82 TRAVEL+LEISURE | SEPTEMBER 2019
A-List advisors know where to
find the most Instagram-worthy
views, like the Acropolis as seen
from Athens’s Filopoppou Hill.
CENTRAL EUROPE
Ellison Poe
By traveling to Austria and
neighboring countries twice
a year, Poe has developed a
deep understanding of
the region and can score
perks like upgrades at five-
star hotels in Vienna or
plan a private dinner at a
14th-century castle outside
Prague. She’s also an
authority on Austria’s under-
the-radar ski destinations,
including the smaller villages
of the Alps. Additional
specialties: East Africa,
Sri Lanka, and India; minimum
daily spend: none; 800-727-
1960; epoe@poe travel.com.
EASTERN AND
CENTRAL EUROPE
Gwen Kozlowski
Kozlowski has ties to
top-tier hotels like the Four
Seasons Hotel Prague and the
Raffles Europejski Warsaw
(which appeared on T+L’s
2019 It List) and can set
you up with cultural
experiences like lessons in
traditional Easter-egg
painting. She’s also attuned
to destinations on the rise,
like Gdańsk, a port city on the
coast of Poland. Minimum
daily spend: $800; 800-
633-1008; gwen@exeter
international.com.
Jay Ternavan
Having lived throughout
Europe since the early
2000s, Ternavan has
witnessed the effects of
overtourism, so he goes to
great lengths to promote less
obvious sides of popular
locales. In Dubrovnik, this
might mean having dinner
with a local family. Ternavan
prefers to partner with
independent hotels that give
his clients a more authentic
sense of a place. Minimum
daily spend: $200 per
person; 800-344-5785; jay@
jayway travel.com.FRANCE
Kathy Stewart
As the director for Butterfield
& Robinson’s trip-planning
division, Stewart can
organize oyster tastings, art
classes, meetings with
winemakers, and much
more. She is especially adept
at helping clients fulfill their
passions, with trips like a
bike tour through the French
countryside. Additional
specialties: family travel, the
Mediterranean, and the U.K.;
minimum daily spend: $750per person; 800-678-1147;
[email protected].FRANCE,
SWITZERLAND
Bob Preston
Preston’s connections with
experts give his clients
access to experiences nearly
impossible to obtain
otherwise. Are you an opera
fan? Go behind the scenes at
the Palais Garnier, in Paris.
Have a sweet tooth? Attend a
private pastry lesson in a
chef’s home. Additional
specialty: Laos; minimum
daily spend: $1,000; 347-696-
1050; [email protected].GREECE
Mina Agnos
Agnos’s frequent travels
through the Greek islands
allow her to stay up-to-dateon popular destinations
like Santorini and Corfu, as
well as lesser-known ones
like Sífnos and Schinoussa.
She can charter a high-speed
boat with a captain who’ll
teach guests how to collect
and eat sea urchins straight
from the water. Additional
specialties: Italy, Croatia, and
Spain; minimum daily spend:
$350 per person; 561-300-
7436; [email protected].Christos Stergiou
Stergiou, who grew up in
Athens, knows every secret
beach, crowd-free island, and
independent hotel in Greece.
Recently, he secured a tour of
an archaeological site not yet
open to the public on the
island of Despotiko. Additional
specialty: the Mediterranean;
minimum daily spend: $350
per person; 800-817-7098;
[email protected].Europe