Back-Roads Touring Reviews
The 126 Back-Roads Touring reviews listed below are from past clients of Global Journeys that have traveled with Back-Roads. Each review has been individually verified by our team.
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This tour combines both the ancient history of Sicily and the culture of the Sicilian people through their food and living traditions. It included unique accommodation such as an Olive Farm and a previous Monastery as well as beautiful hotels. One other highlight was a five course degustation luncheon with matching wines on the slopes of Mt Etna. Included read more in the tour is also visits to community programs fighting against crime and teaching young people the art of early chocolate making. These, as well as many other activities, were achieved without long days of travel which is the disadvantage of many larger tours.
This was my 1st Backroads tour. This is a regional tour visiting some lovely scenic towns. Lecce was my favourite: biggest town we visited with wonderful limestone Baroque architecture. We stayed in a lovely palazzo here. Very energetic, fun, tour leader. A full group of 18. Bus was very cramped and not comfortable. Thank goodness we weren't travelling read more long distances. My gluten free diet request was well catered for at all hotels and included dinners. The last 2 hotels we stayed in were quite basic. I am usually a solo traveller. On this tour I travelled with a Canadian friend. We prefer a busier, more active style of travelling. I felt this tour was more suited to couples rather than solo travellers.This was the 2nd of 3 tours over 6 weeks that I arranged with the friendly and professional assistance of Georgie and Hannah.
Definitely a back road tour! 0
Paris to Nice Through Vineyards and Mountains
Patty and Helen, NSW, Australia, Oct 2025
Vineyards and Mountains Back Roads Tour was definitely that and the back roads were stunning. We loved the wine experiences, talks and tastings in Chablis and the champagne district. The cheese making was another very informative day on the edge of The Alps.The mountains, then the Alps and then the high plateau and gorges going on down to Provence were read more spectacular. We loved the way the guide could slightly change the itinerary on the journey to suit the clientele and these changes obviously had the permission of Head Office. Our experiences were uniquely French ad a very satisfied group found the tour inspiring and educational. Thank you.
The most wonderful tour! 0
Paris to Nice Through Vineyards and Mountains
Anna, TAS, Australia, Oct 2025
Everything about this tour was wonderful. The scenery was amazing, even more spectacular than I could possibly have imagined. The backroads company certainly lived up to their name and we took the most scenic routes through villages and mountains. The pace was great, we had enough time to savour the experience and not feel rushed. Our tour guide Eva read more was the best and our driver Kasper was also very good. The group size was just right and made for a very enjoyable time together. The booking process through Global Journeys was also easy. Thanks for a wonderful experience!
Lovely trip to Sicily with Back Roads Touring. The itinerary was perfect, a good amount of organised tours versus free time.
We loved the organised tours, from olive farm stay to a day in Taormina. The small group was perfect, 13 of us, small enough to get ti know everyone is 10 days. Our tour director Davide and our coach driver, Giovanni were very read more friendly and knowledgable. The hotels to my surprise were first class mingled with classic stays. The included lunches were fabulous, wine and food were first class and situated in lovely areas, only small coaches could get into. I would highly recommend Back Roads Touring and look forward to our next adventure.
We loved the organised tours, from olive farm stay to a day in Taormina. The small group was perfect, 13 of us, small enough to get ti know everyone is 10 days. Our tour director Davide and our coach driver, Giovanni were very read more friendly and knowledgable. The hotels to my surprise were first class mingled with classic stays. The included lunches were fabulous, wine and food were first class and situated in lovely areas, only small coaches could get into. I would highly recommend Back Roads Touring and look forward to our next adventure.
Visit to Guernsey, Sark and Jersey 0
London to Paris via the Channel Islands
Bev and Julia, New Zealand, Sep 2025
Really loved this trip; especially the Channel Islands. Our tour guide was fabulous and provided us with daily sheets of detailed information and history of the area we were visiting. Great driver, hotels and food.
Very good tour; well organized,good hotels and excellent tour guide and driver. We loved the small villages we visited, although there was some steep roads and paths to walk up and down.
For anyone interested in Cornwall, this is a tour I'd highly recommend. For starters, it's a tour of Cornwall, rather than a brief excursion into a part of the UK that seems to dominate other tour providers. It begins with the Dartmoor ponies and ends up in Salisbury Cathedral. There were many highlights and, as one might expect from Back Roads, some read more surprises along the way, arranged by our tour guide, Russell, and the driver Frank. The best of these was the appearance of the Travelling Elderberries, a choral group who sang for us in a local hotel. The group I travelled with were Australians and Kiwis, along with two Americans who, at times, seemed a bit puzzled about debates over pavlova and underarm bowling. Accommodation was excellent overall, although anyone interested in the tour needs to be aware that in the UK, the shower over the bath is the norm. Tracey, quite frankly, met the high standards that I've come to expect from Global Journeys.
Great itinerary Well planned hassle free booking. Very manageable number and very well conducted and directed. Grace at Global Journeys again handled our booking and hopefully will do again in the future.
Backroads Alpine tour from Munich to Venice 0
Alpine Escape: Germany, Austria and Italy
Jeff & Trudi, WA, Australia, Jun 2025
We enjoyed this tour immensely, the pace with 2 night stays was perfect and the places we saw were awesome. Our tour leader was super efficient BUT for the price the overall holiday was not value for money. We loved Munich, picturesque Lake Constance was a highlight, then beautiful Innsbruck, the scenery in Cortina (Dolomites) was breathtaking, historic read more Verona was very interesting, and finishing off in Venice was icing on the cake. BUT, there were a few things that did not compliment such a great tour - the hotel in Munich was average, the hotel in Cortina had no air conditioning and we sweltered in the heat and the hotel in Verona was some 20 kms out of town. The included evening dinner meals (3) were disappointing in quality and the set menu did not suit everyone. The there was the coach driver who was regularly on his phone while driving and got lost quite often. Don’t get me wrong we had a fantastic holiday but there were things that were not up to standard which made in not value for money.
Hi, we did enjoy our Back Roads of Tuscany Tour but we do have some concerns. The tour director, Luca and our bus driver were just fabulous. Luca was kind, thoughtful, generous and a lot of fun and really looked after all on the tour.
Sadly, we did not think the tour was great value for money and were disappointed - not with the places we visited read more - but with the amount of time we had to spend in these small villages. The villages themselves were lovely but mainly only one main street and full visiting and seeing sights were done in a couple of hours. Then we all had to sit around and wait for collection time. It was so very hot and we were all always looking for shade in which to sit and pass time and wait for collection.
Most of the accommodation was fine but the last one especially was well below par. The grounds were absolutely amazing, but the accommodation itself was dark and dingy - although roomy-but very disappointing for our lat night on the tour. Also, the food for the dinner was very disappointing with some of the meals not being cooked properly and had to be returned and then some of these meals were replaced with - FISH AND CHIPS - not our idea of good dining for our last night together. Although the hosts tried to make up for this with extras, such as coffees and desserts, the evening was disappointing because of the poor food.
Also, the mini coach was so very small - little room to store hand luggage-the aisle between the seats was very narrow. I am only 5ft 1in tall and weigh about 53kg but found it very cramped and difficult to walk freely up the aisle of the coach. Therefore, it would be advantageous if the coach was considerably bigger. I am unsure if you received comments from others on this tour, but we all spoke about these facts freely. Luca certainly did make the tour enjoyable, but we felt that the points I have listed really need to be addressed. Thank you for reading this review and we trust these points will be taken into due consideration. P.S. Tracey at Global Journeys who looked after our booking was great and always helpful with questions we had. Thank you Tracey.
Sadly, we did not think the tour was great value for money and were disappointed - not with the places we visited read more - but with the amount of time we had to spend in these small villages. The villages themselves were lovely but mainly only one main street and full visiting and seeing sights were done in a couple of hours. Then we all had to sit around and wait for collection time. It was so very hot and we were all always looking for shade in which to sit and pass time and wait for collection.
Most of the accommodation was fine but the last one especially was well below par. The grounds were absolutely amazing, but the accommodation itself was dark and dingy - although roomy-but very disappointing for our lat night on the tour. Also, the food for the dinner was very disappointing with some of the meals not being cooked properly and had to be returned and then some of these meals were replaced with - FISH AND CHIPS - not our idea of good dining for our last night together. Although the hosts tried to make up for this with extras, such as coffees and desserts, the evening was disappointing because of the poor food.
Also, the mini coach was so very small - little room to store hand luggage-the aisle between the seats was very narrow. I am only 5ft 1in tall and weigh about 53kg but found it very cramped and difficult to walk freely up the aisle of the coach. Therefore, it would be advantageous if the coach was considerably bigger. I am unsure if you received comments from others on this tour, but we all spoke about these facts freely. Luca certainly did make the tour enjoyable, but we felt that the points I have listed really need to be addressed. Thank you for reading this review and we trust these points will be taken into due consideration. P.S. Tracey at Global Journeys who looked after our booking was great and always helpful with questions we had. Thank you Tracey.
Great Tour of the Western Front 0
ANZAC on the Western Front: Dawn Service (Southbound)
Garry and Louise , VIC, Australia, Apr 2025
Our tour guide Nic was fantastic, an absolute fountain of knowledge. The dawn service is organised by DVA and could not have been better. Tour is highly recommended.
Overall, an excellent tour of Eastern Europe with Kinga as our very knowledgeable guide. My recommendation would be that the commentary be broadened to include some lifestyle/info about economy and agribusiness to break up European history and music. Passengers were a bit restless after 7 days of history. Slovakia was beautiful. Krakow was very interesting read more and the Salt Mines were astounding. Accommodation was excellent throughout the tour.
Guided tours in the big history locations of Toldeo, Cordoba, Ronda, Granada and Seville were balanced with culinary experiences like wine, olive oil and ham tastings. Our guide Leti and driver Eduardo capably dodged the road closures and crowds associated with the Easter parades. Accommodation was well chosen and two night stopovers in some locations read more gave us the break we needed from being constantly on the move. Booking was easy through Global Journeys with good communication throughout the process. I would travel on a Back-Roads tour again.
Wine and wonderful scenery in France 0
Paris to Nice Through Vineyards and Mountains
Penny, VIC, Australia, Apr 2025
Our first trip with Back-Roads but definitely not our last. We felt that the experiences and accommodation exceeded our expectations for the price and we were thoroughly satisfied with our trip. Our leader, Emanuelle, was wonderful. She was always thinking of ways to improve our experience and by being flexible and aware of the group's interests we read more ended up adding highlights to the trip. Our driver, Ken, was excellent and when we visited Chamonix, which was his home town, he added to our knowledge and showed us his favourite places. What a team! The whole trip was excellent.
The Italian Indulgence tour was my 5th tour with Backroads and possibly the most outstanding. A perfect blend of rural countryside, beautiful lakes and historic cities. There were many highlights for me including staying in the beautiful villas in the Florentine and Langhe Hills, Truffle hunting with Mia the dog, spending time in the elegant Portofino read more and enjoying the beautiful Italian Lakes namely Maggiore, Como and Molveno. The pace of the tour was ideal, the hotels away from bus loads of tourists and the culture exquisite. I would highly recommend this tour and the guide, Beatrice. Thank you Tracey and the team at Global Journeys for your assistance in making this dream holiday come to fruition. You have always provided first class service. I will always be a Backroads fan.
Really enjoyed this small groups tour through Provence. Albert our guide was great and I learnt a lot from him along with visiting many beautiful towns and villages.
This was a carefree and efficient way to see such awesome natural landscapes. Would have been good to have a half rest day but otherwise a perfect program of travel itinerary.
Fantastic, very full tour. Great driver and very knowledgeable guide. Everyone should visit the Sir John Monash Centre at Villers Bretonneux. What made this tour very moving was that the guide was able to include war cemeteries and locations that had a personal history for people on the tour. This is a tour I will be recommending to family and friends.
Back Roads tour through France 3
Paris to Nice Through Vineyards and Mountains
Iain, WA, Australia, Jun 2024
Just completed a very enjoyable Back Roads tour from Paris to Nice. Everything was exactly as promised and both the guide and the tour bus were outstanding. Many thanks to Hannah for looking after my booking so diligently and keeping me informed of any adjustments. I will certainly approach Global Journeys the next time I go travelling.
