Discover Exciting Options for Alternative Active Travel!

For the past forty years, national outdoor equipment retail behemoth Recreational Equipment, Inc., more commonly referred to as REI, has operated a travel division known as REI Adventures which provided guided hiking, cycling, multi-sport, and active excursions. In 2024 alone, around 40,000 patrons journeyed with the firm. I had intended to be among them and had secured a cycling tour last autumn in Canada’s Banff and Jasper National Parks, but the area was besieged by wildfires and all local excursions were scrubbed. Now it appears I will not get another opportunity, at least not with REI Adventures.

The organization has just declared the conclusion of an era, and in a statement and letter yesterday from REI’s president and CEO Eric Artz, clarified that they are exiting the travel sector permanently. His correspondence commenced with, “Team, I have a significant update to convey today. Earlier this morning we notified our Experiences team that after a comprehensive review and careful contemplation, I have made the tough decision to withdraw from the Experiences business entirely, effective this week.”

For clients who have already scheduled trips, the REI Experiences online landing page will be revised today, Thursday, January 9, with customer notifications and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), including information for full reimbursements. Specifically, Artz’s note indicated in part: “This week we will also initiate updates for customers and partners. Customers currently scheduled for trips and day programs will receive a complete refund of all amounts paid to REI and we will strive to manage any related non-refundable expenses as suited.”

Active travel is a realm I have been involved in and reporting on extensively for numerous years. It has also been expanding swiftly in recent times, as interest in fitness, adventure, participation in cycling and hiking, and demand for experiential travel have surged, particularly following the pandemic. It is highly probable that more Americans have arranged or are intending to arrange an active travel excursion than at any other time in history. The positive aspect is that there are still plenty of other top-notch alternatives available.

If you have already arranged a trip, one potential solution is to search for another active travel operator in the same destination with the same dates, but that will necessitate quite a bit of luck. For airfare, generally speaking, if you booked anything but a rock-bottom fare on a low-cost carrier, or one of the unfortunate new “economy light or “economy basic” fares from major airlines (I never recommend this) you should be able to at least transfer the cost of your flights to a future ticket elsewhere. Then it’s time to commence searching for another active excursion.

REI Adventures was somewhat distinct from its primary active travel competitors in several aspects. It provided more choices for shorter trips, such as 4-days, whereas the industry standard is five or more, often significantly more. For accommodations, they offered a wide range of price categories, from camping to rustic lodges to more opulent hotels. They also presented an unusually high number of women-only departures, a trend that has been on the rise, but REI was largely at the forefront of that movement. For further information on the trend of women-only excursions in active travel, read my recent Forbes article here.

But REI Adventures’ greatest distinguishing factor was its location. While most major players in active travel operate globally, their trips were confined to North America, primarily the U.S., with significant emphasis on National Parks. If someone approached me and expressed a desire for a guided hiking excursion to the Grand Canyon, Great Smoky Mountains, Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Zion, or similar, I would immediately recommend REI. This is precisely the reason I selected my initial trip with them to be cycling in Canada’s oldest National Park.

Therefore, for those seeking alternatives, the first company that comes to mind and closely mirrors REI’s specialized areas is Backroads. This is America’s oldest, most recognized, and by most estimates largest active travel company, founded in 1979 and still owned and managed by its founder, Tom Hale (and his family). However, Backroads is decidedly a luxury entity, and overall is more upscale than REI Adventures—don’t anticipate camping trips, unless you consider luxury glamping on African safaris.

Backroads is widely regarded as one of the premier active travel providers globally and has been featured in Travel + Leisure Magazine’s prestigious annual World’s Best Awards Tour Operators list—including the most recent one in 2024—a list open to all manner of tour operators, not solely active travel. They also provide a multitude of offerings that REI never did, including a global selection of exotic destinations,and were trailblazers in vessel-based active travel, featuring numerous excursions on European river cruises and ocean-faring crafts.

However, Backroads does share a significant overlap with REI, particularly in regards to providing shorter trips, starting from four days; numerous women-only departures; and a variety of destinations within the U.S., including National Parks. They also present a comprehensive array of hiking, biking, and multi-sport excursions, frequently offering diverse options within the same National Parks. In fact, they provide a nearly ideal substitute for my journey, the Banff to Jasper cycling excursion. The REI version spans 236 miles over six days of cycling and costs $4,299. In contrast, the Backroads itinerary provides four different daily choices with a range of distance options between 133-297 miles. Moreover, it features the finest accommodations in the region, three exceptional luxury hotels, all of which I have visited and found remarkable: the Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge, and the exquisite Relais & Chateaux Post Hotel in Lake Louise. At $5,199, it is arguably a more valuable offer than the journey I selected, especially considering the enhanced attentive service.

G Adventures is another prominent, large-scale active travel expert that encompasses many National Parks in both the U.S. and Canada, providing camping options alongside hotel stays, all at a significantly lower price point than Backroads. Nonetheless, numerous trips lean less towards active engagements and frequently blend National Park exploration with more leisurely tourism elsewhere, such as combining visits to the Grand Canyon, Joshua Tree, Yosemite, and Zion National Parks with stops in Las Vegas and Los Angeles.

Where G Adventures is strictly active and shares the most direct overlap with REI Adventures is in Alaska, where both companies present multiple hiking and multi-sport tours, including opportunities in Denali National Park.

A comparable alternative is provided by sister companies Country Walkers and VBT Bicycling Vacations, which also resonate with the REI Adventures marketplace for hiking and biking respectively. Country Walkers provides guided hiking excursions to Bryce & Zion National Parks in Utah, Olympic NP in Washington, Acadia NP in Maine, and Canada’s Banff, all staples of REI. VBT presents cycling excursions to Acadia, Bryce Canyon, Zion, and other parks, including Banff.

There exists a plethora of other notable active travel firms I regularly endorse for hiking and biking getaways, but most do not specialize in the regions REI Adventures was recognized for, particularly domestic National Parks, thus I have concentrated above on those that serve as the best alternatives.