+47 940 54 465
bookings@thehiddennorth.com
Our first logo – mostly used for the blog. I paid someone $100 on Etsy to make it for me!
During COVID I led virtual tours around Northern Europe – this is one of the ways I realised I needed to have my own in-person tours!
Also during COVID I convinced the husband we needed to drive to North Cape and back so I could film it all. That eventually became my Norwegian travel guide – The Hidden North! In 2024 I released my first road-trip guide for Norway.
I Love Bergen started during COVID. It’s not the most romantic story, I know, but with the uncertainty as to whether or not my job would come back, I knew I had to take matters in my hands. I started a blog, I Love Bergen, where I wrote about museums, hikes, and things to do. I had been working as a guide since 2016, so had all these pictures, information, and insider tips sitting around, so I figured I may as well put it on a blog.
When the world started to open up, I decided to launch my first I Love Bergen tour. No other guiding company had relaunched yet, but I knew people were returning. I remember the first I Love Bergen tour was a rainy day in November with two people, and I slipped and fell in front of Bryggen. Maybe that was a stroke of good luck?
When life went back to normal in 2022, I asked some of my guide friends if they could help with the tours. I couldn’t afford to make it my full-time job yet, so I had to keep working as a trip leader. Thankfully they had faith in me and said yes, and before I knew it we had a full summer season. In 2023, we added a new tour – Nordnes – and more booking times as our tours kept selling out. In 2024, we added our minibus tour and more booking times. I also did our first hiring session and moved into our office at Bryggen! We now have a team of 11 guides working with us, and it’s just amazing to see how quickly we’ve grown. I also finally got to make it my full time job!
The blog has now moved over to The Hidden North (www.thehiddennorth.com) but the I Love Bergen name remains. As much as I’d love to change it to something more guide company-like and professional, we can’t help but deny the charm and appeal of it – also, we all do really love Bergen!
Thanks so much for choosing our company. We live in Bergen all year round, we love this city, and we are proud to be an authorised company made up of locals.
– Emma Vestrheim (Owner)
When I started asking other guides to lead the tours, I had a clear idea that I never wanted to force them to read a script. Rather, I asked them to make the tour their own. Meet the guests at the fortress, end at the fish market, and fill in everything else. I believe that is what works for us – the guides show and talk about what they are interested in.
Our reviews constantly mention how friendly and knowledgeable the guides are, and I believe that’s because they have the freedom to make the tour their own.
