the lobby floor - the light fare is a great little appetizer selection of bread, cold cuts, soup, little snacks, etc that you can enjoy before going out to dinner for a real meal. The hotel has no views in any direction of any room, so you will see other buildings in the city nearby only.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Bergen Børs Hotel. This place had the greatest breakfast buffet I've ever seen in my life. This is one of the nicest hotels in all of Bergen, and for great reason. This hotel was my favorite by far - the room was very modern and the shower was actually big enough for someone my size, thankfully! It sits right by the ports in the heart of Bergen and was absolutely amazing. 12/10

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Zander K Hotel. This is a pretty hotel but all of Bergen is cobblestone! You either pay for a $30-40 taxi, or do what I did and walk over a mile completely uphill. The breakfast was delicious, the staff were personable and helped as needed. The rooms are extremely spacious but not well-ventilated.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Kviknes Hotel. One of the greatest hotels I’ve ever been to in my life around the world - this would be 6 or 7 Stars if I could make it so. Even in the Modern-Section of the hotel, the rooms felt rustic but very high quality, and my fjord-view was breathtaking. Extremely kind staff that were insightful about the area and provided great recommendations for hikes, meals, and history of the area. A historical and modern side of the hotel (I would love to go back and stay in the historical side).

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Heimly Pensjonat. This is a fairly older building, the rooms are very small which is tough for a bigger person like me, and it is far from the rest of town with a decent incline to drag your luggage up for about a quarter mile. I would suggest this place for backpackers and light travelers who would prefer some solitude from the small town. It’s surrounded by an orchard and the top-floor rooms have a great view of the fjord - there is no form of A/C though, so you can expect some bugs in your room from the orchard if you open your window to try to get some air during the day/night.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Flåmsbrygga Hotel. This is 1 of 4 hotels right in Flåm - not the most luxurious as it is a smaller building with 41 total rooms but that was absolutely unnecessary because it was by far the best that I visited in all of Flåm, it sits closest to the water and is cabin-like with a cozy vibe, right next to the local brewery/pub that is extremely popular but not rowdy (can't hear any noise from the pub if your balcony door is closed. This hotel was top notch and my balcony view overlooking the fjord was unreal (until the next morning when a gigantic cruise ship came into town and took up my view).

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel. The hotel was flawless. My room & shower were exceptionally clean and new; the building itself is the tallest building in all of Oslo. The rooftop bar had a magnificent view, and the nearby pubs that a local I stopped to speak with recommended, Pier 42 and Papa Borracho; both were fantastic for beautifully crafted cocktails and wide varieties of snacks.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I stayed at the Hotell Bondeheimen. The hotel checked me in extremely early, the concierge GiGi was very kind - all staff was friendly and responsive. I slide my room key into a port by the front door to turn all the lights on in the room between the shower and bedroom - something that I was not accustomed to but encountered in every hotel throughout Norway. The full bed was very comfortable; great sheets, fluffy pillows, lovely little view of the street from my 5th floor room (out of 6 floors).

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Tromsø Cable Car. The cable car is off the island, across the bridge, on the mainland. I caught a Tromsø Taxi which was very easy - the walk would’ve been over 45 minutes while the taxi ride was 10-minutes. The cable car made it to the top in about 5 minutes overlooking all of Tromsø and the surrounding areas of mountains, sea, fjord, and outskirt towns! A cafe called the Fjellstua Café sits at the top where the cable car deposits you. The open-faced roast beef sandwich was great, especially sitting out on the open viewpoint tables. There are dozens of trails all on top of the mountain that you can traverse to go get different perspectives miles away from the cable car. I explored little bits of a few different directions of trails and got some fantastic views. The cable car ride down was just as easy, along with the Tromsø Taxi ride back to Tromsø Island!

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Husky Hike & Puppy Visit. This is a 100/10, 10-star experience. I was exhausted from the Northern Lights trip and minimal sleep but a few minutes after arriving at the Puppy Farm, everything changed and I was beyond revitalized. This is something every single traveler to Tromsø should experience if they aren’t afraid of dogs, and those that are but might be open to overcoming their fear absolutely will at this Husky Home. We started off by putting on rainboots and heading down to a marsh where a dozen puppies were released and came sprinting down to us. 9 travelers total, we split into teams of 3 and spread far apart with a bunch of treats in each group. We spent 30-minutes calling the 2 month old puppies to each of us to teach them to respond as a group! After they were put back, 8 older puppies came sprinting towards us and we all walked over to creek where each group spread out again and we proceeded to call them back and forth across the water to get them to practice being comfortable traversing water like they would have to during dogsledding. When training was done, 3 people (I was one) were allowed to put on harnesses and our group took 3 sled dogs on a 2 miles hike through the area! It was so fun - the other 2 people were dragged and stumbled a few times but the biggest dog which was pulling me was having a blast trying to yank me around but I was big enough that he couldn’t pull me around. We were given a traditional Norwegian/Portugese lunch and told about the history of Norwegian fish being shared with Catholic countries, how the relationships developed, and why the Portugese made a meal that is now famous in Norway. For the last hour, we were walked into a gigantic enclosed area outside where there are over 100 huskies housed, all of them were extremely friendly and loving, I was able to go play with all of them at least 4 times before the bus had us leave!

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Aurora Safari Minibus. This was a very nice experience that everyone needs to do. It was led by a young Austrian woman named Sonya, she was very informative about Tromsø facts and science related to the Northern Lights. The sun sets incredibly late this far North above the Arctic Circle in early September, so we started our tour by going Northwest, off the island and through an underground bridge over to the Kaldfjord - a beautiful view of the only fjord near Tromsø (all other bodies of water actually belong to the Norwegian Sea, and are not fjords). We were able to pick some wild blueberries, they were delicious. After hanging out by the fjord, we hopped back in the van and were driven 2 hours practically directly South (back in the underground bridge, through Tromsø, over a different bridge to the mainland, and down to an area called Solligården. Our guides know a man who owns much of the land, has a beautiful house atop a hill, and a small cabin with benches outside by the water that the guides are aloud to bring tourists to try viewing the Northern Lights. Our guides set up a bonfire after about 30 minutes of hanging out and telling us about the area. From about 10:15pm to 12:30am, we sat by the fire chatting and eating stew/drinking hot cocoa. At that point, we hadn’t seen much but had a perfectly clear sky filled with stars which was beautiful. The guides decided that they would slowly start to pack up and we would leave to head back. Almost as soon as they were done packing, another traveler and I noticed some weird movement in the sky that looked like off-colored clouds swaying. The guides identified those as the Lights starting to form - on camera, it looked bright green. 5-minutes later for the next 30ish-minutes, the sky started filling with all sorts of green wispy cloud-like forms filling up every area we looked, and the shots on our cameras were like gigantic rainbows everywhere! We were driven back at about 1:45am. The company will drop off certain travelers at the Tromsø campground on the way back and everyone else in Tromsø at different hotels will be returned to the Radison Blu where we were picked up originally.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Fjord Cruise to Rosendal. I sat on top of the cruise ship to enjoy the views for the 2-hour ride, it was beauty in every direction. Plenty of comfortable seating in the ship as well if desired and a helpful cafe with an assortment of snacks and drinks. Roseldal is a cute town with an absurdly cool backdrop as you pull in with the ship. It is basically directly between two conjoining mountains and there is a large, steep waterfall cascading down between the mountains. The hike to the waterfall viewing area is extremely easy. It goes past the town, through a few miles of countryside, and you end up at a gigantic roaring waterfall! I knew I was going to hike to the waterfall, so I packed extra clothes, just in case… the locals I asked all said swimming in it was totally acceptable but chilly; If you’re as adventurous as me, that’s just motivation! I made my way through 30ish yards of extremely difficult brush and tore off my shoes to jump into the waterfall and pools beneath it - NO REGRETS, IT WAS AMAZING! The handfuls of people walking the trail up & over the falls cheered me on and applauded me while in the water. I dried off with the towel I brought and changed into fresh clothes to hike back to the town for lunch. Ate a chicken quesadilla which was super random but honestly one of the most packed and delicious quesadilla’s I’ve ever eaten. Sat inside the ship and relaxed on the Fjordcruise back to Bergen - it was very comfortable even with my dead phone.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Cider Tasting & Lunch. This was a 12/10 experience - 6 Stars without a doubt. This was an incredible experience. You walk 15-minutes from the town center. There are over 1,000 genes of apples sitting on the orchard, and we were taught plenty. 7,500 different kinds of apples in the world. In Norway, the term difference between alcoholic and non-alcoholic cider is simply saying cider or juice, unlike the U.S. The ciders produced onsite had 4.7-16% alcohol. I was able to sample ciders on each end of that spectrum. Fun fact; heavy rain seasons may produce great amounts of product that year but they are actually not good, they cause water weight to hurt the trees and generally exhaust them, so the following 2 seasons after a heavy rain will only provide minimal amounts of product. The food pairings for lunch with each cider were perfectly crafted.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced Visiting the Stegastein Viewpoint with a Bus. The 3 buses that were set to take us were severely overcrowded, as was the viewpoint as a whole. As a solo traveler, I had the perk of getting the last seat on one bus, sitting next to the sweetest driver - she admitted that every single day, the buses get overbooked by the company and they just give out refunds like it’s nothing because it’s so common. Essentially, you have to fight for entrance to the bus (a lot of folks were very aggressive, shoving their tickets at the drivers to get their group entry to the ride up the mountain). These buses obviously don’t have A/C, so the bus is very hot. The view was nice but a hike to a different peak would be just as good, and would not have hundreds of people within the space of a couple hundred feet just for an oversold view.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Summer RIB boat Safari & Local Taste of Undredal. This was one of the coolest things I’ve ever done in my life. I’ve ridden plenty of RIB-boats while my dad was in the military and I’ve seen some cool places on the water in the past but this experience was like none-other. First & foremost, being a solo traveler has its perks - everyone else on 1 of the 2 boats was either from a giant group or a family. Although the captain asked the tallest people to sit in the back (eyeballed me jokingly), others filled the back first, and only the very front was left - he said it was ok for me to sit up front, so I sat alone up front! When we were going 30kmph most of the time, it felt like I was completely alone on the boat seeing the most incredibly mountain views and waterfalls in EVERY SINGLE DIRECTION THAT I LOOKED!!!!!!!! (Counted 58 but I think I missed a few, definitely at least 60+ in the 1.5 hours we went outward from Flåm). Our boat captain, Robby, was hilarious when he would stop and tell stories about the different areas of history we were viewing - he even drove us up under a waterfall to get the edge of the boat wet and splash a little water on me, after asking if I was okay with it, which was great. We finished the tour by stopping in Undredal which was incredible - it’s a tiny town founded in 1127 which hadn’t gotten a road until 1992 and WiFi until 2014 - it’s famous for the brown cheese you find all around Norway! They have 50 people and 400 goats in the tiny town surrounded by mountains - we were given a cheese tour of how the cheese is made and sampled plenty; the story is basically that a road was built in the early 1900’s between Oslo to Bergen, and branches were built to lead to Flåm and a couple other cities - Undredal was only accessible by boat and wanted to give the state of Norway a region to blow a few miles of holes into the mountain to make a road for Undredal, so they took great care of the goats and developed a technique for making a mildly sweet cheese that could be stored without refrigeration for up to 75 days, it is now a globally-known award winning cheese!

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Summer Kayaking Excursion. My guide, Patryk, was a fantastic German exchange traveler who actually lived about 10-minutes from where I spent some time living in Stuttgart! He was a great guide who helped everyone tremendously, gave informative knowledge about the fjord, the waterfalls we passed, Flåm, the city of Aurland we passed, and a sunken WWII battleship that could be dove to if you’re certified! Patryk and I talked for a bit after, he suggested a couple waterfalls that I could hike to from Flåm, and we plan to connect when he visits Colorado at the end of next summer for a kayaking trip.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Ægir Pub: Viking Dinner Experience. This is the most popular spot in all of Flåm (extremely small town with only a few hundred people, during peak season), a reservation is paramount. The dinner experience was phenomenal - I was overjoyed from the moment it hit my table; the 5-beer samples were all beautifully colored with perfect pairings for the flavors of the incredible little meals assigned to each plate in front of each mug. It was colorful, delicious, unique, and full of some items I had never tried but can’t wait to eat again. My dessert was an apple compote with a strawberry & rhubarb creme that I’ll never forget, along with a great espresso martini.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Private Floating Sauna Experience. This was incorrectly scheduled; I did not have a private experience, I was crammed into the sauna with 2 other couples and a family of 6. They were all friendly but none of us were terribly comfortable. Aside from the lack of space in a sweaty environment, the sauna felt great and jumping into the fjord a dozen times was insanely fun, especially being able to climb a ladder on top on the saune to jump/dive/canonball into the water.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced the Private Tour of Oslo's Highlights. Lisa was my tour guide and she was absolutely phenomenal! We started out our tour by going up above the city to a lovely viewpoint where you could see a panoramic view of Oslo, she described the various sections of the city from the far edges of wealth to the bustling city center mostly full of businesses vs residents, and the areas of homes and apartments just below us from our view that was filled with the majority of everyday contributors in the city and the nieghborhoods filled with a younger crowd of citizens who recently graduated from university and move back to Oslo. Next, we went to the Oslo City Hall where she shared the history of the Norwegian murals all along the inside of the City Hall auditorium. Some depicted the religious transition from Catholic to Lutheran while others showcased the start from farming and fishing up to the noble expansion of the land surrounding Oslo. She also shared information about Alfred Nobel and how the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony take place December 10th every year in Oslo. After City Hall, we tried to visit the Kvikness Art Museum but it is closed on Mondays, there is a special seat within the museum you can reserve to sit in that was once sat upon by the last German Emperor and King of Prussia, Kaiser Wilhelm. We instead headed to the Fram museum which was incredible! We passed by the Royals’ away home by the beach, and pulled up to the museum which is located in the wealthiest district of Oslo. The Fram museum is dedicated to Norwegian polar expedition and has several subsections in the museum dedicated to Viking sailing and Maritime revolutions from Norway. It holds 2 gigantic ships that you can go on and explore inside, as well as a fantastic 5-minute film, with headphones to translate the commentary into 10-different languages, that tells the story of how dog-sledding was invented and the 3 different Fram-ship expeditions that led to the northernmost exploration of the Arctic. After the Fram museum, Lisa brought me to the Olympic Ski Jump Centre which was enormous, truly a wonder of engineering - followed by a fantastic little Norwegian-Germanic hotel-like restaurant atop one of the nearby mountains. Our final activity before finishing the tour was exploring the The Vigeland Park, a city-sponsored park filled with work exclusively from the famous Gustav Vigeland - it was a cloudy day with sprinkling rain, the park is composed of a dark color palette, and it was practically empty of other visitors; the aesthetic provided a perfect experience for what Gustav would have wanted his visitors to see. Afterwards, Lisa dropped me off at the Munch museum to finish my day before dinner and sleep. I bought my ticket and entered - it was a beautiful museum filled with art from a very distressed man who expressed tremendous emotion in the most subtle ways. I made it upstairs just in time to see the Scream be revealed (it is unveiled for 3-minutes every hour). A must-do aside from seeing the Scream painting is to go to the top floor of the Munch museum - there is a rooftop restaurant and bar that overlooks the harbor and downtown Oslo.

I'm a kimkim staff member and I was on a work trip when I experienced A Norwegian Evening on the Fjord. The cruise really started boarding just before 6:30pm, so when I got there at 6:30pm, there was already a large line that had already started taking most of the seats along the sides of the boat (highly recommend claiming one of those side-seats, especially along the stern or a seat up top along the bow because they are all side-of-the-ship-seats). The boat workers were very funny and informative throughout the cruise about local island names and some history of the fjord. The Prawn dinner wasn’t bad, definitely gotta recommend travelers take advantage of the dill and lemon that come with it as they make the prawns delicious but it is fairly bland without the seasonings, you also literally pick apart a full shrimp/prawn from head to tail, so some travelers may be a little grossed out like a few people around me. Sunset was insanely beautiful along the fjord, the cruise had blankets and heat lamps all across the boat, and they played a lot of fun American tunes from the 80’s that had many passengers dancing.