Founder's Message
With 29 years of passionate, personal, non-stop, hands-on, guest-focused leadership, Backroads is set to provide you with the best possible active vacation. And should anyone ask, Tom Hale is quick to point out that he hopes to be fortunate enough to carefully man the helm for another 29 years. No consolidations or mergers for Backroads! Why? The trips wouldn’t be as good—we’re sure of it—and that’s what matters!
After nearly three decades of finding more rewarding alternatives to traditional vacations, my passion for active travel is stronger than ever. Of course I have a pretty obvious bias. At Backroads I’m fortunate to work with a team of people who share my passion and devote their days to creating the best possible biking, walking and multisport trips around the globe – and who will be working again tomorrow to make them even better. But the desire to keep earning our place as the world’s number one active travel company arises out of something more fundamental.
I simply can’t imagine a better way to immerse yourself in the life of a region, to explore hidden corners and appreciate nuances while enjoying the benefits and enormous satisfaction of traveling under your own power. These are experiences you cannot have behind the wheel of a car, or on a train or a tour bus, or in a few excursions from a cruise ship or a secluded resort. Active travel is, at its heart, a way of connecting more authentically with the world. Sure, Backroads provides amazing leaders, superb accommodations and meals, and opportunities you could never arrange on your own. But all of our comprehensive planning and support is aimed at something far simpler: bringing you the immediate, highly personal satisfaction of discovering a new world on your own terms.
When I think about all the places I still have left to explore, and those I want to revisit and enjoy again, I’m constantly reminded what a gift it is to be able to explore the world actively. Backroads trips are about embracing what life has to offer, living the experience as it unfolds and at the same time creating memories that will last forever. As you browse through the amazing array of choices, I’m confident you’ll find a trip that does all of that and more.
And I look forward to seeing you on the road or trail.
Tom Hale
Founder and President