If you’re new to group travel—or just the Backroads way of doing it—a little insider know-how can make all the difference. What specific details should you consider when searching our thousands of trips for the one that’ll suit you best? What’s nonnegotiable when it comes to packing your biking and hiking kits? Can you wear undies beneath your bike shorts?
That’s where our most seasoned travelers come in. With more than 40 Backroads trips under their belt each, they know just who to query for extra intel, how to take the stress out of airplane travel, what biking essentials to pack and other advice that will ease any anxiety and help you get into the spirit of a great group adventure. Think of the following tips as your shortcut to traveling like a pro—no experience required.
Question: With more than 7,000 Backroads trips to choose from, how do you decide which one is right for you? What factors matter most?
“For cycling trips, warmish weather and good roads have always been a priority for me and my wife. And we don’t live on a coast, so seaside trips with ocean vistas and beaches seem to catch our eyes when sorting through our choices,” says Albert G.
“People need to be honest with their physical abilities,” recommends Arthur G. “Occasionally we see guests sign up for trips for which they are woefully unprepared. Backroads’ itineraries are quite accurate, so prospective guests should ask themselves if the trip is really for them. If folks have questions, they should pick up the phone and call the Trip Consultants,” he added.
Kerry G. agrees: Look to the itineraries as a good gauge of whether the routes will align with your expectations. “We look at [these] closely, taking into account elevation gains. Weather is a consideration, as well as peak travel times in Europe, which we try to avoid,” she says.
“We prefer luxury hotels, but we will take a casual hotel and an interesting, rigorous set of hikes. Our first focus is hiking in the mountains, particularly places where we have never been, and trips where we can spend most of the day on the trails,” says Arthur G. “We also focus on trips with minimal transfer time.”
“On trips we get great ideas from Backroads leaders. They’d tell us where their favorite trips were, and we would start planning from their input,” says Kathi L. Another frequent Backroads guest, Mina S., agrees and adds, “We also get future trip ideas from other Backroads travelers.”
Q: When booking a trip, do you tend to research and book online, or call in to Backroads and chat with a Trip Consultant?
“We do most trip research on the Backroads website. Once we narrow our ideas down, I call to discuss specific trips with a consultant [because] many areas have several different itineraries that sound similar. We usually book through one of the consultants, since we are normally booking for four of us and want to make sure we are all together,” says Kerry G.
“My trip planning starts with your catalog, then moves to the website, where I download three to six detailed itineraries, and I compare total miles hiked (the more the better), time in transfer (the less the better) and look at the hotels,” Arthur G. says. “I also like to see if the starting and ending points are interesting places to spend a shoulder day.”
“We travel with another couple, and part of the fun of vacation is looking at the catalogs and figuring out where to go next,” says Kathi L.
Q: How has packing for a Backroads trip evolved for you over time? What do you always bring now, and what do you leave home?
“Always pack a puffy jacket that is easy to stuff in the suitcase. Gloves for unexpected cool days. Travel underwear that rinses out easily and dries overnight. As few shoes as possible—one pair for hiking/biking, one for daytime/evening, one pair of sandals,” advises Kerry G.
“Pack enough clothing and equipment [in your carry-on] to ride one day,” suggests Nina R. “If your luggage gets lost, you have something to wear that can be washed.”
Albert G. concurs, saying he bundles his cycling kit into his carry-on, “so I don’t have to rummage through my luggage to find everything the first morning. And what I always bring now is chamois cream [he likes the brands Assos and Nut Buddy]. Helmets and bike saddles are left at home—Backroads’ suit my safety and style needs.”
Marie F. and her husband have many packing rules:
- “Our first is, we carry luggage on the plane with us. We never check.”
- Use labeled packing cubes to keep things organized. She has one for biking clothes, one for evening clothes, one for socks and underwear, etc.
- “We each carry an empty nylon backpack to put our dirty clothes in as they accumulate during the week, so dirty clothes do not have to ‘play’ with clean clothes.”
- Don’t sweat the evening-meal outfit: “For cold weather, I’ll bring one pair of nice jeans and three tops that get rotated; for warmer weather, three athletic dresses (sporty but nice). Sometimes I wear sneakers to dinner.”
- Finally, she always makes and packs hearty PB&J sandwiches for their outbound travel day. Why? “Whether we’re at a layover or get to a hotel at nine at night, starving, and don’t feel like going out, they always hit the spot.”
Mina S. always keeps inclement weather in mind, saying, “I concentrate on layering clothing and making sure we have rain gear, comfy socks, hats and washable clothing.”
Q: Have you ever dealt with any travel hiccups en route to a trip’s departure location (i.e., a train strike)? What advice would you give someone nervous about these mishaps?
“We always get travel insurance and have had to use it more than once,” says Marie F.
Mina S., like most frequent Backroads guests, arrives to the departure area a few days early, “particularly with a big time change, and we go to the starting city at least a day early.”
“Post-Covid, we arrived in Piedmont to a group of 18 people with maybe six pieces of luggage in total. There was a lot of clothes-sharing between all these people that had never before met, and the pool scene after rides was the most bizarre fashion show you could imagine,” recalled Albert G. with good humor. “My wife looked great in someone else’s sports bra and some guy’s baggy shorts. She had a surfer vibe going on! The Backroads leaders are always available to lend a helping hand, and within a day on trip, fellow guests will have your back as well.”
Q: How do you physically prepare for one of our biking or hiking trips? What surprised you most on your first trip, and what advice would you give someone worried about keeping up?
“We get in moderate hiking workouts before our hiking trips. Anything we can do to mitigate the pain while on the trip is worth it for us. However, the e-bike has made training for the bike trips much more relaxed,” says Kerry G.
“Relax about keeping up,” says Margo R. “Getting in the van is always OK, if we can keep our egos in check. Sometimes it is just too hot or hilly to do the whole route. The group does not all stay together, as people have different paces and needs. Some like to take it slow and take pictures. Others think they are in the Tour de France and go as fast as they can. It’s all OK, and there will always be a guide at the end of the pack.”
“A major reason my husband and I love Backroads is that we can both do our own thing. I’m usually done after lunch—35 miles is more than enough for me—but the Hubs is not done. I can go back to the room and he can continue riding,” says Marie F.
Kathy L. offered this training tip: “We live in Wisconsin, so in winter we can’t bike outside.” Which is why, she says, “we usually travel in fall so we can get in shape hiking or biking by the time the trip starts.”
“For those biking, I think it is so important to know how to really bike in advance, either out on greenways or in a spin class. I can still remember one of our first biking trips when, on the third day, I could not even climb a flight of stairs—my quads were too sore!” says Mina S.
“Make sure you do some biking and hiking before you come rather than rely on memories of what you biked or hiked as a kid. Make sure your shoes fit well and are broken in. And marathon training is not required to be in good shape, just opportunities to be on the road to build confidence and endurance,” says Margo R. “I was surprised on my first trip that I did as much mileage as I did, but since we had breaks, a meal and a little sightseeing along the way, the biking was broken up.”
And Albert G. recalled a memory of being on a biking trip where all the women were trying to help a fellow guest with a chafing problem. “Nothing seemed to help until they discovered that she was wearing a g-string under her cycling shorts,” he says. New bicyclists might be unaware that most riders do not wear underwear—at all—beneath their bike shorts. Check out this article for the whys.
Q: What’s something you worried about before your first Backroads trip that turned out to be a non-issue?
“When we were not yet experienced bikers, we were concerned about being able to manage the hills of Tuscany. And they were steep! We also were concerned about whether the entire group biked/hiked together. We have found that going at your own pace is usually the order of the day, and that keeping everyone within a reasonable distance is what happens,” says Kerry G.
“Never worry about going hungry or thirsty on a Backroads trip—you are never more than a minute away from more food and drink! That’s why they call it Snackroads!,” jokes Albert G.
Arthur G. describes himself and his partner as “picky eaters with highly constraining diets.” But, he says, “I have to hand it to Backroads for putting very satisfying food on our plates throughout a trip.”
“One reason we have referred so many relatives and friends to Backroads is that we never worry about what’s going to happen on a trip,” says Mina S. “Our leaders have been superb and proven their mettle in the rare emergencies that have occurred over the years. Also, the GPS systems have gotten so much better that we never worry now about getting lost.”
Q: What has been your best Backroads trip, and why? What’s a moment on that trip that really stuck with you?
“This question is always hard to answer,” says Kerry G. “So allow me to name our top few. Tuscany, South of Siena: The first day was an intense day of biking for us, so when we finally arrived in Cortona, made it to our room and opened up the windows exposing the grandeur of the Tuscan countryside, Backroads had captured us at that point! The Peru Lodge-to-Lodge Trekking Tour was phenomenal in every respect. Canadian Rockies Hiking, gorgeous! Galapagos, Andes & Amazon River Cruise Hiking & Walking Tour, just so much diversity, incredible.
“Forced to give an answer, I would say Thailand. It was a family vacation at Christmas, and one of the leaders was particularly amazing. When we were saying our goodbyes, the kids were lined up and they were all crying. I loved seeing the Buddha statues, the temples, getting blessed by a monk, giving alms as the sun was rising and street dogs nearby were wooing,” says Marie F.
She also had many good memories in Normandy. “We went to the beach, and it was amazing to see stuff still in the water from the war. Also, a memorial of men in uniform was made of some kind of metal that was see-through, almost as if representing the ghosts of the men who died there. I will never forget those statues.”
Albert G. raves about our Mallorca cycling trip. “Halfway through day one, my friend and I simultaneously said to each other, ‘We have to come back here with our wives!’ Great weather, perfect roads with so many cycling lanes and respectful drivers—the locals are used to cyclists because the pros train there—and amazing ocean views. And yes, we did go back with our wives. For Multi-Adventure and Hiking, please don’t make me pick between Norway and New Zealand!”
“Current favorites are Tuscany and Provence—great terrain, great food,” says Nina R.
“The most fun was a private safari over Christmas break in Tanzania with our kids, grandkids and several other relatives. The trip was amazing, especially riding in the jeeps and getting up close and personal with magnificent wildlife, visiting remote Masai villages and interacting with the people who lived there, and celebrating our last night in the wilderness with a special BBQ and the chance to dance with Masai dancers,” says Margo R.
“South Africa has been the best. We did it twice! The accommodations, food and the wildlife—it just can’t be beat,” Larry W. says.
“We have traveled to so many places where I would not have gone without Backroads. I know they will take care of us and keep us safe. The lodge-to-lodge trek to Machu Picchu was one of our favorites,” recalls Kathi L. “The great thing about Backroads is it’s continually adding new trips to areas we never knew we wanted to travel to but now can’t wait to explore.”
