10-day trip in Norway
Norway
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Jul 3 - Jul 12, 2024
Kristiina was very responsive and helped put a trip together that worked well for our family. The emergency support contact while we were in Norway was also extremely responsive and helpful. The tour guide we were connected with in Bergen was also super helpful and provided all sorts of helpful information about restaurants and places to avoid.
Overall the trip was good and kimkim did a fine job making planning a 10 day trip super easy. There are some items we would have done differently and a couple of misses, but hind-sight is 20/20. We had an issue with some of our tickets not downloading properly (expired link), but they were able to solve it quickly on the fly by sending us the needed documents via Whatsapp.
I'm not sure we would say we got the "insider's" guide to Norway and no real spots off the beaten path, but we had a good time and it was incredibly beautiful. Quick review of hotels we stayed at: Hotel Bondheim in Oslo was mixed--one room we had was very nice and the other was quite dumpy. Scandic Torget in Bergen is probably nice if you have a view of the water, but we didn't and the rooms were pretty small. Great breakfast though. Very busy part of town, which is good and bad. Kringsjå Hotel in Balestrand was our favorite. Not super nice rooms, but had great balconies off the rooms, great views, and an extensive lounge area and game area that was awesome for our kid. Also not crowded at all. Finally, the hotel manager there is the nicest man ever.
Hotel Reviews
One room is very nice and the other was quite dumpy. Very small elevators, but somewhat typical for Norway.
In a very busy part of town--could be loud depending on which direction you are facing. Hotel layout is a bit unusual (historic building) and some rooms are quite small. Breakfast room was impressive!
Decor hasn't been updated in a while, but charming hotel nevertheless. Hotel manager was amazing.
Activity Reviews
This was a great activity, especially with kids. Lots of awesome playgrounds at the top and hiking trails. Really cool spot.
We would have appreciated less driving and more walking while at each site. We spent most of the day in the car, which seemed like too much given all the prior travel we had just done. It turned out to be okay because it was raining most of the day and being in the car was probably better than being outside, but still too much car time. Our guide Arne was really top notch though and very engaging, particularly with our kid, which helped keep her engaged in the trip. The gondola ride was cool and the food at the top was quite good. Maybe would have been better if the weather were nicer and we could have hiked around at the top, but mostly felt like we were being shuttled from spot to spot.
This was a very nice tour and the folks running it were knowledgeable and very nice. I thought I read that we were supposed to bring layers for this tour, but they provided a whole insulated waterproof suit to wear--so all those layers I brought were not needed. My 6-year old was scared by the suits and the prospect of going really fast, so she and my wife had to bail. I'd suggest 8 years old may be the min age you might want to consider taking on this trip, depending on how adventurous your kid is. The boats go 40-50 mph and the water was pretty choppy on the day we went, so a fair amount of bumps, but nothing crazy. The seats are tall and her feet would not have touched the ground, which would have been okay, just adds a bit to the uncertainty factor. Some 6-year olds would probably have a blast--but not for all.
Loved the tour, but food was pretty mediocre and drinks were quite expensive.
Amazing tour, but a lot to fit into one day, particularly for younger kids.