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 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.

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!

Asia is a popular destination for many of our Backroads travelers. We wanted to share with you some of our favorite Asia bike tours and Asia walking tours as you plan your travels for 2013.

Myanmar – This year, Backroads is introducing an 8-day, 7-night Myanmar bike tour running through March and a Myanmar walking tour, which runs in December. Traveling to Myanmar is an experience few have had the opportunity to enjoy, as this country has largely been closed to tourism. Many of the locals you meet on our bike tour to Myanmar may never have seen someone from outside their country. On our bike trip, you’ll explore the “golden land” including temples, rivers, ancient ruins, a monastery and an extinct volcano and meet a few monkeys along the way.

Thailand – Elephants, rice paddies and fire balloons, oh my! These are just a few of the adventures you’ll experience on our Thailand biking tour. The 8-day, 7-night trip lets you take in the best of Thailand with help from the locals. You’ll receive a blessing from village elders, light a fire balloon and make a wish, eat incredible homemade Thai curry and sample the country’s delicious street food, and conclude the trip with a jungle trek on an elephant. Looking for adventure? This is the one! Thailand biking runs in January, February and December.

Bhutan – We offer a Bhutan walking tour and a Bhutan multisport tour for those looking for a more active exploration of Bhutan. Namgay, a longtime friend of Backroads and Bhutanese local, will give you an inside tour of this lovely country hidden deep in the Himalayas. He’ll lead you on a hike to a 14^th century temple accessible only by foot, rafting down the Po Chhu River, to a visit to an impressive giant Buddha statue,  past a temple hanging on a cliff and to a local teahouse for a warm brew. The 8-day, 7-night Bhutan adventures run March and April and September through November.

China – See China like you never imagined by bike. Our China bike tour lets you pedal through this ancient country through both rural villages and modern cities. Don’t be surprised when local children rush out to greet you, so excited to see visitors! You’ll also take a private boat cruise down the Li River, visit local street markets, see the famous Terra Cotta warriors, pedal the 500-year-old city walls of Xian and see the Great Wall. China Biking is a 9-day, 8-night adventure running April, May, September and October.

Vietnam/Cambodia – See Vietnam and Cambodia by bike or by hiking through these areas. These are some of our most popular Asian bike tours and Asian walking tours. If you choose by bike, you’ll share the road with many others, like food carts, water buffalo and locals and kids headed to school and work; it’s quite an experience! Visit Hoi An, Vietnam’s oldest town, bike over Cloud Pass, stop at Cam Kim Island, ride through Angkor Wat at sunrise and visit famous ancient temples. Our Vietnam bike tours and Vietnam walking tours run January-March, November and December and are 9-10 days.

Where have you visited in Asia? Are there any Asia tours you’d like to add to your bucket list or 2013 travel plans? Let us know!

If you have any questions about our adventure tours to Asia or would like to get one booked, please give us a call 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific at 800-462-2848.

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner and we can’t think of a better gift for your significant other than an adventure tour to a romantic destination. Just picture yourselves biking the great outdoors together, exploring a new country and enjoying gourmet dinners and magnificent wines as your reward in the evening.

Here are our top 3 recommendations for a surprise Valentine’s Day vacation with Backroads:

Loire Valley Biking — With its fairytale castles full of towers and turrets at every turn, this is your chance to play princess and knight in shining armor. The Loire Valley in France is a countryside full of castles like the romantic Chateau de Chenonceau built in the 1500s and the home of the king’s mistress Diane de Poitiers and later Queen Catherine de Medici. We’ll also visit Chinon, known for its full-bodied red wines, and Leonardo da Vinci’s last residence, Clos Luce. Join hands as we head to the centuries-old wine cave and enjoy quintessential French cuisine throughout the France bike tour. The trip is 6 days and 5 nights and runs April through October.

Bali Biking – Looking for an exotic Valentine’s getaway to a warm weather locale? Look no farther than Bali! On our Bali bike tour, couples can swim in the famed Blue Lagoon, visit an ancient temple and cycle past lush green landscapes in Bali where romance is sure to bloom. Enjoy the adventure of rafting the Ayung River, cycling up a volcano and relaxing at the spa. The trip is 8 days and 7 nights and runs March-April, October and December.

Wine Country Biking – Closer to home, rekindle the romance on our California Wine Country bike tour. Pedal along rolling hills and endless vineyards and enjoy a picnic under the majestic redwoods. Of course, there’ll be plenty of wine to taste along the way. Our 6-day, 5-night wine country biking tour heads through Sonoma and Napa and along the coast, and includes several Michelin-restaurant starred meals. This is one of our more popular trips and it runs March through December.

When you travel with Backroads, we provide the ultimate in service with three trip leaders and two support vans on every trip to move baggage from hotel to hotel and provide you with anything you need from a snack to a ride to a bike repair. You focus on the romance; we’ll focus on the details J.

Hurry and call us soon at 800-462-2848 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific to surprise your sweetie with a Backroads adventure tour of a lifetime on Valentine’s Day!

You’ve heard about Paris in the springtime, right? Well, that holds for most of Europe, as well! We love traveling Europe in the spring, as the weather is just right for an active tour, and most of the crowds haven’t arrive quite yet. Of course, we like to take the “backroads,” so you’ll mostly avoid the crowds with us anyway!

Some other benefits of taking a European hiking tour or a European bike tour during this time of year include the fact that airfares are often lower in spring (not to mention there are fewer people on the planes) and you have a better chance of meeting more locals. Most Europeans vacation in summer, plus the nice weather has them out and about, allowing you to strike up a conversation as you hike past or hop off your bike.

Where to go? Here are some of Backroads’ top active tours for Europe in the spring:

Loire Valley – Can you picture this magnificent land of castles in all its glory with lush green grasses, gardens in full bloom and migrating birds? That’s the Loire Valley in spring. Take a Loire Valley biking tour with us for the chance to see these beautiful castles in the open air, indulge in top-notch French cuisine, explore vineyards, and if you take our Loire Valley family biking tour, try your hand at fencing! The Loire Valley tours run March through October 2013.

Provence – Ah, Provence, what isn’t there to like? On a spring Provence tour, expect to see the cherry orchards and almond trees blossoming as you hike Provence or bike Provence under a bright sunny sky. Try our new Provence Biking tour, which takes you from the windswept Alpilles to perched Luberon Villages. Pedal past red-tiled roofs, vineyards and 12^th century castles and ruins, and enjoy delectable French cuisine. Other options include our Provence Walking and Hiking Tour, our Provence and Costa Brava Walking and Hiking Tour, which takes you into Spain, and our original Provence Biking Tour through the Cotes du Rhone vineyards, Crillon Le Brave and the Luberon.

Tuscany – Travel Tuscany in March and look forward to blooming azaleas and camellias to add to the overwhelming beauty already offered by the Italian countryside. Whether you like to walk, bike or cook, Backroads has a Tuscany tour for you! Our new Tuscany Cooking and Walking tour lets you cook with Italian nonne (grandmas), sample honey made by monks, tour a working cheese farm and work off all the calories as you hike to your next destination.

Spain – Can you smell the orange trees in bloom, yet? You will when you arrive in Spain in spring! The almond trees, as in France, cherry trees and camellias are also blooming. There’s also a host of religious and secular festivals that happen in spring, so as you walk or bike past a small town or village, you just might come across a wonderful local celebration. Backroads offers many Spain tours like Andalucia Biking, Mallorca Biking, Pyrenees to Costa Brava Biking and Spain Hiking. Which will you choose?

Greece – Our Greece Biking Tour takes you to the gorgeous island of Crete, where spring means lots and lots of wildflowers. What better way to see them than pedaling past and smelling their sweet scent? On our Crete biking tour, you can ride coast to coast, relax at the beach, see ancient ruins and sample olive oil. Departures begin in March.

What do you bring to mind when you think of Europe in the springtime? If you’ve never experienced it, please join us on a European biking tour or a European walking tour and enjoy this wonderful time of year to travel across the pond. For more information on booking an active European vacation in the spring, give us a call 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific at 800-462-2848. See you beside the blooming f

Sicily often gets ignored besides some of the more popular Italian tour destinations, like Tuscany, Rome and Venice. But this jewel of an island, sitting off the Italian coast, is a draw all its own and that’s why we added a Sicily biking tour for families to our 2013 active travel line-up.

The Italian bike tour, which runs March through June, lets parents enjoy an active European family vacation while keeping the kids plenty occupied and learning a lot without even realizing it!

On the Sicily family tour, groups will bike past Mount Etna (Did you know it’s Europe’s largest volcano? Shh, don’t tell the kids they learned something J!), taste freshly-made olive oil, stroll through a local fish market and tour Siracusa’s old city, Ortygia.

Sound too boring for kids? Just wait! They’ll have a chance to paint pottery in Caltagirone, inhabited since the Bronze Age, where we’ll also race them to climb 142 stairs; dance to local folk music; hit the countryside in Jeeps; bake biscotti; and try to eat their gelato before it melts! There’s even a scavenger hunt just for the kids in the town of Ragusa Ibla, and your family will get to visit two World Heritage sites. Oh, and they get to eat pizza with French fries on top. That’ll make a great story to tell their friends when they return home!

Spring break is a great time of year to travel to Sicily, especially for those from cooler climes who are looking for a warm weather getaway. The flowers are in bloom from the blossoming almond trees to fragrant citrus trees and wild rosemary. It’s a wonderful time to be out in the open air on your bike so you can take in the wonderful smells all around you.

Plus, you don’t have to worry about the kids plopped on the couch playing video games all spring break. They’ll be out in the sun, getting exercise, expanding their mind and learning a wealth of new things no textbook could teach them.

There now, have we convinced you that your family should come biking in Sicily with us this spring? Good, now call us to book it right away before you change your mind! Call us 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific at 800-462-2848 and start counting down the days till spring break. Ciao!

A new addition to our 2013 line-up of bike tours and hiking tours is our California Winter Fit Trip. It’s a great spring break choice, as the dates run through March and into April.

Lots of people head on vacation to relax and overindulge on food and as a result end up with some extra pounds when they return home. This healthy vacation lets you get away, take in some amazing views, enjoy top-notch cuisine – and you may not gain an ounce… you may even leave a few pounds behind!

California Winter Fit takes you to the winter playground that is northern California from the Sugar Bowl to Mount Tamalpais. Get ready to do everything from show-shoeing and cross country skiing to biking and even yoga on this California tour! But we promise it won’t seem like exercise; it’ll just seem like the trip of a lifetime.

We start at Donner Summit, which offers some fantastic skiing and snowshoeing. End your day with a downward facing dog yoga pose to stretch those hard-worked muscles. Next, we’ll head to Sonoma County and enjoy a hike in Jack London State Park followed by a wine tasting, of course. Then get ready to enjoy a meal at Michelin-starred Santé restaurant and a visit to the Sonoma Mission Inn Spa (see, you get rewarded for your hard work!).

The last three days take us to Mount Tamalpais region where we’ll start with a hike among the redwoods. We’ll also take a bike ride on one of the Bay Area’s most popular cycling loops. We’ll cap off the week with a ferry ride from Sausalito to San Francisco and enjoy a finale lunch.

Are you ready to get fit with us this winter? Call us today at 800-462-2848 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Pacific Time to reserve your spot on this Spring Break adventure vacation.

Forget packed beaches in Florida, long drives across the country or crazy kids out of control. Let us give you a truly memorable, relaxing and enjoyable adventure of a lifetime for your family spring break instead. Imagine a vacation where you’re active, where it’s warm and where everyone learns a thing or two – all while having fun!

Our family adventure tours are packed with kid-approved fun, all designed with a pint-size traveler in mind. Plus, they offer plenty of opportunities for separate children’s and adult activities.

Although we’re just headed into the holidays, now’s the time to secure your spring break adventure vacation before we’re all booked. Let us make a couple family spring break suggestions for some of our bike tours and multisport tours around the world:

• Multisport Costa Rica Biking Tour – This is a popular trip for families who enjoy traveling with Backroads. Here are just a few of the amazing activities you’ll enjoy: jungle treks, white-water rafting and horseback riding.
• Sicily Bike Tour – New in 2013 is our Sicily Bike Tour that takes you past volcanoes, lets you eat pizza with French fries on top (no, we’re not joking!), tour the rugged countryside in Jeeps, bake biscotti and enjoy a scavenger hunt.
• Death Valley Biking – If you want to stay a little closer to home, try our Death Valley bike tour. You’ll get to see a castle with an indoor waterfall, gaze on a mirage, look for ancient lava flows, and view rock formations that look like Neapolitan ice cream.

We offer dates in February, March and April to fit your unique spring break needs. Come “join the party” with us on spring break this year – you’ll never go to a crowded beach again!

Call us at 800-462-2848 7 a.m.- 5 p.m. Pacific time to book your spring break now.