Kimkim Trip Reviews for Norway

I consider that one of my luckiest "finds" to be when I ran across a personal travel posting that mentioned kimkim. I had already spent many unsuccessful & frustrating hours on my computer trying to plan a week long trip to Norway with our son, daughter-in-law, 6 yr old grandson and 2 year old granddaughter. It had become abundantly clear that I was out of my depth. Linda answered my initial inquiry at kimkim and we began planning an agenda that included the areas we wanted to see, bolstered by what sites and activities she recommended in each of those areas. Through efficient and prompt emailing, she helped build a travel schedule with the 6 yr and 2 yr children in mind. At no time, however, did I feel that she was pushing us in any particular direction. She was happy to adjust, consider, re-arrange, explain why something might not work, suggest alternatives --- all with the goal of reaching an agenda that met our varied personal needs. Once the final agenda was set, I was SO impressed when everything we needed was emailed to us about 2 weeks before departure: a very detailed trip agenda; hotel reservations; pre-paid train & ferry tickets; timed taxi reservations; individual maps to use once we arrived at each destination; pre-paid entrance tickets to Viking Valley; names of guides, their contact information, time & place to meet; even a dinner reservation at a popular restaurant -- plus her contact number if we needed anything during the trip. In addition, she double-checked each reservation right before we arrived. I realized how carefully we were being "shadowed" during the trip when I received an email from Linda, just "checking in" to see how we were doing, and a text another day advising me that a guide had become ill, and giving me the name & contact information of the new guide. That was when I clearly realized the most valuable difference in kimkim and the "brick & mortar" travel agencies I have used in past years: a travel agency here in the U.S. would have been finished with us once we paid, and certainly once we had departed on the trip. Linda and our guides (Matilda & Vilde --- both delightful, by the way) were there for us throughout the trip. We knew intuitively that we could count on Linda and her colleagues to help us in any situation that might arise, or even to just answer a question.

I consider myself a walking kimkim advertisement now. I am spreading the word to everyone I know, as this business model offers a level of excellence & stress-free travel that is completely unique in today's world of limited, impersonal customer service. Thank you, Linda! We LOVED your gorgeous Norway! We hope to use kimkim again!

Norway - Road trip scenic landscape (17 days)

This was my first trip booking through KimKim. Our local agent in Norway (Linda) was fantastic! She did a great job fitting in all our requests of things we wanted to see while in Norway as well as including destinations that were "must sees" for our time in this beautiful country! The hotels were terrific (safe, clean, in nice central locations) and our guides for Oslo and Bergen were fun, knowledgeable, and personable. Linda was also very responsive to any questions we had while we were on our trip. The price we paid for this service was well worth the money given the time it saved us in researching recommended places to visit as well as to book hotels and transportation. I highly recommend using KimKim and plan to use them again for our next overseas trip!

Kimkim was easy to use and my agent, Fridur, was fantastic. Super easy to work with and planned a trip that was spot on what I wanted. Everything was communicated clearly. All the places he chose were excellent. Top notch hotels, great local tours, wonderful all around.

The help we received made the trip perfect fir us. We had a few snafus along the way but they managed them through with us. The private tour we had in Oslo was great, the one in Bergen not as knowledgeable. Could have had some more knowledge on how to get on and off the cruise on check in times for luggage when we need to be out of cabin.

More guidance on good side of the bus for views, more detail on how the nutshell bus works. That sort of thing.

We were disappointed with the service from Kim Kim. The Nærøyfjord fjord itinerary that Ingrid chose for us routed us through the same fjord three times: Flam to Balestrand, then Balestrand to Flam, and then the first hour of the Nærøyfjord “tour” was through the same area for the third time. You called it a tour, but it wasn’t: there was no commentary or information given during the Nærøyfjord trip. On the Norled boats between Flam and Balestrand, there were announcements about towns we were passing, and they steered the boat close to various waterfalls along the way so we could get a view. On the Nærøyfjord boat there was nothing like that- we just passed scenery we had already seen (twice), then went around the corner, then got dropped off.

Then came the stop in Gudvangen. In the itinerary it says, “Map of bus stop will be provided,” but you did not provide a map. The instructions said to catch the NX450 bus and pay the driver. There was a sign near the boat dock that said “public buses,” but a man in the ticket office said we needed to go to the main road. In the pouring rain, I went to the bus stop on the street, but it didn’t have the Skyss logo or the NX450 schedule on it, so I walked back to the dock area. Worried that we would miss the bus on the main road if it came by, we took our bags to the road, in the rain. Then the bus came, and many people had advance tickets and got on (why didn’t you book us advance tickets?). The bus driver told us the bus was full, so we dragged our bags back to the dock area- still in the rain- and waited there. The next bus came well before its departure time, so we were able to talk to the driver. We finally knew for certain when we would be leaving, so we could relax and have some dinner.

When I mentioned this to Ingrid, she said, "I was honestly not aware that there would be a chance that it would be fully booked on the bus. " Of course there's a chance: if enough people show up.

The whole reason we booked through your service was because we didn’t want to book things ourselves and end up standing in the rain, not knowing where to go next. And yet, that’s exactly where we found ourselves, after paying Kim Kim a large sum of money. It was frustrating to go through that, when it could have been avoided through advance bus tickets or putting us on different transport.

We have a note for you regarding the Gone Paddling tour in Balestrand, as well. The weather was predicted to be rainy and cold the morning of our kayaking trip, and I called them about switching to their 3pm tour, but it wasn’t running that day. We went ahead and took the morning tour, and Gone Paddling had dry suits for protection against the rain. However, they didn’t offer any sort of gloves or headwear, like a hat or hood. You didn’t mention that we should bring a hood and gloves, and neither does their website. The dry suit kept us dry at first, but as we continued paddling in the rain, my wife in particular got very cold and needed to return to shore. I recommend mentioning to future clients that they need to bring their own gear in case of rain, besides the dry suit, and we’ve mentioned it to Gone Paddling, too.

Overall, we booked with you to make the logistics of our trip go smoothly. In the end, there were more bumps than we expected.

Our trip to the Norwegian Fjords was wonderful.
Until Oslo, our hotels were owned and staffed by local people who provided excellent and friendly service. Our rooms were all different, a good size, clean and colourful with interesting art works on the walls. Our rooms at the Augustin in Bergen and the Kviknes in Balestrand also had lovely views. All hotels were well sited for making the local area easy to explore. In Oslo, the Scandic Byporten was well sited but our room was very noisy all night and the hotel was a little grubby.
Our 2 guides, John in Bergen and Yunelene? [that will not be the spelling of her name!] in Fjaerland for the Mundal Valley hike were a highlight for us. They were each knowledgeable about their area and shared their knowledge and something of themselves as we walked these 2 very different places together.
Balestrand and Fjaerland were our favourite places to be. The scenery, the friendliness of the people and the peacefulness made it such a special time. When we arrived from there to Flam with its rushing crowds of people we were reminded of how lucky we had been to stay in Balestrand.

After clarifying our travel dates, which were for this year and a late booking, Ivan made it all work! We were especially delighted with our stay at the Kviknes Hotel in Balstrand! The demi-suite had a superb view of the fjord; comfortable room and lovely balcony.
The 4 course dinner was served to perfection; the lamb was prepared just right; the entire dinner was beyond what we had expected from a large hotel. Our compliments to the entire establishment of the Kviknes. Personnel are polite, professional and welcoming.
Thank you Ivan for your work in making our short stay in Norway so enjoyable. The transfers in Oslo and Bergen were enjoyed, thanks to the personable drivers.
Job well done. We appreciate it!

This trip was absolutely magical! Ingrid listened to our interests and constructed a trip that allowed us to see a good spectrum of Norway and participate in activities we enjoyed. Ingrid is a great communicator and answered all questions in a timely and straightforward manner. She also gave us suggestions on places to consider for meals and activities during our free time in Norway. We felt like we had a good balance of free time and activities during our vacation. We could not be more pleased with our KimKim experience!

Booking our trip with KimKim was a breeze. André and Ingrid from the Ethical Travel team were extremely responsive and helpful with questions we had as we prepared for our trip. The itinerary they created for us was great and we thoroughly enjoyed the trip and Norway in general.

They also provided many great recommendations and options of what to do or see in each location, which we really appreciated. They helped take the hassle out of figuring out the best route, hotels to stay at things to see, etc.

Overall a positive experience with the team and reccomend to others.

Incredibly, 5 months have passed since our trip to Norway and we still haven´t entered our review.
Maybe unconsciously we don't want to end it! But the truth is we´ve been talking about Norway and remembering it since we´ve arrived. 

It was a trip of a lifetime, so good that we´ve made a promise to go back, in summer to see the country's other season and in winter again because we truly loved it. 

The knowledge and understanding kimkim, and our local specialist Linda, provided along the way was invaluable and made the experience of planning the trip a wonderful thing. Since the beginning, Linda understood what we were looking for and most important she understood the way we like to travel. The going back and forward between the three of us with ideas and suggestions made the trip feel very much like our creation. It was a tailored made trip done by us, it was very special.

We arrived in Bodø then traveled to Lofoten, drove to Andenes, sailed to Tromsø and finally, we flew to the wild and fantastic Svalbard. We did see the Northen lights, the reason of our trip (5 times in 14 days), but it was much more than that. The road trip through the Islands, kayaking, horseback riding on the beaches, the snowmobile adventure in Svalbard, everything was memorable.

Thank you kimkim! Thank you Linda!

Rita and Eche

We can't thank Vilde enough for her great work on pretty short notice. She arranged the perfect trip starting in Bergen, migrating to the heart of the fjords/Balestrand, and wrapping up in Oslo at the perfect hotel for our last day. Some highlights include our fun and fantastic tour of Bergen, our ferry rides to Balestrand and Flam, our scenic hotel just outside Balestrand in Dragsvik, and our Flamsbana train ride.

We really wished we would’ve gotten to see what we thought we were going to see. On our itinerary, it showed pictures of beautiful places, but that was not what we got to see. One place in particular was over an hour away from where we were, but we were led to believe that is what we would see in the town we were staying in. We also were told that one of our train rides would go through waterfalls, which it did not. All of our accommodations were great.

Thank you for everything Linda! We had the best experience working with Linda and she arranged our trip so well. The communication throughout the planning process was very clear, punctual and helpful. Linda checked in with us prior to the trip, sending weather, maps, any last minute changes and made sure we were all set. The planning on her end was awesome!

We loved our tour with Stig, he was super informative about Oslo, Norway, Norwegian history and we had such a great time walking along the river.

Our road trip was very successful, even with our two year old! :-) Our favorite fjord town was Fjaerland. It was so quiet and peaceful and the Fjærland Fjordstove Hotel was beautiful (and the food was incredible!!) We had a beautiful hike with Karianne.

The Loen Sky lift was also a wonderful time. It was so beautiful up at the top and we enjoyed hiking and having lunch in the gorgeous restaurant, the view is insane!

The drive along Gaularfjellet Scenic Road should not be missed! It was truly an epic drive. The fjords are other worldly, magical and we felt so lucky to be able to experience this adventure.

We enjoyed Bergen very much as well. Hotel Norge is a beautiful hotel! Our guide in Bergen was Snorre. He was a lot of fun, very informative and chill, which was much appreciated at the end of our 9 day trip.

We very much enjoyed the time with all of our guides.

All of the logistics worked out very well, the car rental, the ferries, the hotels...everything was very seamless and the many transitions easy.

Thank you again for everything! Thank you Linda, thank you Ethical Travel and KimKim.

Although the trip was enjoyable overall -- and Ingrid was fabulous -- there are several areas in which improvements could be made. First, I would provide more detailed traveler information. Such as for arrival at Oslo airport, include instructions for how to pay for and get on the Airport express train. Detailed instructions are important for first-time visitors. Then, upon arrival at the Central Train Station in Oslo, include instructions such as "look for exit marked "[fill in name of street]" and then look for the green hotel with Egon restaurant at street level. That would have made it easier for us to locate the hotel. And for arrival in Bergen, include instructions such as "do not take the pedestrian street to get to your hotel because of the cobblestones; instead, take the following walking route (and fill in the details with street names, directions, etc.)." In terms of guides, Stig (in Oslo) was good but not great. He was just not personable enough, and he did not seem to be enjoying showing off his city. On the other hand, Ingrid's walking tour of Bergen was the highlight of our trip. She was animated and her enthusiasm was palpable. She was, in short, fabulous. And Ingrid was very, very helpful in arranging for room changes in our hotels in both Oslo and Bergen. I know the hot weather was not anyone's fault, but when I expressed concern months ago about whether there was air conditioning in the hotels that were booked for us in Oslo and Bergen, you should have given us hotel options (such as the Opus hotel right next door in Bergen) that did have air conditioning. The lack of air conditioning in all of our Norway hotels detracted significantly from our enjoyment of the trip.

Managed to arrange a fantastic short hiking trip on pretty short notice (only about three weeks). We didn't know much about Norway and were busy with work, but Vilde's suggested trip worked out great!

All we had to do was follow the trace of the DNT red T rocks, love the scenes and get to the next hut in time. Thanks!

We had an amazing trip thanks to Vilde. The for day hiking trip was not something we could have planned on our own (unless we did a LOT more research) and it was exactly what I was looking for!

Vilde was super responsive throughout the trip and helped us make changes along the way. It would have been even more perfect if she had suggested DMT membership for discounts and packing a thermos for teas during the hikes :-)

We met up with 2 guides Stig in Oslo and Ingrid in Bergen. We thoroughly enjoyed there company and both took us to places we would not have seen otherwise. Ingrid also arranged our itinerary which was amazing. We did give her some feedback which she has taken on board. We were very fortunate the weather was kind to us bar a couple of days which drizzled but that did not deter us. We were pleasantly surprised with the Hurtigruten and the fit out and food and Artic superior room were really nice. We had a variety of things to do and we really enjoyed all of them. I would highly recommend you arrange your Norway trip with Ingrid she was great.

Andre did a great job helping me coordinate logistics. Vilde and John were great hiking and walking guides in Bergen. Really enjoyed the entire trip and experience. Will work through KimKim again on future trips.

Fridur put together a great trip for us from start to finish. She was always accommodating to us before our trip and even during our trip. She was also able to help us on our extended trip to Iceland as well. We would definitely use Kimkim and Fridur again on our next trip back.

Ingrid was fantastic and helped us each step of the way. Highly recommend Kim Kim. Fast response times, good eateries were recommended and good hotels!!