Floating atop the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic Sea, a 110-year-old wooden masterpiece named Bozidar, meaning “God’s gift,” awaits our arrival. As we finish our hike through charming coastal villages, centuries-old olive groves and secluded bays, the rocky trail conveniently ends at a small d…

The landscape of Ha Long Bay, located just a few hours east of Hanoi, is among the most unique in the world. According to legend, several thousand years ago the burgeoning nation of Vietnam summoned the Mother Dragon to help them fight off an influx of invaders, which they did using divine fire and…

Here are our top picks for some of the best family adventures this summer!

The high desert is one of those places always worth visiting, particularly in the spring. Seemingly barren at first glance, it's the small springtime pops of paintbrush red, prickly pear pink, penstemon magenta and cliffrose white that draw our attention. These blossoms help us understand that the d…

Working as a Backroads Trip Leader in Tuscany certainly has its perks. Besides the great food and wine, there is a fabulous cycling culture supported by an excellent infrastructure of well-paved and well-marked roads. Over the years I've created a list of my favorite rides in the region, some featur…

My Backroads guests and I have just piled into the Sunnbüel cable car and we're ready to ascend over 3,800 feet to begin our hike across the Gimme Pass. It's day two of our Switzerland Walking & Hiking Trip and I'm about to tell my guests something that I know nobody will believe.

Martin surprised me with a six-day cycling trip to Hawaii's Big Island for my 60th birthday. What a great way to start a new decade —riding a bicycle in paradise!

Upon setting foot in Scotland you can’t help but feel its storied past around every corner. In a land where each vista has the power to still the heart, the remnants of a forgotten time persist. At any given moment you may discover the crumbling remains of a castle that speaks to the power of those…

Imagine icebergs illuminated by pale sunlight at midnight, the sunrise at 2 a.m. over a thundering waterfall, or a day of hiking that ends with an 11 p.m. soak in a natural hot spring. These things are a reality in Iceland where, for about two months every year, the sun never sets. This is the “midn…

Writing about the "why" of picnics at Backroads in a recent blog post got me thinking about the "how..." I certainly wasn't born knowing how to create a bountiful spread for 20+ people in the middle of nowhere, and our guests are always curious where this seemingly magical skill comes from when they…