backroads travel tours

Global operator

Service level

Travelers age

Trip prices

$3,198 — 7,298

Tour languages

Quick Links:

Trips other travelers liked

Iceland Discovery

Ice to Sun 2023: Argentina & Brazil

4-Days Cuyabeno

Discover Albania

Brazil (North): See & Experience it ALL in 13 Days, 1st Class Custom Tours

“Where the mountains meet the sea”- Kotor Bay, Lovcen & Skadar Lake National Park

Family Fun In Cambodia

Highlights of Turkey 10 Day - Istanbul - Cappadocia - Ephesus and Pamukkale

Member savings.

Sign in  to see which companies give additional savings to Travelstride Members (it’s free)

Age Range:  50+

Average Tour Price:    $2,000-$4,000

Average Tour Duration:  8-13 days

Group size:  Small groups for immersive experiences

• Group Tours
• Private Guided Trips
• Custom Itineraries
• North America
• South America
• Australia & Pacific

Compare with Backroads

View all tour company comparisons

How well do you know the world?

Backroads reviews & ratings, disappointed.

Until Covid clears, I would steer clear of Backroads. We were partially through their June 2020 Costa Rica tour when a guest tested Covid positive. She and her hus...

We just completed the biking/hiking trip in Maine

We just completed the biking/hiking trip in Maine. Our trip leaders Liz, Mariah, and Josh provided exceptional service for us. They were well versed on the histor...

Jennifer C.

My whole life is changed because of this experience

My whole life is changed because of this experience. I've just been home for an hour or so, and have already emailed everyone I know to tell them to get on the Backr...

insanely good

Once again, we must rave about the folks at Backroads. From start t...

This has been a wonderful, memorable experience

You have an excellent company and excellent employees. I have been t...

See all Backroads reviews

Editoral Review of Backroads

Back-roads quick facts.

Age Range: 50+

Average Tour Price:   $2,000-$4,000

Average Tour Duration: 8-13 days

Group size: Small groups for immersive experiences

Travel Style : Focused on cultural immersion and sightseeing

Back-Roads Touring, rebranded as Blue-Roads in November 2018 for the North American market. They are dedicated to providing off the beaten path experiences for true cultural immersion .

What Makes Back-Roads (Blue-Roads) Stand Out?

• Slow travel
• Small group tours
• Expert guides

Blue-Roads strives to provide meaningful experiences that go deeper than the typical tourist routes to the heart of the destination. Travelers can expect to take their trip at their own pace so they can really see and experience all the destination has to offer. You’ll truly get the opportunity to talk with locals, taste traditional food and see the culture from an immersed point of view.

Group sizes stay small , no more than 18 travelers. These smaller groups allow for travelers to go on the paths less taken and have truly authentic experiences. Each group is led by a guide who has extensive local knowledge and connections. Touring with them is like visiting a good friend who can’t wait to show you the best hidden gems and introduce you to their culture and history .

Who Will Enjoy Traveling With Back-Roads?

• Cultural enthusiasts
• History buffs

Back-Roads travelers are passionate about experiencing new and exciting cultures while they travel. These travelers want to feed their curiosity of a destination by going to places less traveled, talking with locals and trying new things. Learn traditions of the local people, hear stories, learn recipes and make lifelong memories.

Traveling with Back-Roads includes a lot of sightseeing. Travelers who enjoy seeing temples, historical buildings as well as iconic natural landmarks . You don’t mind riding in a car to get to each new destination because sightseeing and learning insider knowledge is what you love to do.

The age range often skews a bit older - catering to active and adventurous 50+ travelers eager for a relaxing yet invigorating trip. However travelers anywhere from the mid 30s and above will enjoy traveling with them. Especially if you’re the type of traveler for whom the more party-focused companies that serve the 18-30 range are not appealing.

Top Destinations

Back-Roads offers itineraries around the world, though they are especially well known for UK and Europe travel . You can find trips throughout the UK, Ireland , Europe - including the Nordic and Baltic countries . They also provide Asia tours , primarily in the southeast to Thailand , Vietnam , and Cambodia .

Back-Roads Travel Style

Tours take the form of small groups , and the activities range from easy walks or hikes to visits to cultural and historical sites . They offer a few broad themes, such as battlefield tours, culinary tours , sailing tours, history tours, and nature tours . 

Accommodations with Back-Roads are handpicked and generally in local and traditional hotels or guest houses. These usually have stairs, and are sometimes old buildings - you may encounter funky showers and not have the luxury of an elevator. They advise that you should be able to carry your luggage up and down flights of stairs. 

Back-Roads is perfect for you if you don’t mind forgoing a few luxuries if it means having more character and local charm to your accommodations.

When commuting from place to place, travelers have multiple options. They can travel in their own vehicle or ride in a Back-Road’s luxury mini-coach, yacht, barge, train, gulet boat or internal flight.

Why Back-Roads?

The small group tour experience is at its best with companies like Back-Roads. They provide top notch customer service and guides, dedicated to showing you the best of what a country has to offer. For travelers who want a chance to experience a new place through local eyes, as well as learn the history and enjoy good food and company - within a wide age range - Back-Roads is a great choice.

Unlock Community Benefits

Travel better together.

• Save favorite trips and itineraries
• Get insider insights
• Receive personalized recommendations
• ... and much more

More Details

Solo friendly.

• No single supplement
• Solo & Singles Travel

Travelstride featured in

About the company.

Discover the world of active vacations with Backroads. Backroads travel offers engaging trips from bike tours, walking tours and the best family vacations along the back roads. Find the perfect cycling holiday or hiking vacation at Backroads.com. Our Backroads tours range from Grand Canyon hiking to bike trips like Italy cycling trips to multisport vacations like our Costa Rica tours. Enjoy cultural exploration tours, adventures tours and family travel. Singles travel, solo trips and custom trips also available.

With an average tenure of 15 years, our trip designers have the ideal balance of passion, intuition and high-level expertise to create truly remarkable experiences that provide an overall sense of journey while leaving you free to add your own unique imprint. During the hundreds of behind-the-scenes hours that go into crafting each itinerary, we find the right blend of activities to showcase the best of a region, creating a rich tapestry that you can explore as fully as you wish.

Having all been Trip Leaders, they've seen firsthand what guests find most meaningful. Tom Hale works closely with each trip designer, scrutinizing the details to ensure each Backroads experience meets our gold standard for trip design.

A travel experience is not like purchasing a new bike—you can't give it a test ride. You have to be able to trust what the people providing that experience tell you. Unfortunately, we've seen too many examples of companies quietly subcontracting all aspects of their trips to others and seriously limiting the amount of control they have over trip quality.

Backroads Trips & Specials

Amalfi Coast Walking & Hiking Tour

Holland & Belgium Bike Tour

Sardinia & Corsica Walking & Hiking Tour

Czech Republic & Austria Walking & Hiking Tour

Israel Bike Tour

Dalmatian Coast Bike Tour

Iceland Multisport Tour

Easygoing Walking Tour Brittany & Normandy

No Special at this time. Please check back at a later date!

Want a tailor-made trip instead?

Your trip, your way, planned by an expert:.

• You choose budget, destinations, activities, transport & lodging type
• Expert designs the itinerary for you, and once approved, takes care of logistics

Top Backroads Trip Categories

Backroads company ranking by category, similar companies.

undefined. Are flights included?

undefined. What is the Average Group Size?

undefined. What is the age range?

About Travelstride

Find your perfect trip, travel confidently.

11 Guided Tour Companies That Offer Trips around the World

L ike cruising and theme park vacations , guided tours aren’t for everyone. But for people who especially enjoy meeting (and traveling with) like-minded people on vacation, guided group tours can be the perfect way to see a new destination—and make some new friends along the way. 

Some guided tours are geared toward groups of a dozen or fewer, while others can accommodate 50 or more travelers. Most guided tours include accommodations and some meals. In all cases, the tour companies who operate group tours take most of the complicated planning out of the equation , leaving you to focus on simply enjoying your vacation. 

The Best Guided Tour Operators

If you’re ready to give tour groups a try, consider one of these guided tour operators that rank among the very best in the world. 

MAKE MEMORIES: Tours for Everyone: 11 Best Companies for Family Vacations

Guided tour operator Tauck has been a leader in high-end group tours since its founding in 1925. Operating land-based group tours on all seven continents (as well as river tours in Europe and small-ship tours around the world), Tauck caters to families, couples, and solo travelers.

ACTIVE TRAVEL:   5 Best Senior Adventures for Travelers Age 50+

The average size of a guided tour group with Tauck is 35 to 44 guests, though the group size may vary depending on the season and the nature of the tour. Travelers enjoy Tauck for its attention to detail and ease of planning. Prices for tours vary by location, type of tour, and season, but the average Tauck tour starts at around $4,000 and goes up from there for one room with two guests. 

2. Trafalgar

Taking groups on guided tours to destinations around the world since 1947, Trafalgar runs trips to nearly every corner of the planet except Antarctica. The mostly land-based guided tours are offered year-round, including to popular destinations like New Zealand and Africa. The number of guests on tours vary based on the destination. Africa tours are the smallest with a maximum of 20 guests, while the United States and Canada tours are the biggest with up to 52 guests. 

SENIOR TRAVELERS: 9 Tour Companies That Cater to Travelers Over 50

In addition to its standard tours, Trafalgar also offers women-only tours . Other travelers who may enjoy Trafalgar are adventure travelers and foodies. Trafalgar tours start at just under $2,000 for one guest.

3. Collette

No travel company brand has been doing group trips longer than Collette , which has been in business since 1918. The group touring agency goes to all seven continents and has 179 different tour options. Its top tour destinations are Ireland, Italy, and Iceland. 

TRIPS OF A LIFETIME:   12 Best Amtrak Vacations and Scenic Train Rides in North America

Collette’s small group exploration tours allow for 14 to 24 people per tour, while its classic group tours can be up to 44 people. Collette primarily serves an older audience of travelers over 55. Tours with Collette start at just under $1,500 per person. 

4. Grand Circle Travel

Another popular group tour option for travelers over 50 is Grand Circle Travel , which has been in operation since 1958. Grand Circle’s variety of land-based tours and river cruises range in size from 24 to 47. Trips with Grand Circle start around $2,400 but vary based on the destination and season. 

5. Adventures by Disney

The luxury travel arm of Disney, Adventures by Disney is known for its focus on guided family tours . Since its founding in 2005, the company has continued to add new touring options with land- and river cruise-based adventures to destinations worldwide. Tours with Adventures by Disney can have upwards of 40 people, including kids under 10 years old. The tour company does offer some adult-only adventures as well. 

LEAVE THE PARENTS AT HOME:   9 Skip-Gen Vacations Grandparents and Grandkids Will Love

One reason why travelers choose Adventures by Disney for family vacations is that they likely already partake in other Disney vacations and know the level of service Disney can provide. Adventures start at just under $2,100 for one person for a short two-night escape. 

6. G Adventures

Best known for its cheaper group tours that span the globe from Croatia to Tanzania, G Adventures was founded in 1990 as a way to bridge the divide between solo adventure travel and more mainstream travel. G Adventures focuses on small group trips; the number of travelers per group is typically between 10 to 15 participants. 

7. Intrepid Travel

Eco-conscious travelers will want to consider a group travel vacation with Intrepid Travel , which is known for its active stance on climate action and sustainable travel. Intrepid offers tours for families as well as more strenuous walking tours and cycling tours. Since 1989, Intrepid has been taking small group tours of about 10 people around the world from Bali to Antarctica. 

8. Backroads

Travelers with a more active lifestyle who want to take a group tour will want to look into Backroads , where hiking and biking tours are the main attraction. Backroads has been traveling around the world from famous U.S. national parks to the glaciers of Antarctica since 1979. Backroads offers more than 200 different tours, most of which have an average of 16 participants. Prices start around $2,500 per person. 

9. Classic Journeys

Luxury group tour operator Classic Journeys (founded in 1995) offers tours to destinations around the world, and are especially well tailored to travelers interested in wildlife or local food and drink. These small group tours are typically no larger than 12 guests. Land-based trips start around $3,300. 

10. Thomson Family Adventures

With a focus on family travel, Thomson Family Adventures has been operating group tours to more than a dozen destinations since 1998. These bucket-list-worthy trips are limited to no more than 25 people. Tours start at $3,190 per adult and teen and $2,990 per child. 

11. Road Scholar

Since 1975, Road Scholar has provided educational tours around the world for small groups of 12 participants or less. The trips are ideal for those who want to do a deep dive into a destination’s culture or be immersed in nature. These budget-friendly trips start around $750 per person. 

More from FamilyVacationist:

• 12 Best Hotel Booking Sites for Cheap Prices
• 17 Best Flight Booking Sites for Cheap Airfare
• 10 Best Car Rental Booking Sites for Cheap Prices

The post 11 Guided Tour Companies That Offer Trips around the World appeared first on FamilyVacationist .

GuideAlong | GPS Audio Tours

About this app

Data safety.

Ratings and reviews

• Flag inappropriate
• Show review history

What's new

App support, similar apps.

Popular Searches

• Portugal Bike Tours
• Family Trips
• National Parks
• River Cruises
• Women's Adventures

Walking & Hiking Tours

Sometimes beauty is best appreciated on two feet. Backroads walking and hiking tours are crafted to offer an unfiltered connection to the cultures and landscapes of each destination. Led by expert Trip Leaders , our walking trips will take you from the islands of Vietnam to the red rock canyons of Utah , all the while enjoying the luxury and world-class service for which Backroads is acclaimed.  Learn more about what you can expect when traveling on a Backroads Walking & Hiking Tour.

A Taste of Camino de Santiago Easygoing Walking Tour

Couples, Friends & Solos

A Taste of Camino de Santiago Family Multi-Adventure Tour

The Way from Portugal to Spain

NEW Families with Older Teens & 20s

NEW Families with 20s & Beyond

A Taste of Camino de Santiago Walking & Hiking Tour

NEW Women's Adventures

Families with 20s & Beyond

Alaska's Glaciers & Fjords Multi-Adventure Tour

NEW Couples, Friends & Solos

Alaska's Kenai Easygoing Walking Tour

Alaska's Kenai Multi-Adventure Tour

Families with Teens & Kids

Families with Older Teens & 20s

Alaska's Kenai Walking & Hiking Tour

Antarctica Ocean Cruise Multi-Adventure Tour

Argentina's Mendoza Multi-Adventure Tour

Argentina's Patagonia Lake District Multi-Adventure Tour

Argentina's Patagonia Walking & Hiking Tour

Arizona's Saguaro & Tucson Multi-Adventure Tour - 4-Day Getaway

Australia's Tasmania Multi-Adventure Tour

Bali Multi-Adventure Tour

Banff to Jasper Multi-Adventure Tour

Banff to Yoho Walking & Hiking Tour

Basque Country Multi-Adventure Tour

Belize & Guatemala Multi-Adventure Tour

Bend Oregon Multi-Adventure Tour

Crater Lake, Smith Rock & the Deschutes River

Bhutan Multi-Adventure Tour

Bhutan Walking & Hiking Tour

Black Hills & Badlands National Park Multi-Adventure Tour

Discover your next adventure.

By sharing your email address, you agree to the practices described in our  Privacy Policy .

3 of the Best G Adventures Tours of Japan

Packed with culture, tradition and dazzling modernity, Japan is one of the most captivating travel destinations – getting on a tour helps navigate this fascinating country too. 

(Photo: Gadventures.com)

From the tiny, buzzing izakayas and skyscrapers of Tokyo to the traditional mountain villages of Hida region, Japan is a place of many different ways of life. The country may be reasonably small – the archipelago is around 3,000 km long – but it is ever changing and always full of surprises. With excellent transport links – the high speed Bullet trains are famously punctual – it is a relatively easy country to explore but it is also a place where a guided tour makes perfect sense, especially if you don’t have a strong grasp on the Japanese language. Here are three of the best G Adventures tours of Japan.

Discover Japan

Covering 14 days, this tour is a great way to really get to know the different sides of Japan. Starting in Tokyo and looping around the country, the tour takes in everything from the fast-paced life of Tokyo to the serene sacred shrines and the soaring beauty of Mt Fuji. This is the perfect way to experience the true highlights of Japan, with a chance to stay in a traditional Japanese Inn, explore the gardens of Kyoto and travel on a Shinkansen bullet train Tokyo to Tokyo. From €4031.

Book at Gadventures.com

Back Roads of Japan

Starting in Tokyo and ending in the ancient city of Kyoto, this tour is designed to get off the beaten track along the way. Aside from the start and end points, you’ll be stopping in smaller towns and cities on the way, discovering lesser-seen wonders such as the treasured castle of Matsumoto and the Lake Biwa in Otsu, the largest lake in Japan. There are special experiences to be had that are a world away from big tours – you’ll even be staying at a community homestay and eating with your host family. From €3314.

Japan: Tokyo Nights and Kyoto Temples

This is a budget six-day trip designed as an affordable option for younger travellers. Just because it’s shorter than other Japan tours doesn’t mean you won’t get to fully experience the country however. There is plenty of adventure to be had, from the bustling energy of Tokyo’s city centre to the rolling countryside of Takayama to the iconic city of Kyoto, a mix of peaceful gardens and stunning temples. It’s a great option for anyone who is short of time or who wants to also see some of the country independently afterwards. From €1104.

Latest Articles

• Where to Find a Virtual Office in San Diego May 17, 2024
• 10 Festivals to Visit in London this Summer May 17, 2024
• 3 of the Best G Adventures Tours of Japan May 17, 2024
• The Best Boutique Hotels in Bogota May 17, 2024
• Where to Rent Luxury Apartments in Chicago May 16, 2024