On the Backroads Again

By Christine Neuberger

Get moving, you hear yourself tell your salespeople…again. But this time, your sales team outdid itself, and you’re telling them to get going on their Backroads vacation. Adventure travel is a hot commodity, as anybody knows, unless they haven’t ventured out of their cave for the past couple of years. And adventure-oriented incentive travel simply sizzles. Now, Backroads, the active vacation experts for 22 years, offers even more ways to get moving.

For 2001, Backroads rolled out 16 new trips. Its array of biking, hiking, walking, kayaking and multisport itineraries expanded to 147 in 105 destinations worldwide. The new offerings explore the perennial magnets of France, Italy, northeastern U.S. and Canada, with additions to the line-up including cooking and golfing. Consider these possibilities: a six-day cooking and walking trip through Provence, France, or a six-day golfing, walking and biking tour of Ireland. Why reinvent the wheel when Backroads has already meticulously researched routes for walking, biking and kayaking? It knows where to find the stand-out inns and the unusual cultural encounters. And in keeping with the popular trend of providing lots of options, Backroads offers choices galore.

“If you’re tapped for the task of planning a vacation or corporate incentive for the entire crew, let us arrange a private departure for your group,” says the Berkeley, California-based Backroads. “Just give us the names, addresses and phone numbers of those you’d like to have join you, and we’ll do the rest: Send them a catalog and an invitation to share the trip you’ve selected, take care of their reservations individually and set each of them up with the pretrip information they need. You simply bask in the glow of having planned perfection – and enjoy the adventure.” Backroads boasts eight trip-development specialists and more than 100 field trip specialists, plus a network of regional experts. For more info, call Backroads’ group coordinator at 1-800-462-2848. By horseback, by elephant, by foot, pedal or paddle, get moving.