Norway

Norway customer reviews

We are very proud of the feedback that we get from our trips and are pleased to share reviews from past travellers. We aim to keep these as up to date as we can. Please read through to get a real sense of the kind of experience that you might have on a trip to Norway, whether you are looking for winter snow activities or the pleasures of a summer wilderness trip.

Toasting marshmallows on an open fire is heavenly wherever you are in the world…

Stubbs Family (with teenager aged 13)

Travelled Summer 2023
Hi Liddy. Just a very quick note to thank you, your team, and in-country partners for organising a superb trip for my daughter and I to the West of Norway. Everything was very well organised, the itinerary was great fun and it all worked smoothly. It was perfect for my daughter and I, including enough of a challenge (the glacier lake kayak, for example, was very tiring but we both felt a great sense of achievement afterwards), and the opportunity to see a handful of different places in a week. We had no problems and having everything rebooked meant that there was no stress.

Jackson Family (with teenagers aged 13 and 16)

Travelled Summer 2023
Dear Liddy. We really enjoyed our trip – it was a holiday that made lots of amazing family memories. Norway is an incredible country, everyone we met was extremely friendly and the landscape was truly stunning! Thank you for everything you organised. The itinerary spreadsheet was fantastic, we relied on it entirely and found everything to run incredibly smoothly. The highlight of the trip for us was the kayak trip to the glacier and then hiking on the glacier – crampons and ice axes ticked off some life goals for our teenagers! The cabin at Raaum was also amazing – a very welcome rest after several intense days of activities. The location was breathtaking, what a view, and the host family so friendly and welcoming, particularly with the boys. It is a very special place.

Naughton Family (with children aged 7, 15, 16 & 19)

Travelled Summer 2023
We had a great time. All of us fell in love with Norway (partly helped by the great weather). Particular highlights were the rafting/stay at Fjaerland Fjordhotel/kayaking to the glacier/strolling around Bergen. But it was all great. I did think perhaps hiring a car might make sense next time to give us a bit of flexibility (+ store some luggage).

Reardon Family (with teenager aged 16)

Travelled Summer 2023
Hi Liddy. We had a great trip, thank you! It was great to have a local contact for the minor hiccoughs which were then sorted quickly. The accommodation was clean and varied from basic in Aardal to lovely in Sogndal. Everyone we encountered was helpful and had good English. Adrienne who did some of our transfers even spoiled us with fresh strawberries. The daughter of the lady who owns the hotel in Jostedal was great company during our transfer to & from the hotel for body rafting. The scenery was fantastic, and our varied activities worked well for keeping us active while taking it all in. The zip-line, biking, body-rafting (with Nanna), white-water rafting (with Sia) and Kayaking (with Turin) were all great fun. The Viking Village was probably entertaining for younger kids. We were a little underwhelmed but perhaps that’s because we have already learned a little about the Vikings along the way given our Irish heritage.

Graham Family (with children aged 7 & 10)

Travelled Winter 2022
Hi Lee. Thanks for following up re Norway. We had a blast. Such a different holiday… We all loved it and it was just so different to anything we’d done before. I’d love to see the contrast of going back in the middle of summer!

Tromso is a nice little town from what we saw on our wanders. Doesn’t take long to walk around. The hotel was fine and in a good location. Family room quite small but efficient/cost-effective for kids of our age (pull-down bunk beds take over most of the floor space so it may have been a bit tight with kids much older than ours). Breakfasts were good.

The fishing trip was ace. F and I both caught something. T didn’t try so much – perhaps she was a bit little, but she was very interested in the captain’s resident husky and then went on to devour a substantial amount of our 4kg cod! I’ve never seen her eat so much. Eating the catch on the boat really was fantastic. Delicious.

Transfers etc to Melangen were v efficient (and a stunning drive)…

The Sami/Reindeer excursion was lovely and really interesting. The Reindeer stew was lovely and we all now have our antler memento on our key rings.

Dogsledding was great, and the kids’ favourite thing. While they couldn’t drive, they loved the ride and the dogs and were fully wrapped up in arctic suits and a couple of sleeping bags. Driving was a blast too. Nice food around fire with the rest of the group afterwards and the kids got to go into the puppy enclosure, which they loved.

We were unlucky on the northern lights night. It was a snowy and cloudy evening so there was no sign. I actually walked up the following night to Nikka Camp after dinner and sidled my way into the group up there in the darkness (as suggested by one of our guides the night before). I did get a brief sighting and some decent photos. In fact, I asked at reception at check out if they’d mind sending on the professional photos from that night and they were kind enough to do so.

Snowshoeing was fun and a fair exertion. T found it v tough (she was on the edge age/size-wise – we were lucky to have had the extra year in general from her perspective) so I took her to the camp while the rest of the group did the last little section. F powered determinedly to the front with the guide leaving his mum and the other family struggling behind. He was absolutely done in by the time he got back to the campfire for food. Slept very well that night!! Making the fire and cooking was all part of the experience.

The guide was great (French guy that apparently spends most nights wild camping out there?!)

Outside the activities: We grabbed sledges from the kit room and went off and did our own sledging at times, which was fab. The food in the hotel was pretty good. Alcohol, as everyone knows, is very pricey. We made the mistake of not buying a few bottles in Tromso (which I know you had suggested!) to have in the cabin.

Thanks again for it all, Lee, and for being so accommodating in moving it all out a year when Omicron hit in 2021. We continue to point pals towards Stubborn Mule, and (jealously) understand you guys are looking into a Costa Rica trip for friends at the moment. Looking forward to thinking about what we might do next…

Bristoll Family (with teenager aged 15)

Travelled Christmas/New Year 2022/3
Hi Lee. Happy New Year to you. Flights to Oslo good. Transfer via rail worked well. Definitely wouldn’t suggest a taxi. Hotel had absolutely perfect location. Transfer to Kirkenes all worked well and taxi awaiting at airport to take us to the hotel. Cabins fantastic. Food brilliant, alcohol expensive. Trips – Dog sledging brilliant, king crab brilliant, Snowmobile brilliant. Northern lights trip brilliant and yes we got the money shots!!!! Overall it was a brilliant trip. There is no hiding it was very expensive but the experiences we had more than matched our expectations.

South Family (with adult son)

Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Liddy. We had a fantastic time in Norway. Itinerary and activities were great. I can’t believe I’ve never been to Norway before. I think the way Norway is marketed in the UK focuses so heavily on the fjord cruises that you don’t really consider alternative ways to travel there – I certainly hadn’t given it much thought – and I always feel that there’s plenty of time for cruises when I’m a bit older! But we met loads of people from Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany who were doing similar things to us – most of who’d driven over in their own cars. It was a really great trip with my son after he’d finished university and before he starts work in September. Thanks again for helping us to arrange this – and your local partners were excellent!

Wayman Family (with teenager aged 17)

Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Liddy. We had a great time overall! Torunn (our guide) was stand-out fab and we loved her dog too. The trip was well organized and the on-the-ground guides/driver were excellent people, helpful and punctual all of the time. The scenery is out of this world beautiful. We enjoyed the activities and adjusted some for weather as needed. Glacier day was the toughest in the rain and we were not well enough prepared with our clothes for that. Besebakken was a great place to end the trip and the woman who runs it is really lovely. We had a good journey back to Bergen on the train, very beautiful ride!

He Family

Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Helene. I wanted to thank you for such a wonderful trip. It was beyond our expectations. Putting aside the beauty of Norway itself, the trip itinerary was very well designed, and included activities that only started this year (e-bikes). What we enjoyed most, and unique to Norway, was walking on glaciers, the e-bikes (following the RIB boat trip on the most beautiful lake), zip lining followed by bike trip, the floating sauna at Fjærland, and the stay at the hotel in Solvorn. Your local agent was very helpful too. I have recommended Stubborn Mules to many people including all my colleagues. For countries like Norway, Jordan, and Morocco, even if I had time to do the research myself, I wouldn’t be able to come up with the itinerary/hotels/activity choices you did for us. Thank you so much for this memorable trip. We cannot wait for the next trip with Stubborn Mule.

Blakesley Family (with teenagers aged 14 & 16)

Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Helene. We are safely home after the most fabulous fortnight in Norway. Thank you for putting together such a spectacular trip. Every day seemed to bring an activity and landscape which we felt would be unbeatable, only for it to be followed by something even more spectacular the next day. Almost impossible to pick our favourite bits, but for me the white-water rafting and the view from the Cabin on the Edge will always be hard to beat.

We were particularly impressed by your partners on the ground: they were universally friendly, helpful, and wonderful company. Having learnt of P’s interest in whale meat, Rolf even went out of his way to bring us some to grill over the open fire at the Cabin on the Edge, cementing a bromance between the two of them that culminated in huge man hugs and emotional farewells. Stubborn Mule has, again, given us the most stunning summer break, and ascertained what our family would most enjoy with almost spooky accuracy. We can’t speak highly enough of the itinerary you put together and the adventures that unfurled day after day. We will be back!

Blackford Family (with children aged 12, 14 and 15)

Travelled Summer 2022
Hi Kelly – We had an amazing time in Norway. It is a beautiful country and everyone was very friendly and helpful. All our guides were terrific and went out of their way to make the trip amazing. We all want to return at some point in the future. Thank you so much for organising such a fantastic itinerary. There were so many highlights – the hikes were stunning with amazing views, the glacier walk was a wonderful experience, kayaking on the still glassy waters so peaceful and the accommodation was lovely.

Iddons Family (with children aged 10 and 12)

Travelled Easter 2022
We had a great time, and came back with unexpected tans – the weather was amazing! Everyone was lovely, particularly Rine and Adrienne, our drivers around Sogndal…. Rine and Adrienne really gave the kids a treat, bringing them lunch packs from home when they picked them up from the Blue Ice Cave hike, invited them home, took M. for a church visit, and the boys for some air rifle shooting and grilling at their cottage by the lake. They loved it! Adrianne also accompanied them on the RIB tour, the boys loved it! We are so lucky to have such lovely partners working with us!

Bartlett Family (with children aged 14 and 12)

Travelled Summer 2020
The scenery in Norway is gobsmacking, unlike anything we’ve ever seen before. It’s just so wild and remote and vast. One of the first things you notice is how few people there are. Of course on some of the most famous hikes there will be other people, but even so, nothing like it might be in the Alps for example. It’s also incredibly easy to get off the beaten track and then you have this enormous wilderness almost entirely to yourselves.

It’s all incredible. The southern route from Bergen or Oslo to Alesund is stunning, with the Jotenheiemen and Geirangerfjord being particular stand-outs, but it’s all spectacular. Further north, the Lofoten islands are amazing (we had a great time here as it’s particularly good for activities so masses of fishing, sea kayaking and hiking). Senja Island was also really beautiful – even more remote than Lofoten. Highly recommend it for other families.

Ryan Family (with children aged 10 and 13)

Travelled New Year 2019/20
We utterly loved our trip to Norway. Thank you so much for everything you did to make this happen so smoothly. The snow-shoeing and cross-country skiing from Tromsø was huge fun. The absolute highlight for all of us was the dog sledding. I can’t tell you how exciting this was. From the moment the van arrived with the dogs, all snarling and snapping, to the exhilaration of whizzing along being pulled along by the dogs, each knowing its role and giving its all. Throughout we found the people so friendly and welcoming. This was the perfect trip for us. Thank you.