Your Search Results

Hiking in panorama trail leading to Kleine Scheidegg from Mannlichen with Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau mountain (Swiss Alps) in the background, Berner Oberland, Grindelwald, Switzerland.

Top Five Places to Travel in July

The solstice might have passed, but that doesn’t mean the fun is over! Summer is in full swing and around the world people are sweating out long climbs on the bicycle, exploring hidden mountains and valleys on foot, and relaxing on sunny beaches with a cold drink at the end of the day. Don’t you want to join them? July is a great month to travel with your family, friends or solo, and wherever you go you’re sure to find something exciting. Here are our top picks for the month.

Backroads Staff Ride 2015 Tuscany Unicorns

Backroads Staff Ride!

If you've been a guest on a Backroads trip, you probably remember how bright, friendly, hard-working and extremely energetic your Trip Leaders were. Well, it's safe to say that most Backroads employees, across the board, share similar traits. So what happens when 350 of us set aside our day-to-day work and embark on a trip of our own? A veritable explosion of epic biking, hiking, laughing, bonding, eating, toasting, costumes and dancing known as the Staff Ride!

Stasa-kitesurfing-Daniel-Herbert

Leader Stasa Kraljic

"Tourism: Your everyday life is somebody else's adventure." Staša Kraljiĉ uses this quote from international free speech organization Loesje to rationalize her love for working in tourism, which she has done--to some extent--since she was in college. You could easily replace 'tourism' with 'Staša' in this quote, as this Backroads Leader is a fun-loving, globe-trotting polyglot who tirelessly lives life to the fullest.

espresso shot. intense, strong, bitter, on the go. photo courtesy of licia elementi

A Guide to Italian Coffee

You might think of coffee as just a hot beverage you drink from a paper cup in the car on the way to work. Here in Italy, coffee is not simply a drink, it's a key aspect of the culture. It's a social event and a tradition that Italians proudly preserve. If you find yourself looking for a pick-me-up in Italy, here are some helpful tips on what--and when--to order.

Canyonlands Vista

Hiking in Utah's Desert: Discovering its Subtle Beauty

The high desert is one of those places always worth visiting, particularly in the spring. Seemingly barren at first glance, it's the small springtime pops of paintbrush red, prickly pear pink, penstemon magenta and cliffrose white that draw our attention. These blossoms help us understand that the desert is not just a giant sandbox, but rather a colorful landscape teeming with life.

shutterstock fondue matterhorn - Courtesy Shutterstock

Fondue like Swiss do

If I learned one thing while studying in Switzerland, it’s that fondue brings people together. Fondue in winter warms you up from the inside. Summer fondue is a naughty pleasure, like a morning mimosa. Should you find yourself high in the mountains after a day of hiking or cycling, starting to shiver beneath the green-cheese moon—maybe it’s time to ditch the diet and dip in.

Norway Village and Lake

Hiking in Norway: A Guest's Perspective

The vastness and beauty of Norway’s fjords and lands are beyond description and must be experienced to be appreciated. Backroads took our group to areas of Norway most tours and visitors will never see. Every detail was planned and balanced with enough free time and choice of daily hikes depending on how one felt that day. This trip was perfect for our group of seven women, giving us the freedom to simply enjoy Norway, have fun and create memories together.

Backroads Hiker on Dock at lake in Chile

Finding Backroads in Chile

I’m often asked how I found my job leading Backroads trips… Fate. Magic. Luck… Well, perhaps a combination of those things. It’s a unique story that involves a photography exposition, a small community in northern Chile and two random backpackers high in the Chilean mountains. And it’s a story that put me on a path to helping develop a brand new Backroads trip for this coming December in a corner of South American that is easily one of my favorite places in the world.

Valley Overlook

Autumn Biking in Provence

Fall in Provence is a magical time. The weather is usually crisp and clear due to the mistral winds blowing hard from the northwest. The usually silver-green hills turn a vibrant reddish orange and the air smells of smoky olives as farmers burn the cuttings pruned from their crops.

Assembly of WBR Buffalo Bikes

The Power of a Bicycle to a Child

Looking through the window of the bus that was driving me from the airport through town, I understood this trip was going to be very different. I could see many people walking the dusty streets of the capital in oppressive heat, some of them carrying jugs of water on their head. For the first time of my life, I was in Africa.

Backroads Guests 1988

Taking the Backroads to Love: A Guest's Perspective

When I decided to embark on my first Backroads adventure, I was not a biker. I was not even particularly athletic. I was a 24-year-old, newly single teacher in Tampa, Florida. I had just spent months planning the June wedding of my dreams, but I knew something was not right. I called off my engagement and was at a loss of what to do with my newfound freedom. My summer of 1988 was now wide open.

Wanderlust World Guide Awards Kelsey Tonner in Myanmar

Wanderlust World Guide Awards: Kelsey Tonner

We're proud to announce that our very own leader Kelsey Tonner has made the short list for the Wanderlust World Guide Award, the only global award for tour leaders and guides. Wanderlust is a British travel magazine that focuses on intelligent and inspirational travel, and Kelsey helps provide just that. We caught up with Kelsey to learn more about him and the award.

Herd of goats along a dirt path with a truck in the distance

Creature Comforts: Honeymoon Safari in Tanzania

I booked Backroads’ Tanzania Active Safari Tour, confident that we’d have the best possible itinerary for our African honeymoon. But I had no idea how wonderful it would be—or that the Backroads crew and our local hosts had a few surprises in store along the way.

bike

An Unlikely Journey

From Picking Grapes to Sipping Wines: Daniel Rodriguez’s path from working in the vineyards as a migrant farmworker to cycling past them as a Backroads guest.

Backroads Hiking Bryce Canyon

Top Five Places to Travel in May

Summer is so close you can almost taste it. It's the time of year for graduations, grilling on the porch and staying up late to catch fireflies. The whole world seems content in May, looking forward to the long days and warm nights of the summer ahead.

Andy Russell in the Dolomites on a Backroads trip

Andy Russell, Former NFL Star

I've been lucky in my time as a Backroads leader to have some amazing guests, like Andy Russell. If that name rings a bell, it's because Andy was an NFL star in the 1960s and '70s. It was day three of our trip and Andy and I were riding along a gorgeous stretch of road. Something shiny coming from Andy's handlebars caught my eye, so I took a look: a ring. It looked like a Super Bowl ring. I had to ask.... Andy, who hadn't mentioned anything up to this point, grinned a little grin and told me his story, and what a story it was!

Valley in Colombia

Top Five Places to Travel in December

December is the season of togetherness: spending time with your loved ones, enjoying good food and taking some time off to reflect on the passing year. But if you're looking to mix up the traditional holiday season of eggnog and family dinners by adding some elevated adventure, December can the perfect month to travel and get away from it all!

Scotland Isle of Skye - Scottish Highlands

Top Five Places to Travel in June

June is a time of festivals, of family time, of exotic adventures and challenging yourself to try something new. Here are our top destinations for the month.

Oregon's Columbia River Gorge Bike Tour Waterfall

Top Five Places to Travel in August

Here are our top picks for places to travel in August, from beer festivals in Berlin to wildflower blooms in Ireland. Discover the best August destinations.

Two men on a grassy path looking at mountains

The Six Best Hikes in Spain

At Backroads, we’ve explored Spain for decades. These are the 6 best hiking destinations for all activity levels.

Hotel Sunset

The Ten Most Romantic Hotels in the World


Whether it’s watching the sunset over the ocean in Vietnam, savoring antipasti on the Amalfi Coast or relaxing in a private jacuzzi in the cloud forest of Costa Rica, nothi