Norway: Fjords and Glaciers

Reviews from other tours by Back-Roads Touring

• Susan

  August 31st, 2022
  4.0
  Our guide was pleasant, helpful, easy to get along with and worked hard to pass on information about Norway and its...
  Our guide was pleasant, helpful, easy to get along with and worked hard to pass on information about Norway and its sights. The fjords and glaciers were amazing! However, the schedule given by the tour company left something to be desired. What bothered the majority of us the most was that we didn’t even need to be on the bus until 9:45 a.m. the morning we left Leikanger for Bergen! Our guide couldn’t change it because the company had us booked for the stave church which is about all we did that day except for photo stops and one waterfall. It would have been so much nicer to get to Bergen earlier which would’ve allowed time to explore before dinner. We agreed with others in our group that the cafe, rest room, and some of the photo stops were too long. Chopping time here and there could’ve gotten us to our lodging earlier, given us the opportunity to eat earlier or explore, whatever. Some of the lodging more than satisfactory but two lodgings were not to our liking. The first was scheduled to be in Sogndal. The rooms were so small that we sat in the hotel’s lounge until time to sleep; fortunately the lounge was comfortable. The lodging on the last night before going to Bergen was in lodging that should also be removed from the list. It had small, dated rooms where, just like the Sogndal hotel, it was difficult to move around in with 2 pieces of luggage also taking up space! Making things worse was the breakfast. ALL of the other lodgings had a wonderful breakfast but this hotel in Leikanger provided, at best, a sparse breakfast which lacked the foods I had enjoyed at the other hotels. Perhaps travelers should have the option to upgrade rooms. We did so at the first two hotels once we arrived and enjoyed the benefits. Nights two and three were spent at a hotel that did not include dinner. That bothered all of us because the only other option was to find a grocery and somehow put a meal together. We elected to eat in the dining room and enjoyed it but most didn’t want to spend the money. It was the nicest hotel of the bunch and really got our time near the fjords off to a good start. If the tour company could’ve spent another 78 Norweigian krona per person on providing dinner those two nights, all would’ve been happy. They could’ve added that amount to the trip cost in our respective currencies and it would not have been enough to stop us from going. In fact, the more meals offered, the more enticing a trip is! There was another tour group having dinner together at that same hotel but, sadly, not us. In summary, the tour company needs to review some of their lodging, schedules, and even included dinners. It was really hard to be someplace for two nights with no dinner options except the hotel because so many places are closed on Monday and Tuesday. We loved the sights, enjoyed our guide and fellow travelers but the pace was slow. We were glad we could get her to move the schedule up 1/2 hour one day.Show more
• Bea

  December 3rd, 2025
  5.0
  Flavio was very personable. Very caring, respectful, responsible and well organised. I would travel with him again
• Jan

  November 13th, 2025
  5.0
  There were only 4 of us in this tour and we were taken around on a van instead of a minibus. It was one of the best...
  There were only 4 of us in this tour and we were taken around on a van instead of a minibus. It was one of the best tours I have ever been on. We all got on really well and ended up spending every meal and our spare time together. With having the van we were able to get closer into the towns than we would had been able to with a minibus. Which was fantastic for me and another lady in the tour as we are both elderly with some walking difficulties. I would be willing to pay extra for a small group like this as it made our tour run more smoothly. The accommodation was excellent my only complaint would be no kettles in most rooms. A kettle to be able to make coffee would be great. My favourite accommodation was on our last night at Fattoria degli Usignoli. Absolutely beautiful. Nice big rooms and the surroundings were stunning and the staff made you feel like family. Our tour guide and driver were top class and out of a rating of ten I would give them both 15+ Flavio was a truly amazing person and a great historian. He went out of his way to make us comfortable. His job would not had been an easy one having 2 young 22 year olds and 2 elderly ladies to keep entertained and happy. I was so relieved when I found out our luggage would be taken to our rooms each night and the next morning we were to leave our luggage outside our door. This was not so on the Explore Eastern European tour Budapest to Prague where we had to carry our own luggage up flights of stairs. My husband travelled with me on that tour and he helped a number of ladies to take their luggage up the stairs as they were unable to do so. I would definitely be booking another Backroads tour again knowing I did not have to worry about taking my bags up to my room.Show more