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.

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!