Linda Veråsdal

Linda did a great job planning our trip. She was always very responsive and was able to address all issues. If we do this again, we will certainly ask for her.

Activity Review

Fjordcruise on Nærøyfjord Gudvangen | Bus and Train to Bergen

Norway

Were able to show the grandchildren the beauty of Norway.

Quality of Experience

Transport

Our local specialist, Linda, did an amazing job with our constant changes. She stayed positive and made sure we had the correct bookings on correct dates for each traveler.

We and our children and grandchildren just returned from a fabulous 11-day trip to Bergen and the Western Fjords. Our travel specialist, Linda Verasdal, did an impeccable job of crafting the perfect itinerary tailored to our interests and needs. What memories we made!

We started and ended our trip in Bergen. Must-do’s: Take a walking tour of the harbor area with a local guide to learn about historic Bryggen and tour its colorful, ancient wooden buildings; ride the funicular up Mt. Floyen for amazing views of the city, harbor, and surrounding mountains; then, hike back down to town. Take the light rail to visit an impressive stave church. Eat dockside at Fish Me or lunch as we did at Egon.

We then traveled into the Hardangerfjord region via private transport, stopping at the Jondal ski resort where we snowshoed up to the glacier! Exhilarating!

As we toured the fjord region, we spent two nights in each of these small villages: Lofhus, Ulvik, and Flam/Aurland. Highlights and faves: taking scenic cruises on the fjords on while counting the numerous waterfalls (!!) and taking in the breathtaking beauty, tasting the local apple cider at farms where the trees were in full bloom, kayaking, hiking, getting our thrill on a wild rib boat safari, and taking walking tours with local guides who told us about the area.

In the tiny town of Gudvangen, we took a private tour of the authentically reproduced Viking village of Njardarheimr where our excellent guide Cory debunked the myths and explained what life was really like in the Viking era. Craftspeople demonstrated traditional trades. Faves: trying archery and axe-throwing, meeting the Chieftain of the village, and being introduced to the ancient chess-like board game Hnefatafl. (No, we can't pronounce it!)

After a relaxing cruise on the beautiful Naeroyfjord to Flam, we feasted on the Viking Plank Dinner of local ingredients and brews at the Aegir Brewpub.

We finished our trip with two wonderful days in modern cabins right on the fjord in tiny Aurland. Lastly, we took the famed Flamsbana railway from the bottom of the Aurlandsfjord to the mountains in Myrdal, stopping midway at the powerful Kjosfossen waterfall.

What an experience!

Hotel Reviews

Vangsgaarden Gjestgiveri

Aurland

We stayed in the cabins with decks overlooking the fjord where we soaked in the peace and quiet as we took in the gorgeous views in all directions. We also very much enjoyed dining at the gastropub at this hotel.

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hotel Ullensvang

Lofthus Hardanger

We requested rooms facing the fjord and were glad we did. The rooms were spacious and updated. The hotel itself is large and offers many amenities including multiple pools, historic buildings, a dock with seating, a large restaurant, and a bar downstairs for after dinner .

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Grand Hotel Terminus

Bergen

Hotel Terminus is ideally located opposite the train station, making it easy to catch a train to the airport. The hotel is a renovated older building, but could use more refurbishment. The breakfast served at the hotel restaurant is excellent, however, the lack of a consistently open evening restaurant was a minor inconvenience. However, the location is very walkable, being a few blocks from downtown Bergen.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Brakanes Hotel

Ulvik

Brakanes Hotel was a good experience. The location is absolutely stunning, with cabins right on the fjord. Despite undergoing an ownership change, the hotel remains a great place to stay.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Reviews

Blue Glacier Hike in Jondal

Norway

Great experience with guide Wilde who was very friendly, accommodating, and attentive to each person's needs in our group with a wide age range.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Bergen Walking Tour With a Local Guide

Bergen

Ana gave us a full tour of downtown Bergen and the Bryggen area. She provided extensive information about the history of the area and offered suggestions for restaurants and shopping.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

RIB Fjord Safari

Norway

Driver Richard was great! He had a good sense of humor and gave our grandsons a thrilling ride in the speedy rib boat while not overdoing it. Loved it when he spun a yarn about how getting we in a waterfall with give you a longer life and then nudging the boat up to a waterfall at the fjord's edge so our grandsons could catch the spray! Only time will tell on the veracity of his yarn...

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Guided kayak in Ulvik

Ulvik

Our guide Christophe was genial and attentive to the widely varying abilities of our group. (Yes, I did bring up the rear!) He took us all across the bay at the end of the fjord where Ulvik is situated and then across the fjord. We stopped on an island where Christophe demonstrated how to start a fire using a rustic flint knife and a steel. Our grandsons were thrilled when he helped each of them to start a fire of birch bark and scraped tinder bits. He then made a fire on a portable grill and brewed us tea and coffee! Great experience!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Fjordcruise on UNESCO Nærøyfjord

Norway

This was a leisurely tour of Naeroyfjord after our tour of Viking Village in Gudvangen and ending in Flam. Beautiful scenery and ore waterfalls!

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Private Experience in Undredal

Norway

Louis, our guide, picked us up in a shuttle van and took us around the end of the fjord in Flam to Undredal on the other side. He took us on a walking tour of the tiny town while he explained the history of the area. We then visited the tiny stave church in town, which was an inspiration for the Disney movie Frozen. We admired the ancient painting on the wooden staves and ceiling inside the church and marveled at the two drawings dating from the Viking era, which were carved into small squares on the walls. We lunched on goat at a restaurant fjord-side where we tasted various kinds of goat cheese. The whole valley is famous for its goat herds and the cheesemaking.

Quality of Experience

Food

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Visit Osafjellet and the Tunnel

Ulvik

The visit to Osafjellet and the Tunnel was interesting, but the guide spent too long on a PowerPoint presentation at the beginning, which was a bit dry. The tunnels themselves were fascinating, but the uneven, wet footing was a challenge, and the lack of provided lighting made it potentially dangerous. The overall experience was okay, but some aspects could have been better planned

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

Explore a Cider Farm in Hardanger

Ulvik

The cider farm tour was a great experience, but there were some issues with communication regarding the amount of walking involved. The tour included a lot of walking, which was a challenge for some members of the group. The cider tasting was done back at the hotel rather than at the farms, which was a bit of a disappointment.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Transport

The whole process of planning our trip to Norway was so simple with the support of the wonderful team at kimkim. We started off with Andre, who came up with the initial plan based on my requests. When Andre moved on to another area, Linda took over, everything was seamless. We spent an incredible 6 days in Norway with the excitement of a RIB boat tour to watch the sea eagles and an amazing northern lights tour. An overnight trip on the Hurtigruten took us to our next adventure of reindeer sledding. We were able to enjoy the beautiful scenery and learn about the local history and culture. There was only one small hiccup which was dealt with admirably by Tricia when I called the emergency number. Communication before, during and after our trip has been excellent.

Norway is such a magical place, and this trip allowed us to burrow in further than our previous trip. Our trip had a nice flow, and our accommodations were excellent. We stayed in both an incredible boutique style hotel suite, and a fishing cabin in the Lofotens. Our overnight on the Hurtigruten Ferry gave us a taste of cruising and allowed us to take a RIB trip to the Saltstraumen Strait. We liked having 2 nights at our hotels so we could get there, explore and relax. Linda was attentive to our needs with many great suggestions. Thank you for your organization and ease of planning.

Hotel Reviews

Scandic Nidelven

Trondheim

Central location by the flower bridge with easy access to outside terrace restaurants and bars. This hotel had the best breakfast buffet ever!!!! It's hard to call it a buffet as there were stations set up with personal service for everything. The room was comfortable. The hotel staff was extremely helpful. We had an issue with our power cords and they were able to advise us on how to fix our access.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Location and breakfast

Staff

Helpful

Cleanliness & Comfort

Hustadvika Havhotell

Fraena

I wish I had read the driving instructions to this hotel that you provided more thoroughly before I panicked. Turns out we were only 3 minutes away when we started asking directions. The room was comfortable and cozy. The staff was very pleasant. It was a bit isolated if you didn't want to eat at the hotel.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

MS Kong Harald

Tromsø

This ferry ride was great exposure to what cruising must be like. Our room was small but had everything we needed. We were only onboard 1 night. If we had gone further it would have been nice to have a room with a larger window. We sat on the observation deck most of the time. It was amazing how closely we navigated through the islands. We signed up to take the RIB Saltstraumen excursion. This may have been the highlight of our trip. For some reason we thought we had our room until we reached Svolvaer. But when we were paged we found out we should have checked out by 11. We were hoping to come back from the RIB adventure, take a warm shower and gather up our belongings for our departure. That was our mistake. The scenery along the passage was incredible!

Authenticity & Character

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Nordis Apartments

Svolvær

Wow!! What a great little boutique hotel!!! We loved our corner suite with a lovely view of the harbor and mountains. Our bedroom was spacious, and we appreciated having the sitting area and outside balcony as well. We would definitely stay here again. Thank you for getting us such a lovely space.

Authenticity & Character

Location

Corner suite with balcony on the harbor

Staff

Friendly and accommodating

Cleanliness & Comfort

Reine Rorbuer

Reine

Quaint fishing cabin right on the harbor. Lovely space with lots of character.

Authenticity & Character

A true fishing cabin outfitted as you would hope, but with modern amenities

Location

Staff

Cleanliness & Comfort

Activity Review

Trollfjord Cruise

Svolvær

Amazing time on the water. The guides were informative. The scenery was stunning.

Quality of Experience

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Knowledgeable and friendly. Enjoyed the underwater drone images.

Transport

Diverse scenery

We had an absolutely amazing time in Norway thanks to our trip planner Linda. Every place we visited was more magical than the last, and the lesser known towns she sent us to were our favorites. We never could have had this trip without her. My only regret is that we didn't have more time to explore these magical places.

We only had to reach out to KimKim once while we were away to get some advice on timing with the ferries. Linda was off that day, but her team member figured out exactly where we were based on our shaky directions from inside a tunnel, as was able to calculate our travel times and and give us advice on our next move. I was shocked at the level of customer service.

The tour guides Linda matched us up with here so kind and knowledgeable, it felt like walking around with our new Norwegian friends rather than being on a tour. Special shoutout to our inn keeper in Værlandet, who gave us food out of her own freezer when we arrived after the grocery store had closed. Above and beyond!

A memorable trip

I had been to Norway twice before so one may think I had done it all - far from it. Despite my age of 76 I had planned a hiking trip w
trip with Kim-Kim tours. It was an independent tour with Kim-Kim making most of the itinerary, booking guides, gondolas etc and making helpful suggestions
The result being, that despite
a couple problems, that this was an awesome trip and experience. The first 6 days of the 3 week trip I relived past experiences in Oslo, Stavanger and Bergen climbing pulpit's rock, dining on wharf in Bergen, cruising the archipelago in Oslo, etc., but I also had many new adventures like hiring a guide in Oslo (Kim-Kim suggestion) that was fantastic. Kim-Kim gave me an option of mountains to hike at every stop and also options on accomations. I rented a car in Bergen and headed to Kalvag, staying in unforgettable Knutholmen. Unfortunately it had rained all July in Norway so despite sunny weather the ground was saturated and gave way on my hike causing me to have a serious fall and injury. The owner of knutholmen was fantastic in helping me, but my hiking trip was ended. This is where Kim-Kim stepped up and not only saved my trip but made it the best sight seeing trip of my life. Linda, from Kim-Kim, each night provided me with incredible scenic drives and interesting stops and activities along the way. I have seen incredible scenery I would have never seen without her help. Norway turned out to be the most beautiful country I have ever seen. So instead of the fall ruining my trip, it turned it into a fantastic explorative journey that Kim-Kim enhanced with Linda's constant help. For example, Andalnes and route 93 with the Trollstigen drive are indescribable beauty suggested to me by Linda.
It was truly a trip I will never forget !

Activity Review

Oslo City Walk with a Local

Oslo

Quality of Experience

Everything

Guides, Drivers and Staff

Wit and knowledge

Transport

I used my own rental but kim-kim did move my bags once. Each country had excellent transports of busses, trains ferries

Our trip to Norway was amazing! We loved the summer farm in Innerdalen. Our guides were knowledgeable and friendly. The hike to Romsdalseggen was worth the effort because of the views! Our planner, Linda did a fantastic job incorporating our ideas to create a fun and beautiful trip.

The highlight of the trip was no question 1) our stay and visit in Auckland and 2) the private tours provided both in Oslo and Bergen!!!....both Stig and Vilda were amazing!....and of course Linda was the best travel planner ever. Thank you all so so much!