At the end of a typical Backroads day, I find myself well fed, happily tired and awe-inspired by what I just experienced. I drafted this blog from a hotel balcony in Dinard, just across an estuary from St. Malo, reflecting on yet another one of those wonderful days. What particularly struck me about the day was how much my kids learned without even knowing the trip was actually educational. I’m sneaky that way.

I just returned from a biking trip through Brittany and Normandy and hiking trip in the Alps with extended family and was once again reminded of the ways a vacation like this brings families together.

Backroads has been offering family trips since before I had kids (and my oldest is now 22). Why did we start them? Well, Backroads is just such a naturally positive, amazing environment for families to have a great time together that it didn’t take us being rocket scientists to see their potential. Once my wife, Liz, and I had our own kids, the beauty of designated family trips became even more obvious.

“We’re going up over that hill?” I said under my breath, looking ahead as the road went up, up, up and disappeared over a hill. It was a beautiful sunny day in Nova Scotia, Canada, ten years ago, and we had been riding on quiet, shady roads all morning. More talking than riding, I had slowly been getting tired during the ride, but I knew we were almost at our destination for the day, Lunenburg. I hadn’t been mentally preparing for this hill though.

In French, ‘castles’ translates to ‘châteaux’ and throughout the country there are many châteaux that embody the extravagance of French nobility from centuries past. The epicenter of this 16th to 18th-century lifestyle was the Loire Valley, located two hours southwest of Paris and the perfect setting for royal summer escapades.

I’m often asked how I found my job leading Backroads trips… Fate. Magic. Luck… Well, perhaps a combination of those things. It’s a unique story that involves a photography exposition, a small community in northern Chile and two random backpackers high in the Chilean mountains. And it’s a story that put me on a path to helping develop a brand new Backroads trip for this coming December in a corner of South American that is easily one of my favorite places in the world.

Hawaii. The paradise of the Pacific. It’s a place that stems jealousy every time you tell someone you’re going. And I get to live and work here. With its tranquil beaches, tropical breezes, exotic fruits and island pace, the Big Island—the youngest of all the islands—embodies all that is Hawaii.

Well, I’m not a writer, and I’ve been asked to write about how I met my husband. I’ll tell it to you straight, as I have so many times before–including to a woman who subsequently followed in my exact footsteps and meet her own future husband in the exact same fashion!

Welcome to Split, capital of Dalmatia and the second-largest town in all of Croatia. Thanks to the unstoppable style of its natives, this bustling city-by-the-sea is a fantastic place to visit and one of Eastern Europe’s best-kept secrets.

My husband and I love to travel. Years ago, we were on a trip to Paris and we took a day excursion to the Loire Valley. As we traveled by bus through the countryside, I was stunned by the beauty yet dismayed to be seeing it from a bus. We are active people and I was sure there had to be a better way!

I truly believe that an active lifestyle has a profound impact on overall health and our ability to rebound from setbacks. So, what are some of the easiest ways to stay active, regardless of age or ability level?

Exploring a new place actively, whether on a bike or your own two feet, sets a pace that enables you to appreciate its sights, sounds and smells, to experience its depth beyond the tourist attractions, and to notice details of its character that might slip by if viewed from a car or a tour bus. Both cycling and hiking offer excellent ways to experience a new place, and whether you want to push your limits or take it easy on your trip, Backroads offers a trip sure to appeal to you. The question is: how do you choose?

Crossing paths with the thousands of olive trees strewn on the surrounding hills, it was hard for me to imagine that behind them was the most enchanting city I would encounter in Spain: Granada. It now makes perfect sense as to why Backroads offers an Andalucía bike tour that ends in this magical city.

In today’s fast-paced world, it can be a challenge to find quality family time. Parents are working, children are in school, playing sports and pursuing extracurricular activities. So how do you make quality family time happen? Here are five simple ideas to help you not only make time for each other, but to make the best of that time and form meaningful connections.

From Parma to Verona, passion is everywhere. In the air. In the water. In the art. Food is prepared with it. Wine is produced with it. The culture is steeped in it. Even the people themselves are famously passionate—look at Romeo and Juliet. And when you experience this place for yourself, you’ll be passionate too.