Kadri Talvik

Key goal - see the Northern Lights, unfortunately we didn't see them as we had hoped with swirling shapes of color and only saw a weak light through our camera lens on 21 Oct 2024. Seems that we missed a great light show on the day we arrived in Tromso, 19 Oct but we didn't have anything scheduled that night. The rest of the trip had cloudy nights with poor sightings. Even though our goal had been the Northern Lights, Norway and it's people definitely made up for it with the country's beauty and the people's hospitality

The following are snapshot reviews by category to help future travelers, especially seniors like us

City Tours -
Private tours are very helpful to adjust endurance as needed. Our guide Lena in Oslo did that because the weather wasn't good for walking and we bought tram tickets to a location where she was able to show us non-touristy areas which is what we requested. There was some confusion with our guide in Bergen, itinerary listed Synnove and when I texted her to confirm, she said she wasn't scheduled but she did get back with us and told us Thomas would be our guide. He met us at our apt but was puzzled as to why we would start our 2 hr walking tour in the outskirts of town when he usually started them in city center. We ended up having to buy tram tickets to get to the city center where Thomas started the tour which of course was less than the two hours but Thomas was very good and actually stayed a little longer. If outskirt accommodations are scheduled, notify travelers and guide to have a plan for transportation and sights prior to starting the tour. Private city tour in Tromso was ample time

Scheduled Tours -
Nutshell Tour - our favorite. Due to the length of time to do it in one day, staying overnight in Flam was a great idea and we think you should recommend it to all travelers. As for the luggage transfer to the hotel in Bergen, the luggage transfer did work but the problem was it not being delivered on time at the Bergen Apt due to logistics issues.

Fjordsafari - 2 hr 15 min was too long for us, very cold and windy, would have preferred a one hour tour
Aegir Viking dinner - too bad we didn't catch it in time but neither of us drink beer, so the 5-course beer tasting with the sampler dinner could have been switched to just a traditional dinner but the atmoshpere made up for it

We had requested a longer stay at Voss but once we arrived we were too tired and found out that an earlier train could be taken by requesting it to the conductor on the earlier train. This would be a good note to advise travelers, that based on availability, they could move up their scheduled time

Hardangerford Express in Bergen - enjoyable relaxing cruise, limited eating and shopping locations during off season
Coastal Scenery Safari in Tromso - conflicting notes on where to meet, Radisson or "from Oct @ Bus Terminal Prostneset but this was resolved by checking with KimKim
Northern Lights Expedition in Tromso - 21 Oct, due to rain sat in mini van for over an hour before getting out to go to down to the fire and wait for the lights that didn't happen. The walk down the wet, slippery embankment was a challenge for these seniors but thanks to two wonderful helpful passengers, we were able to go down and back up to the mini van.

Aurora Husky Visit - still no Northern Lights, excellent staff and our favorite meal on the trip. Tour was listed as "Small Group" but it was actually a full bus with about 40 passengers

Private Transfers - all excellent and very helpful to these seniors

Hotels -
Oslo - Hotel Bondeheimen, good location for walking to key sites and public transportation
Flam - Flamsbrygga Hotel - good location
Bergen - Bjorvika Apartments - good accommodations but logistics to receive keys and not in city center was an issue
Tromso - Specialty Stay-Standard Apts - comfortable accommodations but hike up the hill from the reception area was another challenge to these seniors but we made it. Very friendly staff that helped us at check in with out luggage and offered great waffles between 5-7 pm
Alta - Glod Aurora Domes - interesting change to a typical hotel but not in city center and had to order dinner to be delivered from a restaurant because we arrived too late for their dinner. Our disappointment again was no Northern Lights but we felt this area had too many lights from the office area, to the adjoining buildings making it not very dark
to see the lights even without lights in our dome. We found out later that they offered off site Northern Light Expeditions, so maybe notify passengers of this option

Our disappointment of no Northern Lights continued after we left Norway and stopped off in Iceland for 7 days.....hard to believe, but again no Aurora Borealis..... maybe next time. Thanks to all the staff at KimKim for making this a wonderful trip and we'll certainly contact KimKim again once we decide where we want to go on our next adventure

Alicia & Gloria

Overall the planning process was very easy with the team I worked with. Very communicative along with the help line when I was on the trip was very easy to access.

As for the trip itself - I felt like there were things planned & told to us that were more kid friendly then they actually were. We were traveling with our 1.5 year old and we had multiple 6+ hour train rides which not only would have took most of the travel day but was really inconvenient for our family.
A few things we changed:
We ended up changing the trip ourselves and skipping one of the 6 hour train rides back to the main city and getting a flight from a different city that allowed us to only have 2 hours of travel instead of 7. And we got to see another city for a day/night.
We were booked on a hop on & off bus tour and it was us and a ton of older adults who were not happy to have a child along. We ended up getting off the bus half way through and doing our own thing.

I recommend if you have a young child you really ask the questions and do your research about travel times because they weren’t very accommodating.

Hotel Review

Scandic Byporten

Oslo

Staff and breakfast were great. Room was just verryyyyy small.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Right next to train station

Staff

Very nice easy check in!

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Panoramic Bus Trip

Oslo

The guide was okay - a bit stern. Was able to see some of the city

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

A little hard to find start point

Fjord Safari by RIB (Summer/Fall)

Flåm

My favorite thing we did on this trip! They were kid friendly and the tour guide was amazing!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

The guide (Anton) made the experience really great! He did an amazing job

Transport

Easy to find

We planned a 9 day trip to Norway and Copenhagen and worked with Kadri. It was such a pleasure working with Kadri, she had great ideas, worked to keep the trip within our budget and was always quick to reply. The interface on the KimKim app is one of the best we have worked with.
All of the arrangements made worked out well and our travel went smoothly. We enjoyed all of the experiences and excursions. The walking tour in Bergen was terrific, and Serena was one of the best guides we have met. The food tour in Oslo let us experience local foods we might not have otherwise tried. The trip from Oslo to Flam provided incredible scenery and the Flam railway was highlight. We enjoyed the sauna experience- being able to jump into the fjord and then back into the sauna was a truly memorable experience. Kayaking in the fjord, even in some rain, was one of the best parts of our trip. In Bergen, we were able to find a window of sunny weather which was the best time to ride the funicular. Our hygge tour in Copenhagen was relaxing and informative- Jackie did a good job and we enjoyed getting to know the other folks on our tour.
The transfers were mostly easy, but in copenhagen we decided to take a taxi to the airport because if we used public transport there would have been a lot of walking and transfers while carrying our luggage. The luggage transport service from Oslo to Bergen made that part of the trip much easier.
The hotel in Oslo was OK, but the hotel messed up our reservation for a double room. We appreciated that KimKim tried to help. The location of the hotel in Bergen was perfect- and it was a nice, but small room. The hotel in Copenhagen was our favorite for the trip. It is a bit outside the main attractions but easy to reach with public transit.

The RIB boat ride and goat cheese farm tour from Flåm was excellent, though our room at Fretheim hotel was very sub par and unfortunately KimKim was not able to do anything about it.

We loved everything about Lofoten Islands and especially the Reine Robeur hotel. We mainly did self guided hikes and ate really really well. Best part of the trip.

We also enjoyed Oslo and the Christiana Teatro hotel. I would not recommend the Hidden Gems tour…. Our guide brought along her 2 year old dog so the ‘tour’ was very much about keeping the dog under control the whole time.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Christiania Teater

Oslo

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Fretheim Hotel

Flåm

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Clarion Hotel Bergen

Bergen

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

HATTVIKA LODGE

Ballstad

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Reine Rorbuer

Reine

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Thon Hotel

Svolvær

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Hidden Gems City Walk

Oslo

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Kayaking in Reine

Reine

Kayak tour was suppose to be 2-6 people but 10 were on our trip. We spent a ton of time just getting everyone in kayaks and on water. Our guide did not know much about the area we were touring.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Summer Fjord Safari and Hike

Flåm

Our guide, Rose, was excellent and made the whole experience amazing

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Horsebackriding on Icelandic Horses in Lofoten

Norway

Horses were fun but our group was really big. They spent a lot of time asking about our experience with horses, only to walk them in a line for all but 6 minutes of the tour.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

We hired kimkim to book a last-minute trip to Norway, with about a month's notice. That's a tall order and we were very grateful to have someone else manage all the details that we couldn't have done ourselves in that short amount of time. Overall, they did well listening to our needs and offering suggestions, and Kadri was very patient explaining the options. The hotels were mostly wonderful. We loved The Bergen Bors Hotel - they have the best breakfast buffet (abundant and varied and high quality) of any European or American hotel I've ever stayed at, and the staff were exceptionally helpful with our questions. It was also perfectly located. The Brosundet Hotel in Alesund was in a great location but the rooms we stayed in (on the fifth floor) had deep, odd roof angles and we had to bend over when walking around the bed so as not to smash our heads on the sharp corners. Which happened anyway.

When we were in the planning phase, kimkim suggested a variety of different itineraries but did seem to stick to certain routes. For example, when we were booking activities in Bergen the cable car experience was recommended. Luckily, I had read various reviews online and it seemed to be the consensus that the funicular gave more bang for the buck - that is, it is much more convenient to find and has an equally stunning view. Not sure why kimkim still recommends the cable car but we were very happy to have asked them to book the funicular instead. There was also one mistake, where kimkim booked a sauna experience with several particulars promised, but those particulars were not at the sauna when we used it. kimkim was very responsive and refunded our money for that experience, which I very much appreciated, as it was quite a disappointing experience.

Some of our truly amazing experiences were activities that I had discovered through my own research, as opposed to some of the typical tourist suggestions offered by kimkim. In that sense, if I'd had the right amount of planning time I think I could have planned an equally good trip myself. On the other hand, they had great suggestions for hotels and some of the activities. You do pay a premium to use kimkim, but in our case, in the end it was worth it because of the time crunch.

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Union Øye

Norangsfjorden

Hotel Union Øye was fantastic and definitely my favorite part of the trip. This was one hotel I specifically requested, and it did not disappoint. The area was beautiful, and I wish we could have stayed there longer to explore more.

Hotel Brosundet

Ålesund

Our stay at Hotel Brosundet was our least favorite. We had two rooms, and both had strange slanted ceilings with awkward angles, making it hard to move around without hitting our heads. It was quite uncomfortable, especially considering the price. However, the location was great, and the service was fine

Bergen Børs Hotel

Bergen

The Bergen Børs Hotel had excellent service, and the staff were really helpful. The breakfasts there were amazing. However, the rooms were small, and there wasn't anywhere to put clothes, so we had to live out of our suitcases, which was a bit inconvenient. Despite that, I would go back because the staff made our stay pleasant, the breakfast and the location.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Easy access to everything.

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Storage for clothing

Kviknes Hotel

Balestrand

Quirky in a good way. Great location on the fjord.

Authenticity & Character

The old parts of the hotel are fun. Feels like you’ve gone back in time.

Location

On the fjord is fantastic. But not a lot to do in the town.

Staff

Competent front desk, but not overly helpful or friendly.

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Bergen: A Walk Through Past and Present

Bergen

Great guide with excellent information , vast historical knowledge and stories. Very worth it.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Didn’t use transport

Fløibanen

Bergen

Loved the funicular and plenty of places up top to hike. Wish we’d had more time to be able to do that.

Quality of Experience

Really fun, though crowded up top

Welcome to Hotel Union Øye

Norway

Fantastic hotel, super friendly and helpful staff. Food amazing, location phenomenal.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Nothing about the hotel, but there is a lot of windy roads get there

Boat trip with a local guide

Øye

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Floating sauna in Ålesund

Ålesund

We were booked for a sauna that had cool water barrels to dip into. Apparently there was a mixup and we were scheduled at the wrong sauna. Dirty harbor water, so no jumping in to cool off. On top of that, we learned that the hotel we were staying at had their own sauna which was free and we didn’t even need to book something separate. I sent an email to Kim Kim right away about our disappointment and they refunded all our money for that activity, which I really appreciated.

Quality of Experience

See above

Fjordcruise Ålesund - Geiranger (Return)

Norway

We ended up canceling this the day before due to seasickness, but kimkim would not refund our money..

Kadri did a great job planning and organizing our trip thru the southern fjords of norway. She picked excellent hotels and scenic spots and active activities to do. We did want to ride the Rallervegan (sp?) bike trail which ahe thought started near Voss but actually started about 100 kilometers from Voss so that part of the trip didnt work out unfortunately as where our bikes were reserved and where the trail started were not even close at all.
We also had a major medical problem as i slipped on some rocks mountain biking and broke my leg but Rofu helped us make some changes on our remaining itinerary and we were able to “limp” along the rest of our trip. A little more knowledge and understanding of more adventurous activities like Via Ferratas and paragliding and hiking would have been helpful not to mention the Extreme sports festival in Vass in june would have been great to know about in advance.
Also a heads up to the Parking laws and heavy fines for violations and even minor speeding Violations would have been good as well.
Other than those issues we had a great trip and appreciate kimkims services
We’ll definitely use them again and recommend them to others

The selected Hotels were incredible - all of them. They were all at good locations, easy to walk to and from train, bus, ferry locations and easy to walk to other arranged excursions and centrally located near other attractions, restaurants and transportation, Thank you for considering my interests.

The arranged excursions were appropriate for each of the cities where I stayed.

Of particular note was the Sanden Pensonjat in Laerdal. The room was very nice, the host was very gracious, the breakfast was great and the quiet location was only 75 m from the bus stop. The small town did not have many amenities but was very enjoyable and suitable for overnight.

Also, to note, the taxi from the Ferry Terminal outside Stavanger was very expensive ($689 NOK), but it was appropriate for me since I was tired from the ferry and it was raining. There was a public bus that most travelers took to the city but it left later and only went as far at the bus terminal, so I would have had to walk in the rain or take a taxi to the hotel, So, your itinerary suggested the taxi from the Ferry Terminal to the hotel and that was the right choice for me, Thanks

Also, to note, The weather in Tromso was cold. I was prepared because I checked the weather conditions and brought warm clothes and rain gear (I have travelled the Canadian North!). I know the weather is not your responsibility but a advance notice of possible weather might be helpful to other travelers.

Thanks for everything, I am already planning another trip with KimKim

Adele

Hotel Reviews

Hotel Christiania Teater

Oslo

Very good location, permitted early check in, friendly and helpful staff. Rooms a bit small.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Good bedding

Scandic Ishavshotel

Tromsø

Great room with large windows and overlooking harbour

Authenticity & Character

Interesting architecture

Location

Close to everything, easy to walk everywhere - even to the bus stop to catch the bus to the cable car

Staff

Helpful, allowed early check in

Cleanliness & Comfort

Large room, comfortable bed

SANDEN PENSJONAT

Lærdal

Very gracious host met me on my way from the bus station and showed me to my room in the Pensjonat,. The bus station was about 75 m from the Pensjonat. The breakfast was superb. The restaurant suggestion for dinner was great. The room was nicely decorated and the bedding was wonderful.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Near the bus station, near restaurants, near local walking trails

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Scandic Stavanger City

Stavanger

Authenticity & Character

Location

close to city attractions

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Norge by Scandic

Bergen

Room with lots of natural light

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Front desk staff were helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Oslofjord Sightseeing Cruise

Oslo

Easy to find starting point, good alternatives for weather. It was raining during some parts of the trip and there were locations on board to sit out of the rain, or to sit in the sun and out of the wind,

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Mostraumen Cruise

Bergen

|This trip was very very crowded and by the time I boarded there was very limited seating. There was some confusion about a second boat that I was waiting for but a the last minute it did not go and every one had to board the first boat.Ge

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Midnight sun cruise

Tromsø

Very very good, even though it was raining and there was no sun.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Very friendly and helpful and knowledgable

Transport

Visit to Polaria Aquarium

Tromsø

Good information local sea life

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Tromsø Cable Car

Tromsø

Dress warm

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport