Some trips you take. A Backroads trip takes you in — into the landscape, into the local rhythm, into a region you thought you knew until you slowed down to two wheels or two feet. Since 1979, Backroads has built its reputation as the global leader in active travel, and for the right traveler there’s simply nothing like it.
Backroads vacations tours are fully supported active travel itineraries — biking, hiking and walking, and multi-adventure trips — that pair daily outdoor exploration with handpicked accommodations, regional cuisine and the support of up to four expert Trip Leaders. The result is a way of seeing the world that feels both effortless and genuinely earned.
As a Virtuoso travel advisor, I help my clients choose the right Backroads itinerary for their pace and interests — and then weave it into a larger luxury journey, connecting an active land tour with a river cruise, a legendary train, or a continent-spanning adventure.
Plenty of companies will sell you a guided tour. Very few build the support system Backroads does. Over 95% of scheduled Backroads departures travel with at least three Trip Leaders and two or more support vehicles, and the most logistically complex trips add a fourth leader — which is why the guest-to-leader ratio routinely runs better than six to one.
That ratio is the whole point. It means you genuinely go at your own pace. Want the long route while your partner takes the gentle one? Done. Feel like calling it a day and hopping in the van for the last few miles? Equally welcome. One leader sweeps the road in the support vehicle, another rides among the group, and a third keeps the day running — picnic set up here, luggage delivered there, a flat tire handled before you’ve noticed it.
Backroads employs its Trip Leaders rather than relying on independent contractors, runs one of the most rigorous training programs in travel, and it shows: leaders earn a 9.8-out-of-10 average guest rating, and more than 90% return season after season. On biking days you ride a precision-fitted custom titanium performance bike — or a custom e-bike when you’d like a boost — drawn from a professionally maintained fleet, with preloaded GPS navigation so you’re never guessing at a turn.
Backroads’ three core collections are Biking, Walking & Hiking, and Multi-Adventure, with a growing range of specialty trips built around who you’re traveling with and the pace you prefer.
The adventures that started it all. Backroads biking tours range from leisurely vineyard spins to genuine mountain climbs, with a choice of daily routes so the day flexes to your mood. Cycle the lavender-lined back roads of Provence, the vineyard lanes of Bordeaux and Burgundy, the dramatic coastline of the Amalfi or the temple paths around Kyoto — every route designed to maximize scenery and keep you off the traffic.
Discover a region at the most rewarding pace there is. Walking and hiking tours move from gentle valley strolls to high-country treks: vineyard walks in the Loire, coastal paths along Croatia’s Dalmatian shore, the terraced trails of Peru’s Sacred Valley, the wide wild horizons of Patagonia. Local hosts join along the way to open up the culture, food and history you’d otherwise walk right past.
For travelers who don’t want to choose. Multi-adventure tours fold biking, hiking, kayaking and more into a single itinerary, so you experience a destination from a different angle every day — pedaling a river path in the morning, paddling a coastline in the afternoon. They’re also among the best Backroads trips for mixed groups, where not everyone wants the same thing on the same day.
Backroads pioneered active family travel and still does it better than anyone, grouping trips by your kids’ ages — Families with Kids & Teens, Teens & 20s, and 20s & Beyond for families traveling with adult children. The activities, the accommodations and the pacing are all tuned to keep everyone, from the youngest rider to the grandparents, fully in it together.
Not every great trip needs to be a hard one. Dolce Tempo is Backroads’ easygoing collection — relaxed e-biking, gentle walking and unhurried multi-adventure itineraries for travelers who’d rather savor the scenery than chase the next climb. You get every hallmark of the classic Backroads experience — the leaders, the accommodations, the cuisine — at a slower, more indulgent tempo.
One of Backroads’ most distinctive offerings, and an easy one to confuse with a conventional cruise — so here’s the difference. On a Backroads Active Cruise you unpack once aboard a small, intimate ship that works as a floating boutique hotel, then spend full active days ashore: biking riverside paths, hiking, kayaking. Backroads runs these on the Danube, Rhine, Rhône and Seine and through Portugal’s Douro Valley, and on active ocean cruises aboard vessels such as Ponant’s Le Paul Gauguin in Tahiti and Silversea’s Silver Origin in the Galápagos. Where a traditional cruise gives you a brief shore excursion, Backroads gives you the whole day on the ground.
Backroads also runs trips built around how and with whom you want to travel: Women’s Adventures for women traveling together, dedicated departures for 30s & 40s, Private Trips for your own group on your own dates, and Active Safaris that trade the safari truck for game drives, guided bush walks and paddling on Africa’s waterways. Culinary tours pair the riding and walking with private estate tastings, truffle-country lunches and local market mornings — for travelers who love good food as much as good miles.
Short on time, long on appetite for adventure. Weekend Getaways deliver the full Backroads experience in a compact format — close-to-home active escapes designed for travelers who can’t always get away for two weeks.
| Collection | Best for | Signature destinations | Pace |
|---|---|---|---|
| Biking Tours | Cyclists of every level | Provence, Bordeaux, Amalfi Coast, Kyoto | Easygoing to challenging |
| Walking & Hiking | Travelers who explore on foot | Loire Valley, Dalmatian Coast, Sacred Valley, Patagonia | Gentle to demanding |
| Multi-Adventure | “I want to do it all” | Danube, Greek Isles, Costa Rica | Varied by day |
| Family Vacations | Families, grouped by kids’ ages | Italy, Canadian Rockies, Iceland | Family-tuned |
| Dolce Tempo | A slower, savored pace | Tuscany, Costa Brava, Loire | Relaxed e-biking & walking |
| Active River & Ocean Cruises | Unpack once, explore daily | Danube, Rhine, Seine, Douro, Galápagos | Active days, easy nights |
| Active Safaris | A different kind of Africa | Tanzania, Botswana, South Africa | Active + game viewing |
| Weekend Getaways | Limited time | Regional escapes | Short-format active |
A Backroads tour is extraordinary on its own. Paired with the right luxury experience, it becomes a trip of a lifetime. This is where working with a Virtuoso advisor changes things — I curate the connections so two great experiences become one seamless itinerary.
Backroads operates its own active river cruises, but many of my clients want the full white-glove cruise experience as its own distinct voyage. So I’ll pair a land-based Backroads biking or walking tour with a dedicated luxury sailing aboard Riverside Luxury Cruises — cycle Bordeaux wine country with Backroads, then settle into the best Bordeaux river cruise on the Garonne and Dordogne. Two separate experiences, one effortless journey.
A Backroads tour through Provence, Tuscany or the Loire pairs beautifully with the golden-age romance of Belmond Trains Europe. Spend your days on two wheels, then board the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express or the British Pullman for travel that’s a destination in itself — active immersion and grand-hotel-on-rails elegance in a single trip.
Backroads’ hikes through Peru’s Sacred Valley, Patagonia and Argentina’s wine country connect naturally into a wider South America luxury tour, turning a single active trip into a continent-spanning adventure with luxury lodges and private guiding between the trails.
Backroads’ Iceland hiking and cycling pairs with a luxury Iceland cruise aboard Silversea — active volcanic-landscape exploration by day, extraordinary Arctic luxury by sea, with the most dramatic scenery on either side of the gangway.
You can book a Backroads trip directly. What you can’t get directly is a Virtuoso advisor who knows these itineraries in detail, matches the right collection and departure to your pace and party, and connects it into a larger luxury journey.
When you plan with me at Tasteful Voyages, you get genuinely personal guidance from your first call to your return home — help choosing among collections, securing sought-after departures, and building a fully curated itinerary that links your Backroads tour to luxury river cruises, Belmond trains, riverside luxury cruises and South America tours. One advisor, one relationship, every detail handled.
What are Backroads vacations tours?
Backroads vacations tours are fully supported active travel itineraries — biking, walking and hiking, and multi-adventure trips — that combine daily outdoor exploration with handpicked accommodations, regional cuisine and expert Trip Leaders. Founded in 1979, Backroads is the global leader in active travel, operating trips on seven continents.
What types of tours does Backroads offer?
Backroads’ core collections are Biking, Walking & Hiking, and Multi-Adventure. It also offers Family Vacations grouped by children’s ages, Dolce Tempo easygoing trips, Active River & Ocean Cruises, Women’s Adventures, Private Trips, dedicated 30s & 40s departures, Active Safaris, Culinary tours and Weekend Getaways.
What is a Dolce Tempo Backroads tour? Dolce Tempo is Backroads’ easygoing collection, featuring relaxed e-biking, gentle walking and unhurried multi-adventure itineraries for travelers who prefer a slower, more savored pace — with all the same leaders, accommodations and cuisine as a classic Backroads trip.
How many Trip Leaders are on a Backroads tour?
Most Backroads departures travel with at least three Trip Leaders and two or more support vehicles, with a fourth leader added on the most complex trips. This produces a guest-to-leader ratio of better than six to one, so guests can always go at their own pace.
Are Backroads tours suitable for families?
Yes. Backroads pioneered active family travel and groups trips by children’s ages — Kids & Teens, Teens & 20s, and 20s & Beyond — with activities, accommodations and pacing designed so every generation can travel together.
Does Backroads offer river cruises?
Yes. Backroads Active River Cruises sail the Danube, Rhine, Rhône and Seine and Portugal’s Douro Valley aboard small, intimate ships, with full active days ashore — biking, hiking and kayaking — rather than the brief shore excursions of a conventional cruise.
Can I combine a Backroads tour with a luxury cruise or train journey?
Yes, and Tasteful Voyages specializes in exactly this. Virtuoso advisor Joan Qualls can pair your Backroads tour with a luxury river cruise, a Belmond Trains Europe journey or a South America luxury tour, curating two distinct experiences into one seamless itinerary.
Whether you dream of cycling through Bordeaux wine country, hiking Patagonia’s wilderness, paddling Croatia’s Adriatic coast, or pairing a Backroads tour with a luxury Bordeaux river cruise, every detail can be planned to perfection.
Contact Tasteful Voyages today and let your most extraordinary Backroads vacation begin.