From India and Peru to Bhutan and Morocco, you submitted some fantastic photos of your Backroads journeys for our annual Backroads Photo Contest! You covered walking tours, biking tours, multisport tours, family adventure tours and more, and we must say, your photography skills aren’t too shabby!

Every year, Backroads invites our travelers to submit their best photos from their Backroads trip for a chance at a credit toward their next adventure tour with us! First place receives a $3000 trip credit; second place receives a $2000 trip credit; and third place receives a $1000 trip credit.

We’ve picked the best of the best from all of your submissions and have now opened voting. Anyone is welcome to vote for their favorite picture, and by voting, you’ll be entered to win a $200 Patagonia gift card. Not a bad prize for viewing some jaw-dropping photos!

Here’s just a sampling of the 2012 best Backroads adventure tour photo submissions:

Taken by C. Jennings on our Dalmatian Coast Family Multisport Tour:

Taken by C. Michel on our Bhutan Walking Tour:

Taken by K. Mills on our Loire Valley Biking Tour:

Taken by M. Sloane on our Canadian Rockies Multisport Tour:

Taken by D. Patton on our Death Valley Walking Tour:

This is just a handful of the beautiful and creative photos you submitted to Backroads for 2012! Take a look at all the adventure travel photos from our tours here and vote for your favorite.

Are you inspired yet? We are! We’re ready to strap on our hiking boots, oil up our bike and head to the nearest airport to experience a Backroads adventure.

If we can help you schedule your next Backroads tour please give us a call 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific daily at 800-462-2848. And don’t forget your camera to enter the 2013 photo contest!

We know that our Trip Leaders are the best in the world and that’s why we want to introduce you to them one by one. Nothing makes an adventure tour memorable like an amazing trip leader.

Meet Vincent Soyer, a French trip leader who specializes in Argentina adventure tours and Patagonia adventure tours. Vincent has been with Backroads since 2004 and led our walking tours and biking tours all over the world.

Vincent studied international commerce in Montpellier, France and started his career by selling software all over Europe based out of London. But that job didn’t satisfy his wanderlust…

His travel adventures began at Club Med and several other companies throughout Europe. Vincent has traveled across the world, including Pakistan, Cambodia, Tibet, China, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal. He’s also traveled extensively throughout South America and lived in Argentina where he taught managers working at international firms.

Vincent now calls Spain home and began his time with Backroads in 2004 after looking for an active travel company that focused on fewer guests per trip. “I was looking for more individual connections,” he says.

“I have enjoyed the chance to be part of an unbelievably organized team, where each and every in

dividual is a source of help, knowledge, happiness and kindliness,” says Soyer about his time with Backroads.

Want to travel with Vincent? Try our Spain Walking & Hiking Trip or our Pyrenees to Costa Brava Biking Trip. Call us at 800-462-2848 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific to book a Backroads tour today.

Have you ever traveled with Vincent on a Backroads tour? Share your experience about this enthusiastic and knowledgeable Trip Leader.

With St. Paddy’s day only two months away, we thought it would be a great time to highlight Backroads’ Ireland biking tour and Ireland walking tour. Although we don’t travel to the Emerald Isle on St. Patrick’s Day itself, you can head there during the warmer months of June, July, August and September to see Ireland beautiful and green in all its splendor.

On our Ireland Walking & Hiking tour, Backroads’ Trip Leader Mike Murphy (could that sound any more Irish?!) will lead you on an inside tour of County Kerry, Ireland. A local, who’s been with Backroads since the early 90’s, he knows just where to take you for the best fish and chips, and, if you’re lucky, an afternoon pint.

You’ll see the Irish countryside at its finest, strolling down country roads and along coastal cliff walks. We’ll take you hiking around Caragh Lake, and be sure to hold on to your hat at Windy Gap! Then get some culture in Killarney where you can browse local boutiques and craft shops. Hear long-told stories by a local storyteller at 15^th century Ross Castle.

We’ll also take you to Killarney National Park full of lakes, mountains and gorges and through charming Kenmare with its cheerfully painted row houses. Finally, enjoy a private whiskey tasting and trek over Mount Knockagarrane where you’ll find one of the largest stone circles in County Kerry.

If you enjoy biking, try our Ireland bike tour where you can travel a bit further. Start in Moll’s Gap and the Gap of Dunloe where you’ll see emerald hills, small farms, quaint cottages and woolly sheep. Do a five-mile climb (gradually) to Caha Pass, take a ferry to Garinish Island where you’ll hear local songs and legends and ride to Ring, a waterfront hamlet where the famous Irish rebel Michael Collins was born. We’ll also make sure to work in time for a pint or two should you need to wet your whistle J.

Does a bike trip or walking trip to the land of shamrocks, moss and jade strike your fancy? Then give us a ring 7 a.m.-5 p.m. daily Pacific time to set up your guided Ireland tour.

Spring is on its way and with warm weather comes a renewed vigor to head outdoors, explore the beauty of the world and try new daring adventures. Traveling solo can be an experience of a lifetime whether you’re just looking for some “me” time or you want to meet others traveling single.

Backroads offers active vacations for singles and solos to a host of warm destinations across the world this spring that will give you just what you need to say goodbye to winter and hello to a new you! Here’s our top 5 spring singles vacations:

1)      Piedmont Biking – This is a new singles bike trip for Backroads in 2013 and we chose it because of its wonderful combination of gourmet cuisine and beautiful vistas. The Piedmont area of Italy is known for its wines, truffles, hazelnuts and cheeses, and you’ll get to sample a bit of each, as well as explore several vineyards. The Piedmont bike trip also takes you through medieval towns with ancient castles and views of the Alps. The singles tour of the Piedmont region runs June 2-7.

2)      Tuscany Biking – One of our most popular Italy bike trips is Tuscany biking. You’ll pedal through many of Tuscany’s most famous towns like Pienza, Siena and Montalcino and get plenty of opportunities to sample fine wines and nosh on delicious local cuisine – the perfect place to strike up a conversation with one of your trip mates. Get ready to cycle past cypress trees, rolling hills, olive groves and vineyards to your heart’s content! Our singles Tuscany tour runs for five nights in May, June, August and October.

3)      Andalucia Biking – Olé! On this Spain biking tour for singles, you’ll get to enjoy all the best things about the Andalucia region of Spain from flamenco dancing and fiestas with your fellow travelers to gazpacho and tapas for refueling. Can you smell the orange and lemon trees’ fragrant blossoms? You will as you cycle past sweeping vistas through ancient whitewashed villages and the beautiful cities of Sevilla and Granada. Our singles bike trip through Andalucia runs for five nights in April and November.

4)      California Wine Country Biking – Single travelers love our California Wine Country biking tour, which takes you through five valleys of world famous vineyards. Chat up others while mingling over glasses of wine after a great day on the bike. You’ll also enjoy Northern California’s famous gourmet cuisine without worry of calories since you’ll burn plenty while biking. The singles Wine Country bike tour runs 5 nights in May, September and October.

5)      Bali Biking – Go exotic on our singles bike trip through Bali and experience this tropical paradise with new friends. Ride past emerald rice terraces, lovely villages, amazing temples and giant teak trees. Explore the vibrant art scene, cycle up a volcano, snorkel the wreckage of the USS Liberty and engage in a host of adventures. Our Bali singles trip runs April, October and December for 7 nights.

Have you considered traveling solo? Get more information about Backroads’ well-known Singles-Solos program designed specifically for this great group of travelers.

Call us at 800-462-2848 7 a.m.- 5 p.m. Pacific time to book your singles vacation and get ready to have a spring you’ll never forget.

Backroads offers a range of deluxe camping vacations to destinations in North America where travelers sleep in roomy domed tents in plush sleeping bags and enjoy gourmet meals around crackling campfires.  If you’re an outdoorsy person who loves to travel, our adventure camping trips are perfect for you. We handle all the work of set-up and tear down; you just have to show up and enjoy it!

If you’re planning a camping vacation soon, here are 8 tips that we recommend for all our adventure campers:

• Consider taking a guide to the constellations. In many of the settings Backroads’ visits, you’ll have access to stars from a different side of the world in a dark environment with fewer city lights that lends itself to seeing lots of astronomical bodies.
• Bring out the Scout in you and learn a few good knots. A bowline, for example, will never work itself loose; a figure eight will not slip but is easy to untie. These come in handy during camping trips.
• Unpack only the items you need to use. Keep items you may need in the middle of the night within arm reach.
• Beam me up Scottie! Enjoying a campground by moonlight is a special treat. However, on evenings when the moon is less than full, it’s helpful to have on hand a small flashlight with a strong beam. If you prefer to keep your hands free, head lamps make a great alternative option.
• Meet new people. Part of the fun of a Backroads’ adventure vacation is meeting people from all walks of life, especially your fellow travelers at the campsite. You never know what fun might happen around the campfire!
• Bring a spirit of adventure! Think of all the people before you who’ve lived and camped in the great outdoors. There’s nothing quite like sleeping under the stars in the fresh air. Dare to take a jump in the lake or hike that intriguing trail around the bend.
• Keep a journal. There’s nothing like documenting your outdoor adventure for the future by journaling about your experience daily. Curl up in your tent and write away! You’ll cherish it for years to come.
• Get up early. Enjoy the sun rising each morning at our gorgeous destinations. It’s a wonderful way to start your day and the beauty of the sunset just might unexpectedly take your breath away.

Backroads offers camping trips for families, camping trips for singles and solos and traditional camping adventures. Pick from destinations like Montana, Alaska, Wine Country and the Canadian Rockies. For more information about Backroads’ camping vacations, please call us 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific daily at 800-462-2848.

With much of the country covered in snow or experiencing freezing temperatures, dreaming of summer sure sounds good! Now is the perfect time to begin planning your summer vacation and we can’t think of a better vacation than a guided biking trip with Backroads to some of the most amazing locations around the world.

As you begin to map out your plans for summer, we present 5 Fun Biking Tour Destinations to tempt your travel taste buds:

Tuscany, Italy Biking Tour – All we have to do is say the word “Tuscany” and most people are ready to pack their bags. Fields of sunflowers, rolling hills, cypress and olive trees, Tuscan red farmhouses…it’s a winter daydream’s perfection. Backroads offers this popular Tuscany biking tour throughout April through October, so select a date that works best for you. Plan to sample cheese and olive oil, and pedal past medieval structures, Renaissance architecture and charming hilltop towns. You might want to start reading Under the Tuscan Sun right now to get your mind off snow and onto your upcoming Italy bike tour.

Spain Biking – Biking Spain is a great summer choice with its many sparkling, sunny, white-sand beaches. Our Pyreness to Costa Brava Biking Tour gives you the best of Spain starting off in vibrant Barcelona, through the Pyrenees foothills and onto Costa Brava with its Mediterranean beaches and blue seas. Stop by the Dali Museum, sample “cava” (Spain’s version of champagne), cycle past sunflower fields and tour a medieval castle. This Spain biking trip runs May-October, leaving you plenty of summer vacation choices.

Loire Valley, France Biking – Picturesque castles as far as you can see make the Loire Valley a fantastical choice for summer. With flowers and gardens in full bloom, you’ll be privy to France at its finest. On this France Biking tour, you’ll explore several castles, take a private tour of a wine cave and enjoy gourmet French cuisine. Loire Valley Biking tours run April through October.

Wine Country Biking – Anytime is a good time to visit Wine Country, but summer brings with it a special charm. The rolling hills are lush and verdant in early summer, making it not just a trip for the taste buds but a feast for the eyes. Our Wine Country Biking tour takes you through five valleys of world-famous vineyards, including Sonoma and Napa. Enjoy a stop at Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve and a bike through beautiful Bodega Bay. Tour the wine country by bike March through December.

U.S. National Parks Tours – No need to stray further than the U.S. of A. for an adventure-filled summer vacation. Backroads offers bike tours through National Parks, like Yellowstone, Acadia, Grand Teton and Death Valley. Choose from a family bike tour, a singles tour or a traditional bike tour of some of America’s most beautiful landscapes. National Park bike tours and hiking tours run all throughout summertime.

Where are you dreaming of traveling this summer? Let us know if we can help take your gaze away from the snow outside your window and onto the bike trip you’ll be taking with us this summer. Call us 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific at 800-462-2848.

Dreaming of an adventure to New Zealand full of dramatic waterfalls, lush valleys and breathtaking vistas at every turn? If you travel to New Zealand with Backroads, the legendary Paul Smith just might be one of your Trip Leaders.

A history major and a former minor league baseball player, Paul recently celebrated leading his 300^th trip to New Zealand and is a true expert on this gorgeous country. With 22 years as a Backroads leader who’s led more adventure tours in Backroads’ history, it’s safe to say he’s seen it all.

Paul didn’t start his Backroads journey in New Zealand, however. His first start was a bit of a rough initiation with a camping trip on the Russian River. He and his co-leader (now his wife and mother of his two sons) forgot their sleeping bags and slept wrapped in tablecloths in their van while it rained outside. He hasn’t forgotten his sleeping bag since!

Paul’s attention to detail, witty humor, knowledge of the local haunts and an uncanny ability to discern the needs of each guest is well-known and celebrated. During his 22 years with Backroads, Paul has fallen in love with Chinese culture and the joy of riding a bike through its sometimes crazy countryside; learned about world religions by leading Bhutan walking tours and Bali bike tours, where he became fascinated with prayer wheels and Hindu gods; and lived each summer in the San Juan islands, knowing the way the light looks on the water at all hours of the day, from all viewpoints, like a local knows it.

Plus, Paul can add to his list of credentials that he’s done more laps around the South Island of New Zealand than anyone in Backroads history! “All it takes is a single visit to fall in love with New Zealand’s extraordinary scenery and down-to-earth welcoming people,” says Paul. “And if you’re like me, you’ll find it’s a destination you dream of returning to again and again.”

Interested in taking a New Zealand walking tour or New Zealand bike tour with Paul? Give us a call at 800-462-2848 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific.

Have you taken a Backroads walking trip or Backroads bike trip with Paul? Give us some firsthand insight to this wonderful Backroads Trip Leader! Here’s to another 300 trips!

2013 has arrived and we know you like to travel as much as we do. So we’ve listed out some of our top 10 New Year’s resolutions specifically dedicated to travel. Lots of people make “travel” itself a New Year’s resolution, but we wanted to go deeper and make some suggestions of how to improve your travel experience in 2013.

Here are Backroads’ top 10 New Year’s travel resolutions:

1)      Travel somewhere you’ve never been – At Backroads we travel to hundreds of destinations around the globe, and we can help you find a bike tour or hiking tour to a place you’ve yet to discover. Instead of taking the same trip you do every year, be bold and try something new!

2)      Travel somewhere unexpected – Sure, everyone wants to take a Tuscany bike tour or a Provence walking tour, but consider traveling to a location more off the beaten path. For 2013, Backroads has introduced bike trips to Myanmar, for example, a country that has largely been closed to the modern world for many years. By biking through Myanmar, you will truly discover an “undiscovered” world untouched by tourism.

3)      Add activity to your trip – At Backroads, we believe half the fun of travel is the way you travel. Step out of the car or tour bus and hop on a bike, walk or even kayak down the river. Your travel experience will be so much richer out in the open air with some activity mixed in. You’ll even be able to enjoy all the gourmet dinners we provide without the guilt!

4)      Bring your kids along – Afraid to travel with your kids? Don’t be! We offer wonderful family adventures that will make a trip with the kids a great experience. Our family bike tours and family walking tours are designed with lots of kid-friendly activities, whether it’s a scavenger hunt, eating gelato in Sicily or fencing in the Loire Valley, that will entertain and educate not just them, but you, as well. Browse our family adventures.

5)      Try a solo trip – Traveling alone can be a life-changing experience and you can do it without worry with Backroads’ Singles + Solos travel program. We offer trips around the world designed for traveling solo. You’ll enjoy meeting other solo travelers on the trip and get plenty of time to explore the world on your own with the unparalleled service, support and guidance of the Backroads team. Browse our singles trips.

6)      Travel at a different time of year – Always take a summer vacation? Try traveling at the holidays to create once-in-a-lifetime memories. Paris in the spring? Yes, it’s lovely, but Europe in the fall can also be a wonderful time to travel. Mix it up this year!

7)      Try a new food – Backroads offers gourmet meals at many Michelin-starred restaurants and plenty of opportunities to try food local to your destination. It might be a little out of your comfort zone, but be brave and try a new food or dish. You just might be surprised at how good it tastes!

8)      Try something adventurous – Add some adventure to your travel! With Backroads, you can fence in Loire Valley, zip line in Costa Rica, hike a volcano in Hawaii and Sicily, visit ancient temples and the list goes on. No ho hum vacations for us! Make your travel exciting in 2013!

9)      Engage the locals – To really get the most out of travel, try to immerse yourself in the local culture. When you bike or hike a destination, you’re more likely to stop and have a conversation with the farmer selling produce by the road or chat with the couple next to you at the café. Make an effort to talk to the locals, ask them about the area and their favorite things to do. You’ll likely come away with a new world view.

10)   Learn a new language – It’s easier to engage the locals if you know a little bit of their language. Challenge yourself a few months before your trip to learn some key phrases in the language of the region you’ll be visiting. Not only will you feel more confident and comfortable, you may just be inspired to learn the language fluently.

Have you set any resolutions related to travel? Let us know what they are and if we can help you meet them! Give us a call 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific any day of the week if we can help you stick to those travel resolutions with a Backroads bike tour or Backroads hiking tour. Happy New Year!