Norway Kayaking with Tofino 2025

Tofino Expeditions gave us quite the introduction (July 6-13, 2025) to Norwegian fjords, western archipelago and to the local communities, more or less along 61.1 N latitude. We were a group of 14, all of an age (around our age), with two guides, Erlend Ringstad and Ervin Mejia. The visit was built around 6 one-a-day kayak outings.

This followed the earlier portion of our Norwegian trip where we took in Oslo and Bergen. That segment has its own page. We were told in Oslo that it rains all the time in Bergen and it started out that way; the forecast had agreed with that assessment. But as the kayak trip approached, the weather flipped and we had excellent weather throughout. To the locals" stated amazement.

We met the group in Bergen on the Saturday evening to get organized, then took the train to Flam the next morning. We stayed at the Aurlandsfjord Hotel in Aurland to start, doing two kayak outings from there on Naeroyfjord and then Aurlandsfjord.

Then off to Balestrand for two more kayak outings and finally to Hardbakke for the last two before taking the "post boat" back to Bergen.

Erlend and Ervin are the kind of guides you wish for: great people, knowledgeable, safety conscious and super organized. They also had the talent to make everyone feel special. And they really took care of Deb, helping with kayak launches and exits as well as when walking over rougher terrain.

Tofino/UteGuiden provided excellent kayak equipment, much of it new. We were in tandem Current Designs boats. Ok, no bent shaft carbon fiber paddles, but otherwise very nice gear.

The logistics of moving the boats and luggage were seamless. Erlend and Ervin made it all happen in the background, with Erlend disappearing with the van and trailer right after an outing and it all magically appearing at the next spot, including the luggage appearing in our rooms.

An unexpected bonding method was the use of Kvikk Lunsj chocolate bars (suspiciously similar to Kit Kats). To start, they were handed out for boosts of energy on the water. But then took on a life of their own for any occasion generating something of a Pavlovian response. And we noticed they were prominently displayed in the Duty Free shop at Bergen Airport.

Aurlandsfjord/Naeroyfjord

These are what I think of as classic fjords: long, narrow with high walls and glaciers at the tops. The glaciers create many, many impressive waterfalls along the way. Norway has a thing for tunnels and we drove through two very long ones that are burrowed into the mountains between Flam and Naeroyfjord. Before the tunnels were built, very long boat rides were needed to get between the two.

We were taken to a village specializing in goat cheese and were given a history of the area; and a tasting which paired different cheeses with appropriate wines. Apparently it"s famous enough that the government finally built a road for better access.

The weather was perfect for both fjords. Sadly there was a massive cruise ship docked at Flam, which really dominated the port. That is a curse of the fjords (and Norway) - oodles of cruise ships. But we weren"t in its presence all that long.

Balestrand

We stayed at the historic Kviknes Hotel; we were a bit worried as we got off the express ferry and saw a big concrete colossus. Fortunately for us, that hid the historic wooden hotel behind it, with our suite and big balcony overlooking Sognefjord.

The English-Welsh Maitre"d was a hoot. Apparently Kaiser Wilhelm was staying at the Kviknes when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated and signed Germany"s WW1 declaration of war while at the hotel.

Here you can see the fjord evolution to being much wider, with shorter walls. We had a spot of weather here for our kayaking - some moderate wind in our faces on the first day, and some windless rain on the second. Most of both days were quite fine otherwise.

While bird and sea life was minimal throughout, we were treated to a grey heron rookery at the far end of Esefjord. The most common non-seagull was oyster catchers, with the occasional cormorant. There are a lot of seagulls.

Hardbakke/Solund/Gasvaer

We took a couple of ferries to get to Hardbakke, staying at the Solund Hotel. We arrived late (9pm) and were treated to a wonderful monkfish stew by the chef. Hit the spot just right. We were joined by a local guide, Trude, and her partner Tom, who operated the passenger boat.

Solund sits in an archipelago of some 1700 islands. Very different from the inland fjords. In fact, it is connected and very similar to the west coast of Scotland, as part of the Caledonian chain.

We kayaked out of the harbour to Little Faraeyna island. There we visited a "hermit" who lives alone there and is trying to maintain a traditional lifestyle, avoiding modern conveniences. Including an indoor toilet. He has a two seater outhouse instead. He also showed off the dory he was building, all with old tools. He works with students to pass along knowledge.

Next up was Tom’s "postal boat" taking us to the island of Gasvaer.

On our way to the island we passed some salmon farms and got to learn about them. Most of the salmon is farmed now, and nets (100m around, 40m deep) can hold up to 200,000(!) fish. They are now genetically different from wild salmon, so escapees can be a problem. And now bluefin tuna are on the rebound - and apparently charge at and break into the nets to get at the salmon. Who promptly escape.

Prior to paddling around the (smallish) island we were treated to Norwegian pancakes (much like US flapjacks). On our return after circumnavigating the island, we feasted on a spread of local seafood. Both were prepared by Trude. A lot of butter went into the pancakes; Trude"s comment was "the only thing better than butter, is more butter".

Residents typically are farmers as well as fishermen, with sheep the main farm animal. The islands have been managed for centuries to optimise grass and heather for the sheep using controlled burn cycles that can span a decade. Most trees are gone. The sheep are moved by boat between islands and are happy to get on the boats to get to a new food source.

On our return to Hardbakke, we were surprised by a mini concert in the church of traditional Norwegian songs sung by Trude"s twin daughters. They were good!

General impressions

Everything is very clean - trolls come out at night to vacuum and dust. There"s very little trash in the streets or water. I noticed no haze over the cities.

Norway is well on its way to being electric. They"re floating in oil money, and save most of the revenue, applying it to their Pension Fund. Healthcare and education are free. They have lots of hydro power which provides a bit under half of their needs. 90% of new cars are electric.

What"s wrong with this picture? 6 hours of daylight in winter!