For the second year in a row, Trek Travel has been awarded National Geographic Traveler magazine’s coveted “50 Tours of a Lifetime” honor with the 2015 recognition going to its Portland to Missoula Bike Tour.
The active travel company specializing in cycling vacations won the award for its Great Smoky Mountains Blackberry Farm Bike Tour in 2014.
The competitive selection process uncovered 2015’s most authentic, most innovative, most immersive, best-guided, and most sustainable tours.
“This year marks 10 years of our editors selecting the world’s best guided tours,” said Norie Quintos, acting editor in chief of National Geographic Traveler. “In that time the types of immersive and experiential trips have only multiplied; tours are going farther and deeper than ever before. The trips and operators we selected are a model for the rest of the travel industry. They open the world to travelers and, at the same time, leave a positive impact on the destinations and its people.”
National Geographic Traveler magazine surfaces the best tours and outfitters for travelers as part of its mission “to propel readers out of their armchairs and into the field.” It has the largest audience of any travel magazine, with more than 8.5 million readers who love to travel, have the highest passport ownership, most international and domestic trips, and most outdoor recreation spending.
“We’re thrilled to, again, win National Geographic Traveler’s “50 Tours of a Lifetime” award,” says Meagan Coates, Director of Trip Design at Trek Travel. “Our trip designers work long and hard to find the most compelling and unique destinations around the world that can provide an incredible cycling experiences of a lifetime.”
The Portland to Missoula Bike Tour raises the bar on the definition of adventure travel. This first stage of Trek Travel’s bucket list Cross Country USA: Portland to Portland trip offers 10 days of gorgeous riding through the Columbia River Gorge and Hood River; the wine country of eastern Washington; the wild open spaces of Idaho; over Lolo Pass and into the Wild West college town of Missoula, Montana.
Guests cover more than 700 miles, with four rides of 98 miles or more, and climb over 30,000 feet–all with the support of Trek Travel’s renowned support team.
Trek Travel’s 2014 award-winning ride – Great Smoky Mountains Blackberry Farm Bike Tour – set a new standard for active vacation luxury travel when it debuted. Trek Travel partnered with this intimate location nestled on the 4,200 acres estate in the Great Smoky Mountains to bring guests an unforgettable experience. From private garden tours with their esteemed Chef, an iconic dinner in their Barn Cellar and meeting the brew master with an exclusive tour and tasting, to cycling the local foothills, Trek Travel has created a tour to be emulated.
