Hei! I'm Michelle (35) and I'm head over heels in love with Norway.
Over the past 12 years I've travelled the country from east to west and from south to north. I've visited undiscovered gems, braved bitter winters and hiked countless kilometres through endless Norwegian summers. With all this experience in my back pocket, I'd love to help you put together an unforgettable trip to and around Norway and Finland!
Come and get lost!
Every time I was planning a trip to Norway, I ran into the same problem: most tour operators simply don't organise trips that suit who I am and what I want from a holiday. I want to explore, get lost, hike endlessly and, above all, go to places that aren't in the Lonely Planet. I want to get to know the people and the food, and do what the locals do. Not sit in traffic with other Dutch tourists on the way to a viewpoint, and then stay on the same campsite with those very same people.
So I started putting together my own holidays. I endlessly scoured the internet, read hundreds of reviews and blogs, combed through countless Instagram accounts, walked kilometres on Google Maps and, through trial and error, discovered the most beautiful places in Norway. Now I want to share all that knowledge and help you create a trip that shows you the real north. What I love most is putting together a completely tailor-made trip, but for the indecisive traveller I offer package trips – which, by the way, can be fully adapted to your wishes, needs and dreams.
With my lovingly crafted trips, I hope to inspire people to look beyond the beaten track. Only then do you truly get to know a country and really connect with nature. After all, you can only love nature once you get to know her. And once you know her, you can be a little kinder to her, live a little more consciously and, above all, enjoy more. That's why on this website I share, with lots of love and joy, all my wonderful memories, experiences, photos and tips for an unforgettable time in Norway – and you can also come to me for a personalised, tailor-made travel proposal.
Recently my love for the north has spread to Finland. My first experience of the country was under the midnight sun, and it was love at first sight. The silence, the people, the fantastic food, the culture... It's hard not to love it. That's why you can now also come to me for trips to the Finnish coast, Finnish Lapland or one of the thousands of beautiful lakes.
My personal travel rules
Better one amazing place than ticking off five clichéd highlights
Better a lonely detour than joining the queue to a viewpoint
I'll tell you what you can skip just as easily as what you absolutely must see
No route just because ‘everyone does it’, but because it's right for you
And best of all, I love sending you to places that make you think afterwards: how on earth did you find this?
How Lost in Norvana came to be
When, in the summer of 2015, several Norwegians told me that I had seen more of their country than they had, it finally sank in. Wouldn't it be a shame not to do anything with all that knowledge and experience?! In the spirit of New Year's resolutions, on 2 January 2016 I finally took the plunge:
From a blog to Lost in Norvana
After hearing that from several Norwegians, something started to stir. Maybe I really should do something with all those trips, experiences and tips.
What started as a place to share my travels, discoveries and love for Norway soon grew into an ever bigger platform full of personal tips and inspiration.
From travel stories and tips to something much bigger: helping travellers experience that special Norway feeling for themselves, with inspiration, personal travel plans and fully organised trips.
And I didn't have to think long about the name. From the very first moment, Norway has been SO much more to me than a holiday destination. Hiking through the mountains lit a fire in me that has never gone out since. In the mountains I feel stronger than ever and as free as a bird; in Norway I feel at home and a weight lifts from my shoulders. I feel carefree, unhurried and over the moon, and I'm overwhelmed by a feeling I had never known before.
In the end, that feeling got a name:
What does ‘Lost in Norvana’ mean?
Lost in Norvana is a blend of ‘Norway’ and ‘nirvana’. Nirvana literally means ‘blowing out’.
“The state, then, in which all desire has been extinguished, quenched. You are no longer hindered in any way by the dictatorship of your senses. The state of enlightenment, of liberation, in which it becomes clear that a rebirth = separation from the One is never needed again. In the true sense of the word, you have finally become immortal” (Source: encyclo.nl).
1. That feeling when you're standing somewhere in Norway, looking around, and there's really nowhere else you'd rather be.
Reader comments
Lost in Norvana has been around as a blog since 2016, and all that time readers have been leaving messages here. I read every one of them and love to reply. Will you leave one too?
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Questions, suggestions or personal travel advice?
Got questions or suggestions, or would you like personal travel advice? Feel free to get in touch via Facebook, Instagram or michelle@lostinnorvana.nl.
Work together?
Would you like to work with Lost in Norvana? Email me about the possibilities at michelle@lostinnorvana.nl or download my media kit for more information.
Leanne
Hei! I just stumbled across your blog from the lyngsford adventure Facebook page and you now have a new avid follower! I just read your about page and it was like reading about myself – obsessed with Norway, hiking and adventure! Planning to hike from Are in Sweden to Trondheim in Norway later this year, will be a dream come true! Looking forward to following your blog 🙂 – Leanne
Lost In Norvana
Hei Leanne!
Thank you for your reply on my blog! And how cool that you have the same love for Norway. 🙂 Looking forward you hearing about your adventures. That sounds like an amazing hike! I loved Trondheim A LOT! Thanks for your support! Have a great day.
Love, Michelle