Drawing on more than 37 years of experience riding in our own backyard, we've created a range of Wine Country itineraries, all designed to ensure you fully enjoy your time here. This California Wine Country Bike Tour, created by an expert who's lived in the area for years, avoids most of the traffic while weaving together the best scenery and a selection of acclaimed vineyards. Whether you opt to challenge yourself with an epic hill or simply cruise to the next winery, our routes are all about choice.

We're all familiar with the Seven Natural Wonders of the World... but what about the seven EDIBLE wonders? Which world-renowned delicacies are worth 4,000 miles of travel and 2,000 calories? And where did these delicious dishes originate from? This list illuminates some of the best (and surprisingly simple) dishes this planet has to offer.

Among the Mayan gems hidden in the jungles of Central America, the crown jewel is Tikal, a must-see archaeological site that lives up to all those Hollywood stereotypes of the Lost City. (It actually had a cameo in the first Star Wars movie.) Many active travel itineraries in Belize opt for less dramatic sites or squeeze in a rushed one-day visit. We spend two nights at Francis Ford Coppola's nearby rainforest retreat, giving you and your family plenty of time to explore Tikal properly.

If you've been a guest on a Backroads trip, you probably remember how bright, friendly, hard-working and extremely energetic your Trip Leaders were. Well, it's safe to say that most Backroads employees, across the board, share similar traits. So what happens when 350 of us set aside our day-to-day work and embark on a trip of our own? A veritable explosion of epic biking, hiking, laughing, bonding, eating, toasting, costumes and dancing known as the Staff Ride!

There isn't a trail to be missed in the Canadian Rockies. Bold statement? Yes. True? Absolutely. So you can't go wrong. But to help you get the most from your precious time in this magical region, let me give you the lowdown. From Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks to Kananaskis Country, here are my ten favorite hikes in the Canadian Rockies.

The best known town in Tuscany is surely Florence, but have you been to Arezzo? The city center itself is gorgeous, the people are still genuine and the town looks so authentic that Roberto Benigni chose it as the setting for his Oscar-winning movie, Life is Beautiful. From bottom to top (it's a hilltop town!), here is the perfect tour of Arezzo.

Beer is a big deal in the Czech Republic. Per capita, the people here consistently consume the most beer in the world and the region's rich brewing history dates back to the mid- to late-9th century.

Backroads offers the only multisport tour on the Kenai Peninsula that ties together all of the spots your family will want to see, including Homer and Kachemak Bay, as well as Seward and Kenai Fjord National Park. And we do it by deftly balancing the two best ways to explore: biking spectacular wilderness routes to the very end of the North American road system; and kayaking in the most biologically diverse waters in Alaska, with incredible wildlife spotting everywhere.

Montalcino, famous for its spectacular Brunello wine, is a lovely hilltop town we visit on many of our Tuscany Biking trips. The medieval town dates back to the beginning of the 10th century, famous mainly for its tanneries and as a stop for pilgrims on their way to Rome along the Via Francigena. Nowadays Montalcino is a popular tourist destination, with people coming from all over the world to taste its wines: authentic Brunello wine cannot be produced anywhere but within its city limits.

I spent last summer working at the front desk of the Many Glacier Hotel and not a day went by when I didn't feel grateful for the awesomeness of life under the big sky. The snowcapped peaks, the rushing waterfalls, the turquoise lakes...it all seemed unreal.