Casual & Premiere Hotels*
Accommodations may vary based on departure date. Any difference from what is listed below can be found by clicking on your desired date on the View Scheduled Dates or Private Dates tabs.
Sheraton Kona Resort & Spa - Keauhou Bay
Kailua-Kona (1 night)
This classic full-service resort overlooks an ancient lava flow on the Kona coast. (pool, spa)
Kilauea Lodge
Volcano Village (2 nights)
An up-country bed-and-breakfast with ideal access to Volcanoes National Park.
The Fairmont Orchid, Hawai'i
Kohala Coast (2 nights)
* Premiere Hotel
A blissful resort on a half-moon beach offering abundant amenities and exceptional aloha hospitality. (pool, spa)
This Trip Is Rated Levels 2-5
Every Backroads trip is designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests and fitness levels. We know your pace may vary from one day to the next—and your traveling companion's may differ somewhat from yours. So we present a range of mileage options, and each day you decide exactly what and how much you want to do.
Daily Route Options (drag to see full )
| Daily Route Options |
| 1 |
10* |
200 |
25 |
2100 |
|
|
38 |
2600 |
|
|
| 2 |
|
|
|
|
26* |
1700 |
46* |
3100 |
65* |
4000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
94 |
8200 |
| 3 |
10* |
500 |
21* |
800 |
37 |
2500 |
|
|
|
|
| Hiking (4.5 Miles) |
| 4 |
|
|
|
|
40* |
1000 |
50* |
1800 |
75* |
2300 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
115 |
6500 |
| 5 |
15* |
1100 |
33* |
1600 |
43* |
2300 |
|
|
72 |
4000 |
| 6 |
9 |
400 |
17 |
800 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Note:
* Includes shuttle.
Learn more about how we determine our activity level and fully support a range of abilities and interests.
Please note that our distance and elevation figures come from Ride with GPS. Other sources (such as Map My Ride and Garmin devices) may give differing elevation figures due to different GPS and mapping technologies. Readings from a Garmin or a smart phone are influenced by other factors such as air pressure.
Meals
All breakfasts, 4 lunches, 4 dinners
Available Bike Options
The key to a stellar day’s ride is a bike that’s perfectly in tune with your cycling style… Backroads has you covered with the best bike fleet in the world! Read on for your available bike options for this trip.
Backroads Titanium Bikes (Included in your trip price)
Our custom-built titanium bikes are specially designed for you—and we offer different models for varied terrain so your bike is ideally suited to the region. Our custom-made bikes are included in your trip price.
Touring Bike (Included)
Performance Road Bike (Included)
Backroads Custom Electric-Assist Bike (Included in your trip price)
Wishing for a little extra assistance up those hills? Our custom Backroads Electric-Assist Bike lets you experience the thrill of exploring on two wheels while providing a boost when you want it. We've modified a selection of our great Titanium Bikes with the intuitive BionX "pedal-assist" system.
Backroads Custom Electric-Assist Bike (Included)
Specialized S-Works Roubaix & Ruby ($400 rental fee)
Ride like a pro with the new top-of-the-line S-Works bike featuring ultrasmooth Shimano Di2 electronic shifting. Faster and smoother than any other bike out there, this race-ready carbon machine delivers phenomenal acceleration and handling in an ultralight, ultrapowerful package—perfect for experienced riders. The Specialized S-Works Ruby is a light, agile speed machine precisely designed for women. You can upgrade to a Specialized S-Works Roubaix or Ruby on your trip.
Specialized S-Works Roubaix (Upgrade)
Specialized S-Works Ruby (Upgrade)
Co-Motion Torpedo Tandem ($400 rental fee)
Do you prefer to spin in tandem with your partner? You'll love the Co-Motion Periscope Torpedo tandem on your Backroads trip. You can upgrade to a Co-Motion Torpedo Tandem on your trip.
Co-Motion Torpedo Tandem (Upgrade)
Also Included
- Expertise and services of our experienced Trip Leaders
- Snacks and beverages between meals
- Additional guides and experts from the region on many trips
- Van shuttles to support a variety of route options
- Comprehensive Travel Planner with detailed pre-trip information
- Private guided tours at museums, historic sites, wineries and other select attractions as noted in the Travel Planner
- All gratuities at hotels and restaurants
- Special events, including wine tastings and other select attractions as mentioned in the Travel Planner
- On biking and multi-adventure trips, use of fully equipped Backroads titanium bike plus helmet and accessories
- Trailercycles, carriers, and kid-sized helmets for Family Trips
- Equipment and experienced guides for kayaking, rafting, snorkeling, sailing and canoeing as described
- Park and other entry fees
- Fares for trains, ferries and other modes of travel as listed in the Travel Planner
- Select coach transfers
- Baggage transfers and porterage
Get the Straight Talk about This Trip
We want to make sure you're on the right trip and that you have the best experience possible. Every Backroads trip is unique and this one is no exception.
Traffic & Highway Riding
Because the Big Island is rugged and covered in lava fields, there are a limited number of paved roads traversing the island. While Backroads strives to find roadways that are quiet and off-the-beaten-track, many of the routes on this trip follow highways with traffic. Of course, you are always welcome to jump in the shuttle to avoid the busier roads.
Accommodation
This Casual & Premiere Inn Trip includes one night at the Sheraton Kona, a large resort outside of Kona that is both bigger and busier than the typical Backroads casual hotel. We've chosen this property because of its impressive ocean views and convenient location for starting our journey around the island. We also spend one night at Kilauea Lodge, a fairly rustic property in a stunning location near Volcanoes National Park. Although clean and comfortable, the guest rooms are basic and are not equipped with phones or televisions.
Why Travel with Backroads in Hawaii
Nobody Does It Better on the Big Island
After more than 30 years of running trips in Hawaii, backed by a team of highly experienced Trip Leaders and an amazing network of local experts, we're just going to say it: you won't find a more thoroughly researched, carefully designed and seamlessly executed biking trip on the Big Island – or any of the islands. You can even opt to tackle the Kona Ironman route and two century rides. Or you can park your bike for a day and just swim, snorkel or paddleboard.
Great Bikes Included (or Upgrade)
Choose a Backroads Custom Titanium or Custom Electric Assist bike—included in your trip price. Maybe a Specialized carbon-fiber pro model is more your speed or go for double fun on a tandem. Our fleet is the best in active travel, so you don't have to roll the dice on this vital trip component. Learn more about our bike fleet.
The Best Leaders in Hawaii
Backroads has the best-qualified people to lead your trip in Hawaii, and our guests back that up, rating our Trip Leaders an average of 9.75 out of 10 for all-around quality of performance. Get the facts (and no fluff) on how we recruit and develop the very best people for your trip.
A Second Van When You Need It
Backroads is the only active travel company providing two support vans in Hawaii—because we know it's essential to ensure a truly great travel experience. It doubles our ability to be there when you need us to offer hydration, lighten your load or give you a lift if it's time to take a break. Read more on why two vans make all the difference.
Navigate Your Way in Hawaii
Your ride comes equipped with a Garmin Edge Explore 1000, the best bike-touring GPS device on the market. This is a Backroads exclusive, and it's included with your bike in Hawaii. If you prefer to bring your own device, we also have downloadable GPS files and of course, our good old paper directions are always available. Read more on why our navigation options are the best.
More Leaders to Support You
On our Hawaii trips we have an extra leader supporting you along the road—for a total of three, compared to the industry standard two. So we can be in more places at once, giving personal attention to guests traveling at their own pace. Here's more on our Trip Leaders.
A Variety of Routes Each Day
In Hawaii you head off each morning after choosing among several expertly designed routes—all with detailed directions, mileage and shuttle options. Unlike trips with one fixed daily route (or worse, one guide that everyone's obliged to follow), you're free to enjoy the best of the region at your pace, stopping wherever you want to explore further.
We Were Born Here (in 1979)
Backroads has been inviting active travelers to explore our own backyard since Jimmy Carter was in the White House. We offer more trips than anyone else in Hawaii, and we've spent more years finding the best ones. What keeps it real is having a consistent vision and the same passionately committed leadership for nearly four decades.
Your Hotels Are Locked In
It may seem obvious to say the great hotels we tell you about are the ones you'll actually stay in. But the fact is many companies haven't even booked the places they promise and are later forced to settle for inferior alternatives. We book our hotels and exact rooms long in advance—often over two years—so you stay where you expect to stay.
Your Trip Will Run. Period.
Under our Book with Confidence policy, your Backroads trip will run even for one or two people (or a family of three or four), subject to a nominal extra fee. Or transfer to another trip, and we'll give you a credit. It's all part of our trademark commitment to treating guests with integrity, transparency and total accountability. Read all the details.
We've Set the Standard
For nearly four decades we've worked to earn and maintain our right to call Backroads the world's #1 active travel company. In pursuing that vision on behalf of our guests, we believe we've set the standard for our industry—captured in the Backroads Quality Guide, which clearly sets out the benchmarks of excellence, choice and support that we live by
