Linda Veråsdal
I live part time in Norway and Gambia, and in-between I travel. The passion for exploring new places at the same time as doing it in a good and honest way, led me to the role I have to day. Providing custom-made extraordinary travel experiences, while using tourism as a tool for development.
What places and activities do you specialize in?
"I specialize in travels to Norway and various places in the country. The experiences varies from outdoor adventures to more culture-based activities. Norway has a wide range of different activities you can do, and many small hidden gems and hamlets you can visit. Tailor-made off beaten travels and travel as a local. "
How did you get involved in travel?
"I have always been curious about people and places, which led me to the realization that my life would consist of traveling... in one form or another! Early in life I traveled mostly in Norway and worked various places from south to the North-cape, east to west and in between! From there onwards, I started to travel abroad.
Combined with my interest of social welfare, using tourism as a tool for development has been my call. This slowly led into establishing Ethical Travel Portal."
Please share a unique travel experience you will never forget.
"There are many... Most of them connect the sense of a place and the wish of time standing still to be able to absorb the experience. Add-on experiences that is difficult to plan for! It can be through exploring Norway, my own country, or as in my latest travel to Romania.
We stayed at a traditional house when the neighbor asked us over to see his vegetable garden. I have never seen so many different types of tomatoes! In less than ten minutes, he filled his basket and invited us in for a drink. Chopped the veggies and served it with ovens baked bread and home made juice! This happened at the same time as he was telling his interesting story. He then excused himself as he drove off to pick up his wife and daughter, leaving us in the kitchen enjoying the food! That is digging deep into the local culture.
Another experience happened recently in The Gambia, during a trip where we were looking for cotton farmers. When we finally found the village, we had been traveling to the opposite side of the country, far in and far East. There, the most pristine village popped up from nowhere. Very local and traditional, no electricity or running water, but so beautiful and the sense of a community feeling with great hospitality."
Featured trips & expertise
Birdwatching in the Gambia - 7 Days
The Gambia is a sought after destination for many reasons, and its impressive array of over 500 bird species is just one of them. Enjoy a week of daily birdwatching excursions led by a local expert, all while staying at an oasis-like eco-lodge in the middle of the action.
The Gambia: Top 5 Local Activities
Beyond its famously beautiful beaches, The Gambia offers plenty of opportunities for exploration. The rich culture, colorful traditions, and natural beauty of “the smiling coast of West Africa” are worth a visit for any curious traveler. Here are our 5 favorite opportunities to travel like a local in The Gambia.
How Many Days Should You Spend in The Gambia?
The Gambia may be small, but this friendly West African country is packed with things to do and see. How many days do you need to experience everything on your list? Our expert insight will help you decide how long to spend exploring The Gambia's relaxing beaches, quaint towns, and everything in between.
Best Time of Year to Visit The Gambia
No matter when you visit, The Gambia always has something to offer. This tiny country earned its place on the travel map thanks to its gorgeous coastline and lush natural areas. With two main seasons and predictable weather patterns, it's easy to decide what time of year works best for a visit - keep reading for our take on the best time to visit The Gambia.
Hiking in Northern Norway and Finland - 10 Days
This 10-day itinerary will take you on a variety of hiking trails in northern Norway and parts of Finland, traversing lush valleys and craggy mountain peaks, wide expanses of tundra and clear glacial rivers. Tackle 5 to 12 miles a day off the beaten path, and immerse yourself in the crisp natural landscapes of the Land of the Midnight Sun.
Norway Slow Travel: Oslo, Aurland & Bergen - 7 Days
This relaxing weeklong journey starts in the capital city of Oslo before heading west, via the steepest train in Norway (Flåm Railway). From here, embrace the slow-paced local culture of Aurland while staying two nights at a secluded and upscale lodge that serves organic cuisine. Take part in some light hiking and paddling and then cruise the Sognefjord by ferry, finishing the adventure in scenic Bergen — Norway's UNESCO-listed second largest city surrounded by seven mountains.
Recent trip reviews for Linda
Norway's cities, mountains & fjords - 5 days , Norway - Jun 11 - Jun 15, 2018
Thank you Linda Verasdal, our trip planned by you was amazing, so well organised for us, so easy to follow.
Highlights for us was Flam Railway breathtakingly beautiful. We loved Balestrand enjoyed the kayaking and hiking amazing views to town. Cruise on Naeroyfjord was surreal.
Accommodation was easy walking distance from train.
The best of norway - 3 weeks, Norway - May 19 - Jun 8, 2018
Linda planned the perfect trip for us. The hotels were all carefully chosen to be within an easy walk of trains and ferries and fully met our expectations. Linda’s local knowledge ensured that we had just the right amount of time in each place. Her recommendations were spot on. Local guide Wilde in Bergen gave us an interesting and personalised tour which was infinitely better than the usual city walking tour experience. Lofoten Islands were an absolute treat. Lone at Westerålen is the most... read more
Hi Lindsay and Mike,
wow - thank you so much for the nice feedback! I am so happy to read that this trip suited you perfect. It was a pleasure working with you preparing for this trip. AND not at least to have you in our country for three weeks! :-) I am looking forward to next time!
2018 norway trip., Norway - May 7 - May 22, 2018
Our trip to Norway was all that we had hoped it would be and more! Thank you Linda for doing such a great job of making all our dreams into reality! We travelled to many places that are not necessarily on most tourist’s destination lists because we were searching for ancestral roots. This meant that the modes of travel and accommodations changed nearly daily requiring careful planning on Linda’s part to make sure we were able to get where we wanted to go in as economical a manner as... read more
Hi Sue and Gary,
Thank you so much for your feedback. It was also very interesting for me to work with your trip and find out how we can best put it together, logistically suitable for the places you wanted to visit. Very happy to read that it worked out! Thank you for sharing photos and recommending me and KimKim to your friends!
Tromsø | winter highlights in the north, Norway - Feb 26 - Mar 5, 2018
We had a fantastic memorable holiday experience in Norway. Both Tromso and Malangen were stunningly beautiful. The trips and the guides were excellent; we loved the dog sledding and the overnight Sami experience. The holiday was both adventurous and cultural; learning about the Sami people was fascinating and the environment and scenery were amazing.
We were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights on two occasions, both in Tromso., which is quite an experience!
We are very grateful to... read more
Hi Christine, thank you very much for your feedback. I am really happy to read you enjoyed your trip and got to see the Northern Lights! Hope to see you back in Norway at some point!
Winter magic | fjords of norway, hurtigruten & tromsø, Norway - Dec 28 - Jan 10, 2018
KimKim and Linda are the way to go! We got the trip that we wanted, with expert advice along the way. For me the Fiords were absolutely enchanting, I could have lost myself in them. For Paul, the whales were the highlight.
We did not get to see the Northern Lights so we already figure another trip to Tromso. Besides it being magic, I got my hair cut there and love it!
Thank you
Hi Mary, great to hear you enjoyed the trip!
And the lack of Northern Lights only mean you have to be back one day! :-)
December break norway, Norway - Dec 29 - Jan 3, 2018
We had the most amazing time in Norway. Linda went above and beyond for us and customized the perfect trip for my husband and I and our two young sons (1 & 2). It is probably the best vacation we've ever had. Thank you, Linda!
Hi Laurie, thank you so much for your feedback and traveling with us! Really nice to read that it is one of the best vacations you have had! It was a pleasure to have you in the country. Thank you for sharing the lovely photos!
Northern norway and oslo, Norway - Dec 1 - Dec 16, 2017
Linda was always quick to respond and listened to everything I wanted to do. The end result of the trip exceeded all of my expectations. Would definitely recommend!
Thank you very much for your feedback! It was a pleasure to have you in Norway! Looking forward to Have you back sometime for a summer trip!
Norway's best natural highlights & places to visit, Norway - Oct 4 - Oct 8, 2017
Great accommodations! We saw northern lights 2/4 nights!!!! The weather was perfect we Loved the Hardergruten MSSpitsberg it was a great size great bed!! We added a guide for our day in Tromsø her name was Edle with Individual tours. She was fantastic all day too. We had a carefree adventure because of your help! Thank you so much
Linda made it all possible!!!! Sweet great response time No question was to small....
Hi Diane, thank you very much for your feedback. Really nice to hear you were happy and everything went well. And not at least that you got to see the Northern Lights 2/4 nights! Fantastic!
Hope to see you back in Norway one day!
Norway fjords. , Norway - Sep 30 - Oct 6, 2017
Great communication before leaving and during our stay.
Linda was excellent, she was on hand whenever I had a query. A landslide occurred whilst we were on the train and I knew a taxi would be waiting for us in Aurland, obviously we did not know what time we would be expected in due to the delays, however, Linda was on hand and continuously kept us updated and also updated the taxi and our accommodation that we were significantly delayed. Couldn't have asked for more.
Hi Sally, wow - love your photos!
Thank you for your feedback. Very unfortunate with the landslide... but at least you did not loose much of your holiday, except being slightly delayed! Ingrid also enjoyed her day in Bergen with you two, and we hope to see you back in Norway one day!
Touring norway v2 - oslo, hamar, trondheim, bergen, Norway - Aug 25 - Sep 3, 2017
See my notes on conversation with Linda...
Very good thank you...
Hi Frank, it was a pleasure to have you and your family in Norway. Got your notes, and I will for sure take that into account and inform future travelers. Thank you for sharing the nice photos!
30th anniversary, Norway - Aug 19 - Aug 29, 2017
Linda was very intuitive and delivered exactly the kind of experience we were hoping to have.
Super!!!! I wish we could have Linda could always plan out our adventures.
Norway family tour aug 2017, Norway - Aug 25 - Sep 3, 2017
We started with 8 people planning 1 itinerary, but ended up with 1 with 1 schedule, and 7 persons in a different itinerary. Linda was a fantastic, patient and knowledgeable travel guide in helping to plan our trip, from beginning to the end. She had fantastic recommendations. The 2-hour city walks / tours were wonderful. (We had 1 member who used a wheelchair for the walks, which we were able to borrow at our hotels. Planning that in advance would be a big help for future trips)
Linda was... read more
Family vacation, Norway - Aug 12 - Aug 19, 2017
Linda did an exclent job of determining our needs and matching them with a great experience for our family.
Great communication and responsiveness by Linda. Thanks
A few days in norway to round off our scandinavia trip, Norway - Aug 12 - Aug 16, 2017
Everything went really smoothly. Where there were minor hitches they either resolved themselves or Linda responded and sorted them quickly.
Just great. Linda was friendly by email, straightforward, and understood what I wanted from the trip. Responded quickly and made everything work well.
1 week | oslo | flåm and aurland | bergen and ålesund, Norway - Aug 7 - Aug 14, 2017
Many thanks to Linda to help organize our trip.
Norway adventure, Norway - Jul 22 - Aug 1, 2017
I absolutely love every minute of my planned trip through Linda! Even though it was done online and we did not verbally talk, I felt she communicated so clearly and well with me through her writing as if I was there. Any questions asked, she answered them. She also made bullet points for me as I had asked -- to make the itinerary more clear for me to scan over the needed accommodations of what I needed to cover, especially since there was so many things I was to do. I can tell she took a... read more
A couple of adjustments to dates needed and all was good.
Best of norway , Norway - Jul 12 - Jul 20, 2017
Alex has my opinion in our email conversation
Hi Vadim, yes we got your comments!
It was a pleasure to meet you both in Oslo, and hope you will be visiting Norway another time!
Everything was perfect like we want it to be. Linda did wonderful job helping us with everything. We had no issues. Very happy great trip.
Hi Jadwiga, I am glad to read this and hope to see you on a KimKim trip another time!
Thank you for your feedback!
Bergen scenic and hiking, Norway - Jun 30 - Jul 7, 2017
Nearly perfect, but one suggestion: the agent might let the client know when to expect to receive confirmation and final details....versus having the client wonder when are the details coming (we became a little anxious so we asked)....especially important for a first-time client.
Linda was great and went the extra mile to deal with an extra night....
Hi Peter, thank you for your feedback, very important one!
During the peak season it does sometimes take a bit of time to get all the final details. A lot of services and products to be finalized and fit together with information from the different suppliers. I will improve this process and make it more clear to the client when they can expect the final details. Thank you for the feedback.
It was a pleasure to have you and Alden in Norway!
Express norway, Norway - May 25 - May 31, 2017
The Norway Trip that we just experienced was with out doubt one of the best experiences that gave us a taste of everything on a short agenda.
Linda followed me up on every detail and I couldn't be happier with her service.
Hi Stuart, thank you for your feedback. I am very happy to read that you were satisfied with your trip and value it as one of the best experiences! It was a pleasure organizing it for you, and hope to see you back again one day.