Tours of a Lifetime
Backroads: What It’s Like to Travel with the World’s Leading Active Adventure Company
There are a few moments on a Backroads trip when you catch yourself thinking, “This is exactly how travel should feel.” It might be early morning on a quiet lane in Burgundy, the air still cool as you pedal past rows of sun-dappled vines. You stop, not because you have to, but because a Trip Leader is waiting with warm pastries and fresh fruit, greeting you by name, somehow knowing whether you prefer coffee or tea.
That’s the real difference. Backroads doesn’t feel like a packaged group tour. It feels as though someone has anticipated your best vacation ever and quietly handled every detail, leaving you with nothing to do but take it all in.
Travel That Fits—No Matter Who You Are
Every Backroads guest wakes up with a range of options. Each day’s itinerary offers a range of routes, from challenging climbs for those who want them to gentle loops for travelers who prefer to linger over landscapes. You don’t need to keep pace with anyone but yourself. If you’re going to take a break, you can hop in the van without any questions asked. If you’d rather skip the ride and explore a hilltop town, your Trip Leader will point you toward their favorite bakery or secret swimming spot.
The real magic is in the flexibility. It’s travel designed for both the type-A explorer and the laid-back dreamer. Backroads Trip Leaders, who are as much local friends as logistics experts, handle everything with ease. They know the shortcut to the best gelato in Tuscany and the name of the cheesemaker at tomorrow’s picnic stop. Somehow, they seem genuinely invested in making sure you get what you want out of the trip—even if you change your mind at the last minute.
Surprise and Delight, Daily
Each day brings something unexpected. Maybe it’s an impromptu tasting in a hillside vineyard, or a pop-up riverside lunch with food that tastes better than anything you’d expect in the middle of nowhere. One night you might be dining under the stars on the patio of a 16th-century inn, the following swapping stories by the fire with fellow travelers who, only a few days ago, were total strangers.
The luxury isn’t just in the properties—though you’ll stay in some real gems—but in the feeling that the whole experience is somehow tailored to you. Luggage appears in your room before you do. E-bikes show up when your legs are tired. If it rains, a backup plan appears instantly, and you find yourself in a cozy café you never would have discovered on your own.
Backroads makes the logistics invisible, so you can focus on the moments that matter: watching the sunset from a quiet bluff, laughing with your Trip Leaders over dinner, hearing a bit of local history straight from someone who lives it.
