Back-Roads Touring Reviews

The Iberian Inspiration trip was well worth the wait post Covid. Commencing in Madrid and finishing in Lisbon 12 days later, it certainly gave us a excellent overview of southern Spain and a touch of Portugal. Our tour leader, Elaine, was fantastic. Nothing phased her. She is a UK citizen that has lived in Spain for about 19 years. Her knowledge of ...read more the country and her grasp on both the Spanish and Portuguese language was to be admired. Our group was fairly diverse from the UK, USA, Canada and Australia. It gelled together very well adding to the sense of fun on the road. Hotels were all very central to the old parts of cities and towns which again enhanced the experience. This was a trip 3 years in the making, thanks Hannah for you support getting us there.

Great guide Liza and Mohammed as driver made a very good trip. Tour perhaps more suitable for experienced guests as there was a lot of free time, which whilst appreciated by seasoned travellers, may be a little daunting for other’s needing more guidance and advice. Included meals could be improved. Some discrepancies in itineraries with guests caused ...read more some discontent, but was handled by Liza very competently.

This trip to me was classic Backroads Touring - visiting a mix of smaller places particularly in Italy with great experiences which you wouldn’t think to do yourself or couldn’t do with a larger group, and a mix of iconic railway journeys with lake and mountain vistas in Switzerland. We had a very small group with a great tour guide who got to know ...read more our group’s interests and with the driver, was able to make minor itinerary adjustments to make the tour even more special.

Highlights in Italy included visits to a small Grana Padano cheese factory (and sampling), a boat trip in Lake Iseo and hike to the church at the top of Monte Isola, and a cooking lesson and wine tasting in the Franciacorta region. In Switzerland, highlights were the trips on the Bernina and Glacier Express train trips, the bus trip over the Sustenpass and the cogwheel train trip above Brienz. A great way to experience these parts of Europe - with some unique moments along the way.

I would highly recommend this tour. Even though the name of the tour is Corners of Cornwall, it visits other counties such as Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Wiltshire giving you an overview of each. The famous Wells and Salisbury Cathedrals were highlights. Small group tours are ideal for making new friends, experiencing the country lanes and individual ...read more cultures as well as staying in unique hotels. The standard of the hotels was high, ranging from a historic country hotel in Darmoor to beautiful and stylish hotels overlooking the coastline.

The included meals were excellent; particularly at the Dartmoor Hotel. Not forgetting the opportunity to dine at Rick Stein’s restaurant in Padstow. As a Doc Martin fan I enjoyed visiting Port Isaac and eating the fresh seafood available at most of the coastal towns. Our Tour Guide and Driver were both very professional and entertaining. This tour was my third with Back-Roads and I have already decided on the fourth.

The tour was well organized. The tour guide went above and beyond to accommodate everyone on the tour. I would book a Back-Roads tour again.

This was a well planned small group tour by Backroads to the beautiful countryside of Kent. Neil (tour guide) and Steve (bus driver) were excellent in their professionalism and we both enjoyed a relaxed and hassle free trip. The itinerary was well planned, but would have preferred a little more time a Hever Castle. The hotel stays were in great locations ...read more with close proximity to restaurants and services. Thank you to Georgie for your efforts in taking care of flights and liaising with Backroads. Would definitely travel with Backroads again.

The highlight of the trip for our group was Armistice Day, our tour guide Steve was amazing he organised for us to lay a wreath at the Hooge Crater cemetery, 11am service. That night we attended Menin Gate to watch the Last Post, for me this was one of the most touching experiences I have witnessed, again Steve made sure we were positioned perfectly ...read more to view the ceremony. Steve’s patience and thoughtfulness made this trip a pleasure, we had great accommodation and exceptional food for the whole journey. Steve’s knowledge regarding WWI was extensive.

Trip certainly covered highlights of the areas (Monet’s Garden, Normandy Beaches, Mont St Michel and chateaus in the Loire Valley) as well as introducing us to local specialties (cider, calvados, galettes and crepes). Local accommodation added to overall feel of the trip. Days were leisurely and could have fitted more in on some days. A couple of lunchtime ...read more picnics coordinated by guide and driver really added to overall experience.

11 days of driving through Spain and Portugal, visiting World Heritage sites on an almost daily basis. Wonderful organisation, careful driving and a truly professional guide made this a trip to remember.

Loved our week in southern Italy wandering the back streets, driving into the hills and catching local ferries along the coast. Good friendly group of 11 from four different countries. Great guide and mother hen Elda.

This is the second Back-Roads trip we have taken. The decision to try them again was very much based on the great experience we had with Back Roads in Ireland. This trip seemed a little chaotic compared to the Irish trip. Something happened to our originally designated tour leader and a replacement was made at short notice who could only be with us ...read more for 8 days then another Tour Leader joined us for the last 2 days. Both tour leaders were very good with the latter one being exceptional.

However, despite this bit of chaos, the trip was great. The various towns we visited, wineries we sampled and hotels we stayed in were all first class. Our group consisted of 15 other travellers, a bus driver, a tour leader and a trainee tour leader. All accommodation was centrally located and unique, something we would struggle to organise on our own or would not happen if we were part of a large bus tour group.

Overall it was a great trip, we saw a part of Spain that is not that highly over run with tourists and very unique. It was also great fun with a good group of like minded fellow travellers. Back-Roads are still very much on my preferred options list.

We were looking for a tour that would give us as much exposure to Scotland as possible in a limited time and without having to drive ourselves. This tour gave us all of that and more. We covered considerable ground but at a pace that did not feel rushed and which gave us time to visit and explore the key places of interest. The accommodation was excellent ...read more - comfortable but also with plenty of charm and atmosphere. The tour guide was superb - very mindful of our comfort and sensitive to the varied interests of the group. He also had an extraordinary knowledge of Scottish history and the ability to present it in humorous, interesting and relevant ways (and, really, you can't understand Scotland without understanding the history). The fact that we also had a bus driver meant that our guide was freed up to talk without having to focus on driving.

I thoroughly recommend this tour. This was our first experience with Back-Roads and Global Journeys, and I'll certainly look seriously at both organisations for future travel.

Georgie supplied great service and the tour was really good and informative, a lot to comprehend in a short time. The hotels started out great and in all were pretty good, the guide was good.

Our tour in Bavaria last July is still a wonderful memory!! We had a great driver and very well qualified Tour Guide to fill our days with information, historical and political (her special subject), as we drove through magnificent scenery or visited the many side trips along the way. Both of us had been to this area before many years ago, but never ...read more experienced it in so much detail that this tour provided. The coaches are comfortable, even for the full compliment of passengers which was 18. I am already looking at booking another Back Roads with Global Journeys, which will be my third!

Ireland surely is "40 shades of green", absolutely stunning and beautiful. Back-Roads was able to take us to out of the way places that larger coaches would not be able to do. The Titanic Museum was very impressive; we loved the walled city of Derry and the day excursion to Malin Head, County Donegal. Sadly we missed the beautiful south-west because ...read more of an unscheduled "excursion" to the Galway University Hospital but caught up again with the tour in Cork. The day trip to the beautiful port village of Kinsale was a highlight of the tour. Overall an excellent tour. Our tour leader, Bree, was outstanding and as always, Yvonne, from Global Journeys organised everything beautifully for us. Perfect!

I’m a seasoned traveller and this tour was one of the most poignant, thought provoking experiences I have had. The wonderful guide Francis told us stories about each town, cemetery, monument and field as we visited them.

We shed silent tears together at the Menin Gate as they played the last post, we smiled at the stories of mateship, we were awestruck ...read more at the many tales of bravery by ordinary Australians so far from home, the school in Fromelles that has the huge sign in the playground “We will never forget Australia“.

I was a proud Aussie when visiting the new Sir John Monash Centre at Villers-Bretonneux. I shed the most tears at the new statue of Don’t Forget Me Cobber a call made to a chap going out into no mans land to bring back his mates. This may all sound sad but it was a wonderful experience that seeped into my soul, it was a privilege to share their stories. Lest We Forget.

We went from one beautiful garden or castle to another. So much was seen. One of the highlights was the Tenterden Steam Railway. But so were Hever and Bodiam Castles! Our stay in the Mermaid Hotel in Rye was a delight. Thank you Georgie at Global Journeys for organizing everything so efficiently.

Thank you Yvonne. We really appreciated your careful consideration of allowing sufficient time for connecting flights whilst still getting us the best flight deal. The Back-Roads trip was exactly what we had hoped for. Small number of great people, terrific tour and lovely guides who enhanced our travel experience with their knowledge and enthusiastic ...read more commentary, beautiful hotels and plenty of free time to explore. Would definitively recommend.

Good trip, knowledgable guide and careful driver plus a very sociable group of fellow travellers. Accommodation and included meals were variable and were indicative of the regions.

Our “Highlights of Britain” ten day tour was an excellent experience. The tour was very well paced and we had enough time to enjoy ourselves at each place we visited. All of the accommodation was first class with our stay at The Mulberry Inn in Wales a special treat.

Harriet is a lovely caring person and very knowledgeable guide. Chris made the ...read more whole tour feel safe and secure as he drove us through the back roads of Britain. A big thank you to the entire Back-Roads and Global Journeys teams for an excellent experience.