How We Work
Our local expertise is our biggest asset. Combine this with understanding of what travellers are looking for and we have a powerful combination. The result is proven high-quality service in transformational travel.
Book Safe with Us
It is important that you feel safe when you book your trip! We have therefore focused our conditions on being flexible, and make sure you have a worry free booking experience. Because we know this is important!
Mission & Values
The triple mission that we yearn for includes linked prosperity, excellence in delivery, and benefits for all our stakeholders as well as travellers. We strive to give back to destinations by giving extra ordinary trave experiences.
Travel with the Experts
Since 2007, at Ethical Travel Portal, the company behind #ethicalNorway, we have been mastering the art of trip design, one custom trip at a time, and learning from each and every satisfied traveller – and the list is long. You do want to go with the local experts.
Had a very fun and informative walk with a local in Bergen. Learned a lot about the city and its history and also experienced quite a bit of its changeable weather! ETP has coordinated all the logistics/accommodation in Bergen as well as travel/tickets to Oslo, making my life so much easier! I have had such unique opportunities to experience the culture and nature of Norway. 5/5 – Iris, review from Trip Advisor
The expertise and details we bring into each trip come from the years of working on the field, with a dedicated focus to be one of the best, if not the best custom trip specialist in Norway, value-added with a deep understanding of sustainability in travel. That is a worthwhile reason you might consider to travel with us!
This trip was absolutely magical! Ingrid listened to our interests and constructed a trip that allowed us to see a good spectrum of Norway and participate in activities we enjoyed. Ingrid is a great communicator and answered all questions in a timely and straightforward manner. She also gave us suggestions on places to consider for meals and activities during our free time in Norway. We felt like we had a good balance of free time and activities during our vacation. We could not be more pleased with our KimKim experience! Michelle, review on KimKim
Meet our local travel designer experts
Anna Grindevoll Strønstad
Anna is one of our Norwegian-based specialists with a passion for exploring and discovering new and exciting places. A native of on Norway’s west coast, she has extensive knowledge about scenic destinations filled with mountains, fjords and waterfalls. Also equipped with a Bachelor’s in Tourism Management and several years’ experience in the tourism industry, she now considers herself lucky to be able to use everything she’s learned to custom-make trips that help make travellers’ experiences unforgettable. Anna loves all kinds of adventure, whether it’s hiking locally in the forest with her dog or travelling to a new country!
Christina Wang
Born in Kristiansand, Southern Norway, Christina’s great passion since childhood has been seeing new places and meeting new people. Her love of travel led her to Australia to earn a Bachelor of Business in Tourism and Hospitality/Event Management. After spending more than three years there, she moved on to France for two years, before returning home to Norway. Christina joined Ethical Travel Portal in February 2022 and is our sustainability coordinator and trip designer, showcasing the best and most authentic places in her country. She equally enjoys time spent active in the great outdoors and relaxing in cosy places!
Mathia Pacenti
Mathia is based in Northern Norway. He lives in the Vesterålen archipelago, where eagles fly and the Northern Lights illuminate his path. Italy is his country of origin, a birthplace which instilled a big passion for history and geography — and a deep sense of community and traditions. Mathia also believes in the ideas of cultural sharing and travel sustainability. He began his career by jumping into international tourism, rapidly improving his skills in the hotel and service industry. After a long pilgrimage, he arrived in Norway; for Ethical Travel Portal he now introduces visitors to the dramatic northern landscapes he’s fallen in love with.
Tricia Cantlon
Tricia has had a deep desire to explore the world from a very young age. Born and raised in Michigan in the US, she found her home in Oslo after several years of wanderlust. Tricia has a Bachelor’s in Sustainable Tourism and a Master’s in Sustainable Food Systems, living by means of homestays or volunteer work on four continents. She discovered firsthand how truly electric, enlightening, and earnest travel can be when we slow down to evaluate our impact on the world around us. Tricia hopes to encourage valuable memories not only for travellers, but also for people within the communities they visit.
Tom Christer Larsen
A native of Norway, Tom has a genuine passion for tourism and travel; after beginning his own personal exploration of the world, he was inspired to complete a Master’s in International Tourism and Hospitality Management. Post-degree, going on to gain work experience through the years in many areas — from hotels to aviation, and finally tourism — Tom is now committed and dedicated to sharing his own country with others. In working with Ethical Travel Portal as a team leader and destination manager, he loves helping people in planning trips and fulfilling their dream of coming to his remarkable homeland.
Linda Veråsdal
The founder of Ethical Travel Portal, Linda spends half the year in Norway and the other half in The Gambia. Linda is passionate about responsible tourism and tourism as a tool for positive development. With a Master’s in Responsible Tourism, she has years of experience in the field, from owning a company to developing experiences to leading trips. Putting principles into practice, Linda has shown how tailor-made responsible travel packages can have a transformative, positive impact on communities, especially in remote areas of The Gambia where she and her team have been actively promoting sustainable tourism for several years.
Inspiring and Ethical Trips
Carefully Curated by Local Experts
We launched Ethical Norway with three guiding principles of ethical travel, local insights and curated experiences. This ethos ensures that we showcase the most inspiring and authentic experiences that Norway has to offer. It also guarantees that we lessen our negative and increase our positive impact every step of the way.
Fiercely Local
It’s easy to talk about going local, but what does it mean? For us, it means exploring beyond the brochures and connecting with a place and its people. Our experienced hosts and guides are Norwegians that live in and work in those destinations. They often have more than one profession — guiding or hosting is their passion, but tourism is just part of their lives, and so some experiences aren’t available year-round. However, when they are available, we know they’re unbeatable, and it’s worth the wait.
Norway has international acclaim for breath-taking scenery, but we get frustrated seeing visitors funnelled to the same iconic spots day in, day out. By relying on local hosts and listening to local guides, we showcase Norway’s mesmerising scale and natural beauty without the hoards.
You cannot help but interact with local people on an Ethical Norway trip, and by doing so, we hope you’ll leave Norway with a greater understanding of our culture and country, both past and present.
Proudly Ethical
Sustainable, responsible, mindful, ethical; whichever way you cut it, travelling to have a positive impact is the only way forward. We understand the complexities of the climate and biodiversity crisis and have this front of mind when we plan our trips. We believe this ethical approach leads to more inspiring experiences, and so it’s a win-win.
Ethical Norway is powered by the team behind the Ethical Travel Portal, a gateway to responsible travel experiences in select destinations worldwide. We believe that travel can build bridges, be transformative, and do good in the places we visit.
In 2020, we joined Tourism Declares a Climate Emergency to pledge our Climate Action Plan. Celebrating experiences that are kind to the environment is in our DNA, so reducing carbon comes naturally. As part of our plan, we pledge to encourage clients to travel less but for longer, use local transport where possible, experience local food, and measure our actions. We also work with our local hosts to support climate-friendly solutions.
Carefully Curated
Our trips revolve around passionate locals that want to share their slice of Norway, whether that’s in the heart of a pulsing city or on a sailing boat in the back of beyond. We also look for ways to slow down, which could involve taking a slower mode of transport, travelling by your own steam, or spending longer at each destination.
Other essential factors include handpicking sustainable places to stay, organic and local food, destinations that Norwegians are proud of, and standout experiences that visitors rarely get the chance to be part of.
PARTNERS
People who always support and endorse our good work!
