Provence rhymes with vacances ("vacations" in French). When I was a child, my family was renting every summer a mas (Provençal farm) in the Luberon. So when I came back to Provence years later with the mission of designing a new trip for Backroads, all my childhood memories came back to me!

It's the second winter that I'm spending in Copenhagen, the city that also happens to be the destination of Backroads' Stockholm to Copenhagen cycling voyage. Up here in the North, the winter days are short, sunrise is late and counting the hours to sunset does not require all fingers of both hands.…

What is the Backroads Experience? It’s the feeling of your body in motion, with the wind in your face and excitement as your experience unfolds. By bike or on foot, you explore hidden corners, meet locals and immerse yourself in the life of a region while traveling in the company of our expert leade…

Back in 1996, I was tasked with a dream research assignment at Backroads. The mission, which I gladly accepted, was to create an all-new luxury hiking itinerary in Italy’s prized Dolomite region. Stunning mountain peaks, fairy-tale valleys, an abundance of cozy accommodations and, best of all, the c…

It is easy to express the beauty of Alaska in words but seemingly difficult to articulate the impression this place leaves on the soul. Some say, once you visit Alaska you will never be the same. Not always such a dramatic life change but often times a subtle shift. It is the encounter with the wild…

Let Backroads be your guide on the Amalfi Coast, where the views are stunning, the seafood is fresh, and the fragrant aromas of lemon trees and wildflowers may send your senses into full alert. We’ll wind our way through pastel-colored villages, along coastal trails, and on to golden pebble beaches.…

I write from the Provence leader house, amid a low murmur of convivial kitchen banter and stovetop smells. I've brought a bottle of wine to contribute to this homemade chicken soup dinner, so my hands are free from cooking tasks. And so I sit and I think... as another season winds down.

Cinque Terre is one of those rare places that leap from the pages of picture books simply because it seems too picturesque to be real. Do places like this really exist? A string of colorful centuries-old seaside villages perched on the rugged cliffs of the Italian Riviera, clinging to the rocks as i…

If I learned one thing while studying in Switzerland, it’s that fondue brings people together. Fondue in winter warms you up from the inside. Summer fondue is a naughty pleasure, like a morning mimosa. Should you find yourself high in the mountains after a day of hiking or cycling, starting to shive…

After spending four years living abroad, I came home wanting to rediscover the American West with a new fervor and appreciation. Somewhere along the way, I heard you could take a train from the San Francisco Bay Area to Seattle: an overnight, day-long, 22-hour journey past mountains, woodlands, lake…