Is Backroads worth it?
By Richard Jasinski·Updated 5 November 2026
No verdict of ours: the facts Backroads publishes on its own website, read 5 November 2026, topic by topic, each with a link to the page it came from.
Is Backroads worth it?
Whether Backroads is worth it depends on what you need: it lists a 6-day Tuscany Bike Tour from US$4,499 per person, rates trips at activity levels 1 to 5, rides its own titanium bikes and sells a US$250 Flexible Cancellation Plan.
What does Backroads sell?
Backroads designs and runs its own guided biking, walking and multi-adventure trips from its headquarters in Berkeley, California. Its founder Tom Hale started it in 1979. Source
What trips does Backroads run?
Backroads runs scheduled guided departures across nearly 550 itineraries and lets any trip be reserved as a private departure, with Small Group Savings for private groups of up to 12. Source
Where does Backroads ride?
Backroads runs trips on all seven continents in more than 60 countries and territories, five Canadian provinces and 21 US states. Source
Who is the riding for?
Backroads rates trips at activity levels 1 to 5 with several routes each day, from easygoing Dolce Tempo trips at levels 1 to 2 up to the Dolomites Bike Tour at levels 3 to 5. Source
Which bikes does Backroads provide?
Backroads owns and maintains its own fleet of custom-designed titanium bikes for performance, touring and electric-assist riders, with e-bikes in Europe and North America for riders aged 16 and over. Source
Where do you stay?
Backroads sorts trips into Luxury, Deluxe and Casual hotel tiers plus Small Ships. Its Egypt trip uses Mandarin Oriental's Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan and the Al Moudira Hotel in Luxor. Source
What support is on the road?
Backroads sends three or more leaders and two or more support vans on over 95% of scheduled trips, with vans that carry refreshments, repair bikes and give lifts. Source
What does a trip cost?
Backroads lists the Tuscany Bike Tour, 6 days, from US$4,499 per person based on double occupancy. Source
What does the price include?
Backroads includes accommodation, most meals, bikes, baggage transfers, porterage and all ground and air transport during the trip, while airfare to the start and from the end is extra. Source
What do solo travellers pay?
Backroads charges a single occupancy fee on prices based on double occupancy, or tries to pair solo travellers with a same-gender roommate. Source
How much is the deposit?
Backroads takes a fully refundable deposit on scheduled trips and asks private groups for US$1,000 per person, with private final payment due 185 days before departure. Source
What happens if you cancel?
Backroads charges private trips 50% from 96 to 185 days before departure and 100% from 0 to 95 days. Its US$250 Flexible Cancellation Plan returns 75% as future trip savings up to 48 hours before. Source
Can children come?
Backroads runs Families with Kids & Teens trips for ages 9 to 17 with a minimum age of 4 and Families with Teens & 20s trips for ages 16 and over. Source
When is Backroads not the fit?
The limit below is published by Backroads on its own website.
- Backroads: not the fit if a rider under 16 wants an e-bike, as Backroads sets 16 as its minimum e-bike age whatever local laws allow. Source
What do reviews say?
Backroads's figures per platform, read 5 November 2026, each from a listing under Backroads's own name; the figures are never added together.
- Backroads: Google: 4.2 out of 5 from 123 reviews. Read 5 November 2026.
Backroads at a glance
Its card, as on every Uncompromised Travel cycling page: what it sells, why to choose it, what to ask for and the limits it publishes.
Backroads
- Best for
- Guided bike trips with leaders and vans
- What it sells
- Runs guided bike tours with its own leaders, vans and bikes, such as the Tuscany Bike Tour from Pienza to Siena and Chianti, 6 days, from US$4,499 per person.
- Why choose them
- Offers more than 5,300 scheduled departures in 2025 across nearly 550 itineraries. Google: 4.2 out of 5 from 123 reviews. Read 5 November 2026.
- Ask for
- Ask for the activity level, hotel tier and e-bike option on your chosen departure.
- Not the fit if
- a rider under 16 wants an e-bike, as 16 is its minimum e-bike age.
- Website
- backroads.com
Which other companies sell the same kind of trip?
These 5 sell guided cycling tours in at least two of the same places and have the most Google reviews of those that do. The full list is on What are the best alternatives to Backroads in 2026?
- DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co.: Guided small-group road and hybrid bike tours
- GravelUp: Guided gravel bike trips in France
- Eat Sleep Cycle: Guided and self-guided road tours from Girona
- Bikestyle Tours: Guided trips to the Grand Tours
- Horizons Cycling: Guided road trips with support vehicle
Backroads: the questions people ask
How much does a trip cost with Backroads?
Backroads lists the Tuscany Bike Tour, 6 days, from US$4,499 per person based on double occupancy.
What is the cancellation policy with Backroads?
Backroads charges private trips 50% from 96 to 185 days before departure and 100% from 0 to 95 days. Its US$250 Flexible Cancellation Plan returns 75% as future trip savings up to 48 hours before.
Which bikes are provided with Backroads?
Backroads owns and maintains its own fleet of custom-designed titanium bikes for performance, touring and electric-assist riders, with e-bikes in Europe and North America for riders aged 16 and over.
What is included in the price with Backroads?
Backroads includes accommodation, most meals, bikes, baggage transfers, porterage and all ground and air transport during the trip, while airfare to the start and from the end is extra.
Is Backroads expensive?
Prices are published differently, per trip, per person and with different inclusions, so compare like for like: ask each for a written quote for the same dates with every inclusion listed. The price lines above give what each publishes.
Can I book directly?
Yes. Each card links the company's own website; ask for a written quote that lists what the price includes.
Where can I check these facts myself?
Every line on this page links the page of the company's own website it was read from, read 5 November 2026.
Is any company on this page paying to be here?
No. No company on this page is a partner of Uncompromised Travel; none paid to be on it.
Read next
Built to answer the question in the main heading. What is shown: what the company published on its website, read on 5 November 2026, with links to the pages read. Google and Trustpilot figures are shown where the listing carries the company's own name, from the Uncompromised Travel cycling tour operators table. Companies are set out in the order the question names them. No score and no verdict. Photos show the places named in their captions, not any company's trips. No company on this page is a partner of Uncompromised Travel. How this site earns · How we work.