Fly to Bergen, meet your tour manager and board our coach for the memorably scenic transfer to the idyllic village of Balestrand, on the shores of mighty Sognefjord, and to the warm and welcoming Kviknes Hotel. Settle in to your room and get to know your beautiful surroundings, then enjoy a Welcome Drink and get-together with your tour manager and fellow travellers before a first dinner in the hotel this evening.

Today, you'll have time to get to know Balestrand and its welcoming inhabitants, all of whom are keen to act as hosts for your visit, sharing their love of their beautiful location with you. The village, with its few shops, café, bank, historic, wooden English church, neat white-painted cottages and stylish artists' villas, is surrounded by orchards, and lies on the shores of vast Sognefjord, one of the world's largest and most spectacular fjords. In springtime the valleys are be-decked with blossom while winter still reigns in the mountains. In the autumn, new snow adorns the peaks but summer lingers by the fjord, and the forests beyond the fjord blaze with vibrant colour. Take a guided tour of the village in the company of your tour manager, and visit the local folk museum where the curator will give you a talk about the history of Balestrand and the surrounding area. This evening, before dinner, the hotel owner, Sigurd, will join you for a pre-dinner get-together and to reveal the history of his beautiful hotel, which his family has owned since 1877.