Well planned family holiday to Norway
Norway
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Jul 4 - Jul 12, 2022
We had been looking for some time to do a family trip to Norway in the summer but didn't have the time to do all the detailed planning that we would historically have done. We are a family of four with children ages 11 and 9.
We had a rough idea as to the places we wanted to visit (Bergen, Lofoten Islands, Tromso, and Oslo).
After a few, but not too many, iterations Meree was able to construct an itinerary that worked. She sorted out a reasonable sequence of destinations, hotels that met our requirements, activities we wanted to do, and a logistics plan to get to/from each place. She booked activities that required advance reservation but otherwise left our days open to spending how we wanted while giving well-curated short lists of ideas for each day. After completing the visit and seeing the alternatives, we were comfortable that she had done a good job optimizing our experience while giving us the freedom to do some unexpected things. While it rained (as explained in advance to be likely), we dressed for it and the weather was pleasant for us. The scenery was spectacular - almost better than we thought we would experience.
The fish was fresh and excellent everywhere we went. However one of our group was a child and a vegetarian. While we were never in want of food, this limited our restaurant choices to a narrower subset of what was available as restaurants are considerably less flexible than in other countries on these dimensions. Also, it was generally easy to get same-day restaurant reservations in each location except Svolvaer (including the hotel where we were staying which was 'sold out' for dinner). If we had known that, we would have reserved there the day before, but we didn't know. In retrospect, a short list of restaurants in each city and a heads up that day before reservations are needed in Svolvar would have been appreciated.
Our highlights included the ferry to rosendal castle/fjord, sea eagle rib boat trip, the whale watching boat trip, driving and hiking in the Lofoten Islands, live glass blowing in the Lofoten Islands, hiking at the top of the cable car in Tromso including summer snowfight, and numerous well-designed kid-friendly educational museums in every city we visited.
Logistically we had one issue relating to confusion around a pre-payment for a hotel which was resolved shortly after being flagged. Otherwise, we really didn't need to avail of any live support from the team during the trip.
Hotel Reviews
Reasonable location. Reasonable rooms. Reasonable option. Modest walk to the ferry and/or the whale watching experiences. Ample parking. Nothing fancy. Helpful staff.
Great location. Nice rooms. Friendly staff. Good breakfast. Could benefit from a bit more TLC on room maintenance.
The hotel was well situated in a nice part of town. Much of what you would want to do is very nearby in walking distance. The rooms are nicely designed, well maintained but cozy. It is best to plan your day outside of the room as opposed to in the room. The lobby was tight with limited seating, normally occupied by guests. The restaurants are excellent and the ground floor restaurant has a very special high ceiling and uniquely designed layout which is really special. We did have one observation around the front desk staff.: some were familiar with the town and had helpful suggestions, whereas others were not and relied on google.
Bang in the center of the port and center of town. Great location. Helpful staff. We had a corner room with a truly amazing view of the harbor - it was the highlight of the hotel experience. During our stay, it was intermittently frequented by large tour groups so the restaurant can oscillate between a ghost town and being jam-packed without any availability - best to reserve the day before. The hotel does have a limited number of parking spots in an indoor garage, bet to arrange in advance if you need it.
Activity Reviews
One of the top 3 experiences for our kids on this trip. It did rain during the experience. We all managed through it and the gear was set up for it, but not for those who don't want that. The boat driver was excellent in engaging with the kids through use of often personal stories at various stopping points. The views were spectacular. While the sea eagles were nice, the rest of the nature was interesting.
The ferry ride had nice views and was pleasant and smooth. The walk around town was interesting. We went to the old castle and enjoyed the house tour. The lunch starts about 30 min later than ideal if you want to take the later ferry back and have time for a bit more in town. The rock garden was worth a visit due to its novelty value.
We are glad we did it. It was sunny. The waves were reportedly modest. The museum tour was a helpful build-up. The boat was well organized. They give each speech in three languages which is helpful if you speak one of those languages,. They tried for more, but in the end, we saw killer whales and none of the rarer finds. We made the most of it and enjoyed it nevertheless.