Europe Tours in October 2026

From the moment our guide ( Helio da Costa ) introduced himself we knew we were on the right tour. Each destination was filled with little tit bits & on occasions little treats from Helio. Our driver (Fabio) gave us the best possible ride, with no-one feeling travel sickness. We certainly found roads that would have changed this but his smooth driving left us in awe. Very much appreciated by everyone.

Ireland is a beautiful country to visit, our tour leader, Carolyn, was absolutely amazing. Nothing was a problem for her. She was very informative and knowledgeable. Our coach driver, John, was professional in every aspect of the tour. He was also very knowledgeable & helpful too.

We had a really wonderful time with Back Roads on the Iberian Inspiration tour. Great company, excellent tour direction, and a great itinerary with a mix of famous large cities and smaller rural towns. Back Roads really lived up to its name, with adventures down country roads and stops in little Spanish hilltop towns. Fabulous! Sarah Downey our tour director was a delightful guide, her fluency in Spanish and knowledge of local history and culture was impressive. She was an exceptional ambassador for BackRoads, her warm and charm enveloped us all, and left happy smiling locals wherever we went.

Disappointed that the weather didn't cooperate to go to the Orkney Isles, but loved being at Ballachulish and Castletown away from the big cities. Wished lunch stops were longer for eating and shopping the towns. Could have stayed all day at Dunrobin Castle as I enjoyed touring on my own, but didn't have time to cover all of it.

Knowledgeable guide and great driver. All accomodation was great, everyone looked after us well. We had a few changes along the way but all added to the journey- definitely worth doing! 😁

Our guide, Sapfo, was truly excellent. Without doubt the best group leader you could wish for. She was interested and engaged with everyone in the group. She was knowledgeable. She was super organized and nothing was a chore. Our group dinners every night were a big success. Her restaurant choices were excellent. Our driver, Georgiou, was also really great. He kept the Mercedes mini bus immaculate. He was a careful and considerate driver and you always felt safe even on the tight back roads of the Mani Peninsula. Itinerary is good except that Monemvasia should be included as part of the tour proper and Sparta dropped from the itinerary. Make sure you take the optional extra of visiting Monemvasia if offered. It is well worth it. Overall I would say the tour is best described as “very full on”. A lot of the ancient and medieval sites have many many steps and some of the stones are very polished from so many people stepping on them over thousands of years. So I would recommend wearing hiking shoes if you have them also also bringing walking poles if you have them. Both will help with climbs, of which there are quite a few as I say. Overall the accommodation was ok (but not brilliant) except for Hotel Galaxy (they need to axe Het Galaxy). The Pantheon City Hotel was the best. Our group got on well, and I think that was in large part due to our guide Sapfo.