The accommodation was excellent and the food was superb. Tony was full of information and put a lot of effort into making sure the tour ran smoothly. A bonus was the fruit and books about the places we visited and local birds and plants that Tony bought along the way.

Wonderful garden mixed with some historic events and architecture. Terrific guide, well organised tour and accommodation.

First Trip with Blue Roads/Back Roads Touring, hopefully not my last. I booked with a friend and she was ill at time of the trip, so I went solo. I felt well taken care of and made friends with my group. Among us were our Tour Guide, Ben Sims and Driver, Tony Gilbert both Kent natives; 2 singles from New Zealand; 2 couples from Canada; a mother and daughter and a Couple from Australia; and myself from California, for a total with Ben and Tony of 13. It was a nice number and we got on well. And we all made it to the bus on time, every time!

Yes, we did go down the back roads and never for a second was I the least bit concerned with Tony's impeccable driving, including backing uphill over the cobbles of Mermaid Street in Rye, or a narrow hedgerow lane (at my request since I had ancestors that had lived there---appreciate them being accommodating) when leaving Leed's Castle.

The pacing and arrangements by Ben were perfect. A nice balance of time on our own and time together. Ben's commentary was excellent and he pulled together different threads from history and natural history. His passion and willingness to share what matters to him, or to us, was very much appreciated. He made book and film recommendations relevant to our tour, which I have followed up with. And he shared places not on the itinerary that were meaningful. He would always call ahead to make sure ever thing was set and people were their to meet us. We never spent time waiting in queues. Tony helped out always making sure everyone was accounted for and he participated on the tour with us which was very nice.

Highlights would be Visiting Sissinghurst Castle Gardens and the gardens at Leed's Castle and Hever Castle. This was the 3rd week in May and the flowers were beautiful. Rhododendrons and Roses, Iris and wisteria. The accommodations were all very nice. Character and quirky was the 15th century Mermaid Inn, Modern was Tower Suites, spacious was Abode and Leeds Castle. For setting Leed's Castle was stunning. I awoke early and wandering around the grounds at sunrise was sensational.

All the meals were excellent. Service excellent and portage was appreciated. I enjoyed Chartwell and Hever even more than expected. The tours by guides at Hever and Canterbury cathedral were also excellent and Ben prepared us well. If you love English History I cannot think you would be disappointed. If you have not been to England before I suggest adding on a visit to the Tower of London as it ties in well with the trip and perhaps a visit to the Temple Church as well. If you are staying additional days (before or after at Tower Hill Suites---consider upgrading to a view room. Stunning views of the city.

I do not drink alcohol and wasn't sure about the Beer and Wine tasting, but I was glad I went and thoroughly enjoyed learning more of the history and process. I also am Vegetarian and found plenty of options everywhere we went.

I can think of no complaints---just wanted a bit more time here and there but that would have been a different trip and it would be impossible to always hit the right amount of time for everyone everywhere. Maybe its best to keep us wanting to come back for more. Overall it was very well executed. Would highly recommend.

This having been my 75th tour I would have preferred starting in the mornings a bit earlier than 9-or9.30am. Tours are short and cost quite a bit of money so you don’t want to waste time. Earlier starts enable you to get to your destination earlier or you can spend a little more time in some spots. One or two times we spent a bit to long in places where their was not much to do. This otherwise was a lovely tour by not travelling on the motorways and being able to see all the back country and small villages. Our tour guide was excellent very knowledgeable and easy to get along with. The driver was also excellent a very safe driver and capable of putting the coach through some very narrow roads and tricky situations. This was my first trip with Back Roads and I would like to do a lot more but coming up to 76years in a few months and having the rest of this year fully booked and not much space left unhooked in 2026 l May have a little trouble but we will see what I can do with a little bit or reorganising. I only have a 22day Scandinavian cruse booked in May 2027 at this stage. Many thanks for a lovely tour. Trevor

Great tour leader and driver. Wonderful experiences.

Fabulous tour with great sites, lovely hotels and a guide who was from Kent and knew it well. Loved it.

Tony Wade did an excellent job in leading us through a number of interesting adventures in Kent. Good commentary before reaching a destination and made sure that we were getting as much as possible from each. Rooms were well selected and comfortable. And driver Steve found his way through some interesting back roads, and got us there as scheduled.. All in all, a wonderful experience. Thanks!

Beautiful locations, easy pace with like minded travellers. Tony the tour director was very professional and the driver Steve was a safe and reliable driver.

Pleased with the places we visited, the tour bus & guide, Tony was wonderful. Accommodation & meals organised were great, Hever Castle was impressive, as was Canterbury & Rye.

Our tour with Back Roads around Kent was more than I could possibly have expected. Our tour leader Tony, & driver Stephen were wonderful. Our program around the sites of Kent were so interesting , and our accommodation delightful.
I look forward to another tour in the future.

Excellent itinerary, accommodation , travelling companions , driver and tour leader.

Tony Knight was a great tour guide and together with Stephen it was a great trip. Everything was so well organized. Tony even sorted out two lorry's stuck on a narrow back road.
The whole group got along really well and would highly recommend this tour and company.

The tour was wonderful, our guide Tony and driver Stephen were fantastic. The hotels were quirky but fit the locale. Thank you, I look forward to another trip with Tony next summer.

Brilliant trip. Great driver and care given by Tony. The other passengers got on so well. The places we visited were so varied. Comfortable hotels, tours and visits to interesting villages and towns. Enjoyed Leeds Castle particularly as I had visited a few times when I lived in Kent. A great county.

Thank you. Hopefully I will go on another Back Roads.

THANK YOU,
Wendy Hanson

Excellent Back Roads tour. Great locations and local experiences, hotels were excellent. Tour guide very knowledgeable and ensured we were all having a great time each day. Our driver was also excellent.

Brilliant in every way. Loved 2 night stays at accommodation and longer stops at exciting places. Great food and hotels.

We both really enjoyed this tour. Good leader in Tony and a good driver too, which is almost the main thing. June 22 to 28 was a good time to go, all the gardens were in great bloom. Particularly enjoyed Chartwell House and Leeds Castle. Liked Rye and the Mermaid Inn. Also liked, but needed more time in, Tenderton and Hever Castle. Definitely too rushed at Hever. If there had been even slightly bigger crowds it wouldn't have worked at all. Loved the unscheduled stop at the farm shop, include it and make it longer! Hotel rooms were good on this tour as were included meals. The pub by Leeds Castle was a good variation too.
A couple of gripes: we've done several Backroads Tours now so we know how they work, but I think it's a bit much calling a whole day of a tour that starts at six pm and finishes any time from lunchtime onwards on the last day, a "full day" Also 'Mr. Backroads' is a bit guilty of using flowery language to say what we might see on the tour when the beginning and end are up to us to organize. I think if you were more straight up with potential customers and included something like "organize a few extra days at the beginning or end of your Backroads Tour to see more of a particular place" you would get more satisfied customers. (eg: Bordeaux, Madrid, Lisbon, Venice, Split, Dubrovnik, London. i.e. all the tours we've done!) And lastly, your Australian website is very frustrating. I have never been able to log on to it without re submitting my details or resetting my password or both!

Wonderful tour thanks to tour leader Ben and driver Ashley. I absolutely loved being able to take true back roads and see the glorious English countryside. Ben gave us written information on each stop. Ben went to no end of trouble to answer questions and had a wealth of knowledge about everywhere we went as well as about bistory. He also had a great knowledge of botany and the natural environment and I loved that. Ashley was a great driver and he and Ben made ther tour special for us. It was after I did a different tour with a poor leader and driver that I realised how important that is.

What a beautifully relaxing few days we had on this tour. We have started telling all our friends about this Back-Roads tour and the 2 previous ones we did

A wonderful tour of Kent: great locations, superb hotels, magnificent meals, great guided visits, some additional unexpected sights.
We could have omitted the stop en route to London after the Hever Castle visit,It meant later than expected arrival at Tower Suites & impacted our onward journey.
Trial guided visit to first floor rooms at Hever Castle could be omitted,Nothing to see & repeat of information already given by Ben .It meant little time to explore the gardens,

We recently experienced the Kent: The Garden of England Tour, the itinerary was terrific. The opportunity to wander through the beautiful grounds and rooms of Chartwell House, Sissinghurst, Leeds, Dover and Hever Castles were experiences that we would never have been able to do if self-guided.
To be able to stay in accommodation such as the cottages at Leeds Castle and The Mermaid Inn (Rye) was incredibly special and memorable.
The tour of Canterbury Cathedral was unsurpassed, another highlight.
We were in very good hands with our Tour Leader, Ben and Driver, Ashley. Ben communicated clearly with the group and made sure that we all knew what the plans for the day were and his knowledge of Kent and the places we visited was exceptional.
Ashley's driving skills ensured that we were in very safe hands, navigating the narrow roads of the Kent countryside capably and confidently.
The only downside was that the bus was cramped, another six inches or so of legroom would have been appreciated. Thankfully we weren't doing long stints of travel.

Fantastic tour. Great tour leader and driver. Loved all the back roads

Excellent hostess and driver, interesting itinerary well thought out

Well worth the cost. Very safe, organized, comfortable, modern and clean

We really enjoyed this trip. Our driver (Rob) safely delivered us to our accommodation in the evenings. The coach was very comfortable to ride in. The isle was a bit squeezy, but we all managed. Our tour guide (Tony) gave us a wealth of interesting information about each day's activities and visits.

The tour was a very good tour, interesting and covered a lot of ground.

Well organised with a friendly guide and driver who both new the area

It was great value for the money. Wonderful places to stay. Interesting drives through the countryside. Beautiful and interesting places picked for night.

I was very lucky to get a place on this tour, booking it only 3 weeks before the event. Might have benefitted from an additional couple of days, seeing more castles and things in Kent

Very interesting and informative

All over an excellent tour

Both the driver and the tour leader were excellent. The accomodation was also excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed my trip with Backroads

Fantastic trip through Kent.