Backroads Launches Women’s Adventures

03.09.2023 - 05:05 / forbes.com / Tom Hale

Backroads, the world’s leading active travel company, has just announced Women’s Adventures, a new collection of trips just for women. These new departures feature 26 of Backroads’ most popular walking & hiking itineraries, from Yosemite and Yellowstone to England, Peru, and Bhutan. Founded in 1979 by Tom Hale, these women-only adventures debut at a time when more than 50 percent of the company’s executive team and trip leaders are women. The driving force behind the new trips is Hale’s wife, Liz, and daughter, Avery, now EVP of Backroads.

Backroads has seen an increase in select travel dates, becoming all-women trips, often as Private Trips. The trend is women seeking outdoor and cultural travel experiences in combination with upscale creature comforts, either traveling solo or with female friends or family members.

“We had been noticing a growing trend of women traveling together, particularly on our Walking & Hiking adventures and Private Trips,” Avery Hale said. “We decided to launch Women’s Adventures in the same way we reached many important decisions at Backroads: we listened to our guests. I always enjoy getaways with my girlfriends and cherish the camaraderie, conversation, laughs, and a chance to explore, relax and unplug together.”

Hale says that global travel stats show that women travel “at twice the rate of men, and more than half of US women have vacationed without their partner. A recent study showed the search volume for the term ‘female solo traveler’ across all search engines has increased by 62% over the past three years. The study also showed that 75% of those who take adventure, cultural, or nature trips are women.”

There are trips to Sedona, The Cotswolds, and A Taste of the Camino de Santiago. A Bhutan Walking & Hiking Tour and a New Zealand South Island Walking & Hiking Tour are two of the bucket list trips that have been added, along with a Peru Walking & Hiking Tour and Argentina’s Patagonia Walking & Hiking Tour. Hale noted that the trips “are already selling well, so well in fact that we haven’t seen demand like this since the launch of our Dolce Tempo trips, and we’re already increasing the number of dates and expanding the offer to include Biking and Multi-Adventure trips.”

Hale said the established itineraries, routes, and mileage options won’t change. What is different is the guest composition. Like all Backroads trips, there are daily route options designed to make their trips accessible to people with varying levels of fitness and interests, allowing guests to hike or bike as far or as little as they want each day. These trips are created to give Backroads guests a connection to the food, culture, landscapes, and people in the regions they are visiting. While these