Jewels of Southwest France

I have already put in my review some time ago - why do you need another?

Great trip, made even better by the expert guide Albert

Our tour covered a lot of the history, architecture and geography of that area of France. The hotels were generally very good and central to what we were doing. What really made the tour were our tour leader Albert who was so much fun, so knowledgeable and such a great teacher.
Kaspar the driver was also wonderful. Both of them went out of their way to help us in general. In particuar we needed help getting to our train station and they provided the transportation - we were so grateful
The small group on the tour worked out so well.
A super trip.
Barb Green

The tour took us to several smaller cities. We were able to visit Europe's largest sand dunes, an oyster producer, wine producer, and a cured ham store. Our driver Kaspar was excellent, always safe and willing to help some of our less mobile travellers. Our guide Albert was very knowledgeable on almost any topic for the local areas we visited. Both Albert and Kaspar were very patient with us, and always on time. We travelled early October and experienced some cooler weather. Our lodgings were ideally located for us to explore the many attractions.

For the most part, the tour itinerary was fantastic. We enjoyed Albi and would have preferred a night there. I could have also skipped the night in the Pyrennes (rather stay in a village). Otherwise I felt like all of the hotels were in perfect locations for the city/village we were in. For the accommodations, not a fan of Hotel du Barry (or whatever the name of the spa hotel is) but mostly because it wasn’t to my taste (otherwise fine). I’m sure you will hear many complaints about Hôtel Saint-Albert, the staff were “meh” and the breakfast was bogus or at least a big let down compared to what we had at other stops.
Now for the part that made this trip fantastic – the team Kaspar and Albert. Kaspar was courteous, efficient, very accommodating and most importantly he made us feel safe. Albert was outstanding!! He is patient, entertaining, savvy and kind. His knowledge of everywhere and everything we saw was top notch and his history lessons made the experience that much better. You could not have a better representative for your tours. Bravo Albert!!

I chose this tour at the last minute, having never travelled with them before. It was exactly as described, the participants were terrific, many had travelled on previous trips with Back Roads. We were looked after well, in no small part due to our great driver Casper, & dynamic,
so-knowledgeable tour leader Albert!
The included dinners were good [if too much food], but the stand-out was the dinner at Hotel du Barry!

Bordeaux is wonderful area to tour, and Charlie (our guide) made sure that there was a good balance between exploring and having some necessary downtime. He has a really good knowledge of French history and life - and is an excellent judge of how much the group can enjoy and absorb. Such a great tour director.
Our driver, Ewan, is so good at his job and great company to boot.
The meals provided as part of the tour were excellent and the hotels were quite outstanding. We enjoyed having the opportunity to choose our own restaurant on occasion, too.
Definitely the best land tour we've done - and we've done quite a few. We'll be back for more!

A lovely taste to visiting some charming towns along the south west coast of France . Out tour guide Charlie and coach driver Ervince were special.
I would recommend having two night minimum stays in towns as to having later starts in the morning and having the possibility of getting a feel for the place in which we stay.

An excellent tour of SW France.

Beautiful destinations each day. I loved the group lunches and dinners and out tour leader and driver organised a lunch in a place called Domme with spectacular views. A visit to a winery with wine cellars miles underground that was used to mine the limestone as well mind blowing

we had an excellent driver, a very lovely guide, great accommodation choices. Some of the accommodation was either excellent or outstanding, some not so great but always in very convenient locations which I think should take precedence.
The bus was comfortable and the itinerary was well planned. I was very happy to travel with Back Roads again.

Had an amazing time.
Tour guide, Max, was brilliant!!
Very friendly and helpful, constantly making sure everyone was happy

Excellent tour with great scenery and experiences. The guide, Max, was very experienced and well organised and his expertise made the holiday even more enjoyable.

Max was an excellent tour guide and his knowledge of the history and geography was unsurpassed.His guidance ensured all little problems were eresolved.

enjoyed the drive thru the Pyrénées, the Chateau visits were superb, and the wine tasting.

Fabulous tour visiting amazing off the beaten track places.
Albert was a fantastic knowledgeable and accommodating guide.
Small group of friendly like minded people.
A memorable experience.

Excellent tour including quality of itinerary and activity choices. Tour guide Albert was also excellent- friendly professional assistance and support. His knowledge and passion for history and ability to impart it in a simple and entertaining manner was superb. The smaller group and therefore smaller bus worked so well. I think everyone thoroughly enjoyed the trip and the cameraderie
. Will be looking forward to my next Backroads trip!

We loved it
Real taste of the France we had wanted
Small fairytale villages
Beautiful countryside
Plenty of free time
Great director
Central location of hotels

I chose this tour because of the area. Our guide was superb - knowledgeable, friendly and professional, and willing to research if there was something he didn't know. With one exception (Biarritz) everywhere we went was beautiful and of historical significance. Our driver was exceptional - and for me, the care with which he afforded cyclists on the narrow roads, meant so much. I would highlyn recommend this company and this particular tour.

Hotels mostly were a bit on the small side, driver Alex & Tour guide Albert were fantastic, loved the backroads touring

This showed the real France I was hoping for with opportunities to see the countryside.

It was nice to see a new part of France, learn the history and eat the delicious local foods and wines.

Great backroads experience

The timing of some stops was not the best. Stopping to sample oysters just after breakfast. The vehicle (both) had issues, broken door and replacement was very uncomfortable.

Outstanding leadership, scenery, food, wine, company and interesting places to visit

Value for money Not Rolls Royce but very good

Tour was excellent - scenery was fantastic & our tour guide & driver were both fantastic

The tour and places we visited was outstanding, everyday was exciting. We didn’t drive all day, we had many sightseeing stops to break the journey. One criticism is that the stop at Lourdes was too short if you wanted to see the Churches and buy the bottles then collect the Holy Water and then see the grotto.

Great bus, overall good accommodation. The last meal in Selatar was appalling, but apart from that, everything was very good.

Cities visited, location and quality of the accommodation. Included meals and tours with local guides were excellent.

Great tour through some beautiful country .Terrific guide -Max and driver- Alex and everyone on the group got on well
A couple of the hotels were disappointing-clean but very basic but as they are just for sleep it was fine.It was my first Backroads tour and Ill definitely go with them again

An enjoyable tour but room for improvement.

Fascinating itinerary, stunning scenery and excellent guide.

Overall the tour was good. The first day’s drive from Bordeaux to Biarritz was too long. It was good to see the “backroads”, but I think the tour should have returned to freeway sooner, giving the group more time to spend in Biarritz. Overall the accommodation was very good, location and standard. However, the accommodation for the last 2 nights of the tour, in Sarlat was below standard! Whilst the location was very good, the standard was poor. The rooms were very hot and when asked about air conditioning, we were advised that it was in need of repair. Opening the windows was not an option as many rooms faced a busy (noisy) street. When some of the group indicated that they would move to another hotel, the air conditioning was “miraculously” repaired.

Personally, I would have liked more time in Lourdes. I was disappointed that the group were told as we’re leaving that the house where Bernadette lived was just up the street from the Lourdes site. Had I known this, I would have visited the house site.

Otherwise a great tour!

As I said before I was disappointed and felt our guide was under prepared and thought it could have been better with local guides. Also the accommodation wasn’t brilliant, some of the places felt very shabby, especially in Salat. Finding out about the free electric bus from other tourists in Biarritz was disappointing.

Guide lacked local knowledge of places to eat, where to locate bathrooms & was disorganised in regard to enough seats for some events. Group dinners were hit & miss.

A beautiful part of France. I was so glad I found Back Roads tour through this delightful region.

Already given this feedback.
The tour leader and driver did a good job running the tour and the content was quite good. The first day drive along the Atlantic coast was particularly interesting., but the first stop was quite good.
Overall the hotel quality was much lower than expected from previous experience,. We would not recommend this tour to others due to the accommodation standard.

Same as explained above..different to other tours

An interesting tour, well conducted by Max, the competent leader

The bus driver was very knowledgeable and helpful. Always knew the best place to get an ice-cream in the evening 😉

These tours aren't cheap, which is the main reason for only 4 stars. We still both enjoyed it. I thought two of the hotel rooms were very small, a room isn't big enough, in my opinion, when there isn't an obvious place for a second suitcase! I can however understand this in Carcassonne. I would be willing to pay a little more for bigger rooms. I would be interested in other reactions to this.