Backroads-The Place For Active Travel

If you like to hike, bike, kayak, enjoy great accommodations, delicious food, meeting people, seeing new places-then you will love the active travel vacations that the travel company Backroads has designed.

Bev here- Nate and I just returned from taking a Backroads Multi Adventure trip to the San Juan Islands in Washington State and we loved it. Here’s a little background information. We have taken one other trip with Backroads to Napa, probably ten years ago with two other couples- it exceeded our expectations, a thoughtful and meticulously designed active trip. We did the Premiere Hotels and signed up for the Biking trip- NO E-BIKES THEN- and still loved it.

Fast forward to 2023- we are celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary (hey how did that go by so fast!!??) and discussing a trip with our good friends (Sally and Wade) who are also celebrating their 40th- And Voila- next thing you know we are planning a Backroads Trip.

Backroads-The Place For Active Travel

Backroads has trip itineraries for biking, hiking, multi-adventure, adults, families, private groups and covers more than 50 countries. It is such a fun way to vacation. Check out their website here for all of the information. For Nate and I, the four consistent ingredients for both trips were the Guides, the Guests, the Activities and the Lodging.

Our Wonderful Guides

We can only base our opinion on the two trips that Nate and I personally took, yet everyone else we spoke with who has taken one of these trips always comments on how incredible their guides were. Our group felt the same about our guides on this trip- Eleni and Josie. They are intelligent, thoughtful, professional, engaging, competent, positive and so much more. They take care of everything- from introductions, transporting the guests, luggage, bikes and all accessories, leading and participating in all activities, providing local and historical information, whipping up amazing lunch displays- all with a smile on their faces and always taking care of unexpected events that occur. It was my birthday on one of the days- they went above and beyond to celebrate this and a big THANK YOU for that!!!

Guests

There is something about a shared common experience of the daily activities and enjoying an evening meal together that naturally brings the group together. Our group was a wonderful group of eight- Nate and I and our friends Sally and Wade all from Michigan. A great couple from Grand Rapids, Michigan and two friends from Illinois who also knew friends of our friends rounded out our group. You can also go by yourself, go with friends, make it an active family trip or gather a large group- 12 or more- to schedule a private trip.

Activities

The previous trip Nate and I took was a biking trip in Napa. We loved it! The routes included stops at wineries and any guest could modify any ride. The trip we just took was a multi-adventure itinerary with hiking, biking and kayaking. Each activity was fantastic, the views were amazing and the e-bikes were game changers. When do you every go uphill at 11 MPH?! Backroads provides everything you need for each activity- helmets, walking sticks, snacks, water bottles everything!! The have an app that details each day’s itinerary and routes. They also have Wahoo GPS Bike Computers that have your route programmed. Every detail is attended to for your active travel vacation.

Accommodations

Backroads offers two grades of accomodations, Casual and Premier. We chose the Premier trip and enjoyed our stay the the Inn at Langley on Whidbey Island and the Roche Harbor Resort on San Juan Island. The view from our room at the Inn at Langley was breath taking. The delicious breakfast selections prepared each day and the Spa deserve an honorable mention. The Roche Harbor Resort is a quaint property right on the harbor with great restaurants, gardens and a marina to wander around.

Outfit Ideas

Here are some outfit ideas for Biking and Hiking. I bought the Patagonia Atom Sling Bag 8L- click here for more information about it. It was the best accessory, it is perfect for carrying your personal items on any active travel vacations- seriously. Hey it would be a great gift idea for anyone who is taking an adventure vacation!!

Interested in any of these items, please click on the photos below for more information.

Interested in any of these items, please click on any photo below for more information.

Related: Jackets For Fall

This is not a sponsored post- we just want to share this great company with you in case you are looking for a new type of vacation to take. Let us know if you agree!

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Bev and Val

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