A great Norway vacation
Norway
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Sep 16 - Sep 28, 2026
My wife and I have just returned from our 13 day trip to Norway. It was wonderful! All of the kimkim-organized activities, hotels, and transportation went off without a hitch. Of particular note were:
1. Norway is a spectacularly beautiful country. Our boat rides and train voyages (particularly the ride from Bergen to Oslo), allowed us to appreciate the jaw dropping beauty of cities, fjords, waterfalls, and farmland.
2. Each city we visited was beautiful, with impressive old and new architecture. We had great walking tours of Tromso (led by Jurgen), Oslo (led by Björn, a retired architect) and Bergen. The guides were knowledgeable and open with personal observations about their lives in Norway.
3. The hotels were all very nice, located in the center of each city. Breakfasts were ample and delicious. Rooms were small, but comfortable.
4. We loved having a car for a couple of days to tour the Lofoten Islands. Gorgeous!
5. We took multiple flights from airports large and small. A beautiful way to get around the country, with no delays or connection problems.
6. Norway has a multitude of fascinating museums: historical, cultural and artistic. The few we visited in Tromso and Bergen were great, as was a brand new one outside of Svolvaer dealing with the cod fishery!
Thanks, kimkim, for designing a great vacation customized to our interests, and paced just right for us.
Hotel Reviews
Lovely hotel, great location, delicious breakfast.
Clean, comfortable, small rooms. Excellent breakfast. No
Clean, comfortable, small rooms. Paid parking several blocks away. Excellent breakfast
Clean, comfortable. Excellent breakfast.
Clean, comfortable, small rooms. Excellent breakfast.
Activity Reviews
Our guide Bjorn, a retired architect, was knowledgeable, friendly, and open to a wide ranging discussion about the city. This tour was a high point of our trip.
Jürgen, our guide and lifelong Tromso resident, was totally open, sharing his thoughts about his life and his city. He took us through the Arctic Explorer and the Sami museums. This tour was a highlight of our visit.
Wow! As was promised, the Lofoten Islands are spectacularly beautiful. And although the roads are narrow, we did not find driving difficult.
This cruise through Geirangefjord was very comfortable and the scenery. Unbelievable. The crew provided helpful commentary throughout the trip. Town of Geiranger is basically a tourist locale, which didn’t interest us too much, except for a very cool walk up along the waterfall at the edge of town. There are longer hikes available in the area.
Four of us and a guide walked through the center of Bergen, trying some typical snacks and also having a light soup lunch. The highlight of the walk was exploring the UNESCO historic area, the site of.the Hanseatic League trading activities.
Gorgeous view from the top. There are restaurants, kids playground, and hiking trails at the top as well.
This is the one activity which we found disappointing. It was a nice boat ride around the harbor and islands adjacent to Oslo, but there was no commentary or information about what we were seeing. (one could get some information on an app). The dinner consisted of a buffet of peel – yourself shrimp, bread, and lettuce. Drinks were available for purchase.
Beautiful scenery throughout. Only downside: this is obviously a very popular experience and even in September, it was quite crowded. At one point, we had to wait at the bus stop in the rain to make our last connection.
Our limo driver to the airport was prompt, helpful, friendly and informative.
Very pretty town.
Lovely Arctic town, easily walkable. Interesting museums.
Beautiful historic city, UNESCO heritage site. Downtown easily walkable.
Bustling, attractive city with compact walkable downtown and waterfront. Beautiful old and new architecture.
Nice outing on the water, good meal. We did not see the Northern Lights on our cloudy night.
Nice waterfront town. Worked as a base for our time driving around the Lofoten Islands. We enjoyed the nearby SKREI museum — an art gallery, explanation of the cod fishery, and an aquarium.
Yet another lovely waterfront city, with great Art Nouveau architecture. Home of the Geirangerfjord cruise up the fjord which was spectacular.
