From a chaotic first trip through Kyrgyzstan to leading groups across four continents. An idea that had been rising for a long time finally got its name. That is how Vegvisir Travel was born.
Before my first guiding trip I had little idea what I was getting myself into.
I got a call from a travel agency. They needed someone to guide two groups through Kyrgyzstan that summer. I loved traveling, I had time, and it sounded like an adventure. Nobody prepared me for what was coming.
The first trip was, to put it honestly, a mess. I didn't know how to handle a big group of people, I hadn't prepared the program well enough, and I was navigating a country and a culture I had never experienced before. I was thrown into cold water. Looking back, it could have gone way better. But I learned quickly. The second trip was already led in a completely different way. I knew the program, I knew what to expect, I knew myself a little more.
When I came home after a month in Kyrgyzstan, I told myself I would never do this again. It wasn't about liking or not liking the work. I simply wasn't prepared for it. Now, looking back, it is funny how the tables have turned.
It was May 2024, on a group tour through Iceland. While my clients were having soup in the little village of Arnarstapi on the Snæfellsnes peninsula, I was browsing the postcards at a nearby souvenir shop.
There it was. A simple card with a symbol I had never seen before. Eight rune staves radiating from a central point, precise and deliberate. I turned it over. On the back it read: "Vegvisir — protection on travels and help finding the right path."
It sparked something immediately. I looked it up later. The Vegvisir is an Icelandic magical stave, first recorded in the Huld Manuscript — a collection of 30 magical symbols compiled in 1860 in Akureyri, Iceland. Despite what many people assume, it is not a Viking symbol. It has no confirmed roots in the Viking Age and does not appear on any archaeological find from that era. What the manuscript says about it is simple and precise: "If this sign is carried, one will never lose one's way in storms or bad weather, even when the way is not known."
That was the name. Everything behind it was exactly what I stand for and how I see the future of traveling. The idea had been building for years. Now it had a compass.
I spent years leading hiking and trekking groups across Europe and beyond. That time revealed a clear pattern: many travelers, especially younger ones, didn't actually need a guide on the mountain. They needed someone to handle everything before they arrived.
Removing the guide cuts the cost, removes fixed dates, and gives travelers complete freedom to go at their own pace. A group of fifteen people is never homogeneous. Self-guided travel lets each person have the trip they actually wanted.
Everything a guide would have prepared: detailed day-by-day itineraries, vetted accommodation, GPX tracks, offline-ready PDF guides, transport logistics, local contacts, and ongoing support, all tailored to you after a real conversation, not built from a template.
I only offer destinations I've personally explored. Not researched from a desk. Walked, hiked, camped and eaten in. I'd rather know eight destinations deeply than offer fifty superficially. That depth is the whole product.
I believe the best trips are the ones you do on your own terms. No group schedules, no strangers, no compromises. I handle everything in advance so you can travel with the confidence of someone who's been there before. Without me being there at all.
Sustainability isn't a marketing add-on. I calculate estimated CO₂ emissions for every trip, plan around train and low-emission alternatives wherever possible, offset what can't be avoided, and work only with local partners who pay their people fairly.
No commission from the hotels I recommend, no markups on your bookings, no upselling. When I say a place is worth staying, it's because I'd stay there myself. My reputation depends on you coming back. And on you telling someone else.
Tell me where you want to go and I'll build the trip around you. Destination research, logistics, accommodation, GPX tracks, everything.