About

I grew up in the Hudson Highlands, just about an hour north of New York City and a prime tourism destination for day-trippers from the city. I first fell in love with traveling when I was young while watching the travel channel with my mother. I was inspired by the beautiful places and interesting cultures we saw on TV.

When I got older, I started my career working in various customer service positions that catered to the travelers visiting the area. Then, in 2016 I was given the opportunity to travel to Kyrgyzstan for work. I immediately fell in love with the country, the people, and the culture. After travelling extensively throughout Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and the rest of Central Asia, I vowed to make Central Asia my permanent home.

When the opportunity to work for Tenti Travel Agency came up, I jumped at the chance. I want to help more people discover these two amazing countries and have them fall in love as I did.

When I'm not designing tours or travelling, I teach English to high school and university age students, cook, or craft.

Elise's Travel Expertise

Since I first came to Central Asia, I have been fascinated by each country's unique culture. While there are many similarities, the differences are made apparent through close observation. My main area of expertise is culture because I find these subtle nuances so intriguing.

Additionally, I love history. The fact that much of the history of Central Asian countries is still shrouded in mystery and steeped in legend makes it so much more appealing to me.

While these are my particular areas of expertise, they in no way limit the bespoke tours I can design for you. Each of our team members has their own area of expertise including (but not limited to) unique, off-the-beaten-path destinations around Kyrgyzstan, mountaineering, adventure, food, 4x4 and backcountry skiing. We all work together to make sure each of our custom tours is tailor-made to our clients.

Expert Destinations

Elise's best travel experience

I believe that memorable and unique travel experiences come not from the place you travel to, but who you experience the place with. I am lucky enough to have a plethora of memorable and unique experiences to choose from, but my favorite happened in Kyrgyzstan. While the time itself was nothing overtly adventurous or over-the-top, it remains one of my best memories with great friends.

I first came to Kyrgyzstan to work as an English teacher for the United States Peace Corps. At the end of our two years of service, my entire cohort gathered together for a final conference at Issyk-kul, the second largest alpine lake in the world. Afterwards, some of my friends and I chose to extend our weekend and spend time together for the last time before we parted ways. I called a friend and arranged to rent her beach house for the weekend before we headed into town to buy supplies. The first night we cooked food that we missed from home and told stories about our service around Kyrgyzstan. The next day we took off for the hot springs, where we spent the entire day relaxing. That night we went home, cooked some more amazing food and sat by bonfire playing cards and telling stories. While it might be simple it's one of my favorite travel memories with some of my favorite people.

Why is Elise the right travel expert

I make it my priority to design unique, interesting, and immersive tours around Central Asia. I love showing off my chosen home to everyone and letting them experience the amazing cultures and stunning environments. Additionally, at Tenti, we truly pride ourselves on our professionalism and customer service. We do our best to make sure everyone's time with us is special and memorable. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me!