NORD DMC

Contrary to previous experiences with KimKim, this trip was full of missed details and frustrating, last minute, expensive scrambles for transfers. It was very different from my previous trip to Turkey, where everything was impeccably planned and the communication was flawless. On the bright side, Norway was beautiful and the people were lovely and so kind. It’s just a shame that the overall quality of the trip was diminished by the poor planning and communication.

This was our third trip using Kim Kim, and generally speaking we have always received outstanding service, which was why working with Maria was so shockingly disappointing. From the start, Maria was not responsive to our requests and there were an alarming amount of details there were not addressed. For example, in previous trips, all of our transfers were scheduled and included as part of our package, where as with this trip, no transfers had been set up and no transfers were included as part of the package - something we did not realize until late in the planning process. One of the reasons we use Kim Kim is because of the seamlessness and peace of mind knowing that all of the details have been taken care of. When we inquired about one of the major transfers in our trip, Maria suggested we rent a car, at a huge additional expense, which would have been a 9 hour drive, through mountainous, winter conditions. I find this to be ludicrous for a travel expert to suggest. Due to the last minute planning of these details, we ended up having to take 3 flights to reach our destination. At one point during our trip, we had inquired about canceling an excursion. Our local guides never checked in to ask why we wanted to cancel or if there was something going on that we needed help with. It turns out the excursion ended up being canceled by the tour company (who ended up contacting us directly) and it took Kim Kim more than 3 hours to inform us of this cancellation. Before, during, and after our trip, Maria never reached out once to check in and see how things were going. Again, this has not been our previous experience with Kim Kim. The draw of using Kim Kim, who uses local experts, would imply useful information and tips for the areas and destination, and that was completely absent in this trip. For example, that it was recommended we walk from the train station to our hotel in downtown Oslo rather than being over charged by a local Taxi driver. I can go on and on. Additionally, we had an issue with checking into one of the hotels where the clerk had questions about charging the credit card on file. We tried to reach out to Kim Kim and the emergency line and could not get through. On the bright side, we loved Norway as a destination. The excursions were fantastic and fun. We had requested to stay at Sorrisniva, the Holman Husky Lodge, as well as take the Havila Capilla and they certainly did not disappoint, We would highly recommend each of these stays/experiences. The dog sledding with Trasti & Trine, was a particular highlight and an amazing experience. All in all, despite the unexpected challenges working with Maria presented, we loved our time in Norway, and found the local people to be friendly and kind. Sadly, if this had been my first and only experience with Kim Kim, I probably would never use this company again, as in this case, there was no added value.

Hotel Reviews

Sorrisniva Arctic Wilderness Lodge

Alta

Simply amazing hotel! Everything about our experience exceeding our expectations.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Holmen Husky Lodge

Alta

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Scandic Kirkenes

Kirkenes

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

King Crab Safari from Kirkenes during Winter

Kirkenes

This was the most disappointing excursion we experienced on our trip. Not necessarily the fault of the tour company. The weather was too warm, and the ice was not frozen enough for us to actually get to experience the king crab fishing ourselves. We had to stand at a far off distance, while the staff went and picked up the king crabs. Of course, we still enjoyed a lovely dinner of the fresh crabs.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Dogsledding Day Trip

Alta

This was the most amazing experience of our entire trip. The dogsledding was such an authentic experience. The owners of the company took us out themselves and we had such an enjoyable conversation with them about their own 'professional' competitive experiences dogsledding. Truly amazing. We would do this again in a heart beat. Highly recommend. To top it off, the owners are a Michelin Star chef and provide lunch of the trip. They have their own restaurant and bar on site. Amazing.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

My trip was to Norway from the US. I was completely overwhelmed with work when I decided to try out Kim Kim as a worry free option to book my travel. When I received my itinerary and paid, I was still overwhelmed and basically just accepted all the pieces. It was not exactly what I had in mind when I mentioned I was pretty active and enjoyed outdoor activities and animals, but it was an intriguing itinerary so I went with it. As I got closer I realized some of the activities were impossible to get to due to flight timing. I was able to cancel one activity. I also looked up the rooms they booked me. Given how much I paid, I assumed I would be in great rooms. They were closets. I paid more to get some of them upgraded. As the days got closer I realized all the bookings were pretty standard activities that everyone does. So I started collecting the prices and the hotel room prices. I paid about twice what the cost of the activities and hotels would have been. And there was no "local flair" in anything.
I did enjoy the activities and the company was responsive as weather cancelled several activities and I was able to get some refunds. I realized 4 days in advance that no train was early enough to get me to the airport from my booked hotel and asked about canceling the room. I was told by the local company this should be fine and re-booked in a hotel closer to the airport, but when I asked about a refund I was advised that it was too short notice. So, there was some disconnect either within the local company or between them and Kimkim.
I would overall not recommend Kimkim unless you are okay with paying way above standard travel agent fees (typically 10-15%). The activities booked were all enjoyable, but I really could have booked it all myself and would not have had any trouble getting any of them even after I arrived.

Mar and the entire Kim Kim team made our trip fantastic. We really appreciated the real time help when we had travel hiccups to help us find solutions (or reservations). The plan she set out for us made logical sense and we also got to maximize our time and see the best of Norway in the winter. LOVED the Flam train ride and all the activities in Flam. Mar and her team were very approachable with any and all questions and also very responsive. The only complaint would be that sometimes our taxi's did not accommodate our travel party and luggage, but we were able to work around this. I want to go back!