Who are we?
The world belongs to us but we also belong to the world. As long as you don’t know the world then you don’t know who you are.
Peter Hofman, founder of Ryce Travel
Ryce Travel is a platform for adventurers who want to explore the world. People who want to learn about other places. Travelers looking for authenticity and insane experiences. Every place is unique and every person is different. That’s why we love this world. Despite what the media pretends, we live in a fantastic time and on a fantastic planet. It is even more accessible than ever and, above all, more travelable than ever. Above all, let’s enjoy that and expand our horizons.
So there are the world’s (un)known destinations where tourism can make a substantial difference. Unfortunately, locals are sharing less and less of the revenue from tourism. Ryce Travel wants to break this spell. With us, you don’t go on vacation but actually undertake a journey. You experience the local culture, visit breathtaking and unique places, and your spending benefits local people. We expressed this thought earlier as follows: “The world belongs to us but we also belong to the world. As long as you don’t know the world then you don’t know who you are”.
And that is exactly what we propagate: come and discover the world, open up to new experiences and share your own ideas to other people.
Maksat Aitkulov
Manager Kyrgyzstan
Maksat Aitkulov is one of the founding father of Ryce Travel He has years of experience as a mountain guide and completed the “Guiding School” in the city of Karakol. In 2016 he started Ryce Travel in Kyrgyzstan together with Peter Hofman This began with a ski rental and each year it expanded to include new activities.
Aynazik Kubanıçbekova
Assistant Manager Kyrgyzstan
Aynazik worked for a local restaurant for many years. She was our favorite waiter at Dastarkon Restaurant in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan. Thanks to her talent for languages and eagerness to learn, she quickly became part of our Ryce family. She is now responsible for all administration and finances of Ryce Travel in Kyrgyzstan and also regularly leads group tours.
Tornike Matsaberidze
Manager Georgia
Tornike is our multi-talented manager in Georgia. He started out as a guide in the mountains of the Caucasus. He was born in Racha and prefers to dwell in rugged mountain landscapes. Still, he regularly returns to the capital to build a tiny house in the hills above the city. He continues to guide many of our trips in Georgia, and we are incredibly grateful for his amazing enthusiasm for the country.
Ruslan Asanaliyev
Manager Kazakhstan
Ruslan Asanaliyev is the manager of the branch in Almaty, Kazakhstan. He is guiding adventure trips to all corners of Kazakhstan. Since 2019 he is doing that for Ryce Travel. Ruslan was born in Karakol, Kyrgyzstan, but for many years he has lived in Kazakhstan’s largest city.
Peter Hofman
Ryceleader
Peter Hofman is the founder and director of the Ryce Travel Foundation in the Netherlands. As a travel junkie, Peter has seen much of the world. After gaining experience at commercial travel organizations, he decided to take a different approach. Adventurous non-profit trips that benefit local people — that’s the motto these days.
Bardhosh Morina
Manager Balkans
No question is too crazy for Bardhosh and no task is difficult enough. He plows through the snow with PistenBullys and always makes sure we have transportation in the Balkans. He is one of the best skiers in the region, runs his own family owner guesthouse and owns a camper van rental company Rightfully a jack of all trades.
Ruslon Belyi
Photographer & Editor
Ruslon Belyi is our local photographer in Central Asia. He has taken insane photos during our travels and we are extremely happy to have him on our team. He contributes greatly to the promotion of Ryce Travel in Kyrgyzstan and beyond.
Aleksey Balybin
Guide & Ski Instructor
Aleksey Balybin is one of Kyrgyzstan’s best skiers and regularly competes in Central Asia. In winter, he works as a ski instructor of the Karakol ski resort. But he is mainly working as a cat ski guide in Jyrgalan. In the summer, Aleksey works as a mountain guide in the Tien Shan Mountains.
Akay Ryspaev
Guide horseback riding
Akay Ryspaev is our guide during horseback riding tours in Kyrgyzstan. After completing his Communication studies at KGUSTA school in Bishkek, he started working with Ryce Travel. Meanwhile, he started his own horse trekking company called Horserider Kyrgyzstan, but he is still guiding our horse back riding days in winter.
Lauren Tamboryn
Content Manager
Lauren is Ryce Travel’s Flemish language prodigy. After several seasons in the French Alps, she comes to help us create content. With her knowledge of other languages and cultures, she is an absolute asset. Moreover, it is a treasure of a human being.
Bardh Sanaja
Guide Kosovo
Bardh is Ryce Travel’s ecological guardian angel. He is working in Kosovo on several projects to preserve animals from extinction. You can read his articles in various scientific journals. In winter, he works as an all-round guide in the Macedonian and Kosovar mountains.
Jorrian Hop
Secretary
Jorrian Hop is the secretary of Ryce Travel. He has traveled extensively in recent years and he is a great asset to Ryce Travel. Strengthening local economies by providing resources and knowledge is his goal.
Sergey Patlay
Guide Kyrgyzstan & Kazakhstan
Sergey is the multitasker who keeps everything organized from his hometown of Bishkek. He guides groups in both Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan, and in the summer he takes tourists out in his 4×4. No matter which season you visit, Sergey is always the perfect guide for you.
George Gulyaev
Guide Uzbekistan
George is our reliable partner in Uzbekistan. You can wake him up for any extreme sport. If something needs to be organized in Uzbekistan, George is always available. From Tashkent, he covers every corner of the vast Central Asian country.
Vasiliy Nemchenko
Guide Kyrgyzstan
Vasiliy has an incredible amount of experience as a ski guide in Kyrgyzstan. He completed the training to become a judge for the Freeride World Tour and often leads ski-touring groups in the Tien Shan mountains. You’ll also frequently encounter him at our cat-ski base in Jyrgalan, Kyrgyzstan — as a cat-ski guide.
Raimon Loman
Man of the projects
Raimon is our man of projects and commercial expert. He has started businesses in South Africa and the Netherlands and has traveled to exotic destinations in the Indian Ocean, South America and Asia. After a complex shoulder luxation, he unfortunately stopped snowboarding.
Wim Hofman
Treasurer
Wim is our experienced treasurer. He takes care of our budget and finances. No expenditures will be made without his approval. This makes it transparent for both our guests and ourselves. Wim is also responsible for local iniatives to raise awareness.
Donat Hoti
Guide Kosovo
Donat is the young dog of the bunch. Working in the rugged mountains of the Balkans. He is guiding Ski Adventure tours in Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania In the summer, he works as a guide for Via Ferrata and Zip-line.
Tarek Fenianos
Manager Lebanon
Tarek is an FIS World Cup skier who organizes adventure travel for Ryce Travel. He is an amazing freerider and one of the best wakeboarders in town. He now runs his own wake park near Paris called Ezypark. Although he spends a lot of time in France and Spain, Lebanon is his baby.
Nino Fenianos
Guide Lebanon
Nino is Ryce Travel’s comedian. In addition to his own stand-up comedy show, he makes mincemeat of every freerider. He has skied several World Cup competitions for Lebanon. In 2022 he joined the Winter Olypics as a coach for Lebanon
Vadim Karaulnyh
Guide Kyrgyzstan
Vadim is the absolute show-man of Ryce Travel. He is always up for a joke and has energy for 3, Of course, he is an insanely good skier and teaches Kyrgyz children. By the way, don’t forget to check him out on instagram. He is one of the adventure influencers in Kyrgyzstan
Elise Chen
Manager China
Elise warmed our hearts when we first met her in Xinjiang, China. In no time, she developed into a gifted snowboarder. With her infectious enthusiasm, she gets anything done. We couldn’t have imagined a better guide and friend in China.
Dejan Lazareviic
Guide Montenegro
Dejan is a true Montenegrin, deeply rooted in the mountains. He never hides his love for mountain biking. He is our ski-touring guide in the Durmitor and Prokletije mountains and spends most of his summers in the Nevidio canyon, just south of Žabljak.
Zero Wang
Guide China
Zero is the ultimate life of the party at Ryce Travel. He’s an insanely good snowboarder, but he’s also insanely good at cracking jokes. He has endless knowledge of Chinese culture and knows how to combine it well with the knowledge he’s gained in the West.
Wendy de Jonge
Operational Manager
With her extensive experience as a tour leader, Wendy does a fantastic job improving our customer journey. She ensures that all operations run smoothly and that communication is clear. We wouldn’t know what to do without her.
Taha Daminbaev
Guide & Service Manager Kirgizië
Taha is a jack-of-all-trades. He guides our adventurous winter sports and cat-ski trips in Kyrgyzstan. In addition, he maintains the ski and snowboard equipment and serves as a judge for the Freeride World Tour. He’s someone you always want to have around.
Vasiliy Bazhinov
Guide Kyrgyzstan
With his youthful energy, Vasiliy has a big influence on all of us. He’s a star with Excel and a star at après-ski. The Buchenwagen in Jyrgalan was partly born from his creative mind. He always brings a good dose of fun with him.
Lars Kumeling
Product manager
Lars joined Ryce Travel as an intern in 2021. He then became responsible for the new trips. With his knowledge of Central Asia, he is a source of development for countries such as Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Coralie Connac
Graphic design & Yurt specialist
Coralie works as a graphic designer for Ryce Travel. In addition, she helps a great deal with the sale and transport of Kyrgyz yurts. Raised in a family of competitive skiers, she is an enthusiastic snowboarder and a wonderful person.
Lorand Peter
Manager Romania
Lorand is the manager for all trips to Romania. After a random encounter in Muntele Mic, Lorand has proven to be incredibly valuable. With his Hungarian/German/Dacian background, he is a true Romanian.