If you’re looking to combine your next trip with a world-class festival or a mind-blowing carnival, then look no further. Here, from the pages of Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth, we present ten of the best parades, parties and processions across the world. Walking on the wild side at the Sydney Mardi…
As The Rough Guide to Vintage London is published May 1, one of its authors Frances Ambler explains why she finds this aspect of the city so exciting. Eye-popping pink and blue concentric circles on polyester, my first London vintage purchase is indelibly printed on my memory. I was fourteen, in Camden Market and out to spend…
As the old cliché testifies, it’s often the journey not the destination that’s most rewarding. With that in mind, here’s ten spectacular journeys around Britain. Travelling on The Snowdon Mountain Railway, Gwynedd A haunting whistle cries out across the wild Snowdonia valleys as Wyddfa, one of the original 1895 steam locos, leaves the Halfway station bound…
One of the best ways to truly get to know a destination is to chat to the locals, and one sure fire way to become an instant expert on a place is to go a step further and spend a night or two with them. So leave behind the comfort zone of the international hotel…
From rafting to swimming, snorkelling and diving, here’s a few of our favourite water-based holidays around the world. Surfing at Raglan, New Zealand Don’t be surprised if you to come to the beach town of Raglan and stay for longer than intended. Many do. Experienced surfers are drawn by the reliable swells and one of…
Few travel moments illicit such a thrill as catching sight of a rare or beautiful bird emerging from its natural habitat. Here are a few of our favourite birdwatching holidays, from pigeons in Mauritius, to birds of paradise in New Guinea. Live among the birds of prey at Dadia, Greece As you begin the hour-long…
Britain has always tended towards the bonkers. This eccentric isle harbours all manner of strange customs and weird rites if you know where to find them. Here’s five of our favourite unusual activities; share your own below. The Chap Olympiad Those who didn’t excel in the athletic arts back when they were in short trousers…
There’s few more thrilling travel experiences than getting up close and personal with animals in their natural environment. Here, taken from the pages of Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth, are ten ideas for nature lovers around the world. Whether it’s wolves in Wyoming or jellyfish in Palau, there’s all kinds of experiences…
Banish boredom and the are-we-nearly-home-yet blues with five of our favourite British experiences for children, including safari parks,underwater adventures, and a healthy dollop of monkey business. Africa Alive!, Suffolk It turns out the UK’s Sunrise Coast isn’t as far from Africa as you thought. You need a good imagination to picture the African savannah in…
Catching a religious event or gathering in another country can be an exhilerating experience. Here, from the pages of Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth, we present five spectacular declarations of faith from all over the globe. Easter in Seville, Spain “Semana Santa” (or Holy Week) is the most spectacular of all the…
Britain is home to an almost endless number of world-class rambling routes. We’ve narrowed down the choice to eight of our favourite spots for a brisk walk or a challenging hike, but do add your own favourite picks below. Epping Forest One of the last remaining vestiges of the ancient woodland that once blanketed England,…
The Great British Beer Festival For five days of the year each summer, the somewhat soulless exhibition centre in Earls Court is transformed into a giant pub (pictured above). Or at least that’s what it feels like. Gone are the trade stalls and suited delegates, replaced by an army of (mostly bearded) volunteers manning hundreds…
If you fancy indulging your inner artist on your next British break, try one of these excellent galleries and art spaces across Britain. The Baltic, Newcastle Towering over the Tyne is Baltic, Gateshead’s striking contemporary art centre. Still emblazoned with the words Baltic Flour Mills, this uncompromisingly modernist building has just as much presence as…
From sailing to surfing, canoeing and coasteering, here’s our twelve favourite ways to get wet across Britain. Surfing the Severn Bore The Severn Bore (pictured above) is one of the longest and biggest tidal bores in the world. It’s a startling spectacle when you’re watching from the riverbank. If you’re actually in the river, it…
Get ready to add another notch on that belt as we reveal ten of our favourite foodie experiences across the UK. Let us know your top food destinations below. Witnessing oyster adulation on the Kent coast Dedicating a week-long festival to the humble oyster might seem a tough act to pull off. But Whitstable, now…
Perhaps unsurprisingly, many of Britain’s most beautiful buildings are places of worship. Head to one of these five architectural wonders and prepare to drop to your knees in awe, if not necessarily in supplication. Ely Cathedral, Ely Ely Cathedral (pictured above) was created to invoke a sense of awe. Constructed over two hundred years, it’s…
From Hogmanay in Edinburgh to Bonfire Night in Lewes, Britain is home to a whole range of excellent festivals and events throughout the year. If you’re planning a visit anytime soon we recommend you build you trip around one of these memorable parties. Notting Hill Carnival in London Carnival Sunday morning and in streets eerily…
The British appetite for all things eccentric – particularly anything with a competitive element – ensures that on any given weekend you can find a bunch of people who lead otherwise sensible lives in a damp field somewhere snorkelling through bog water, racing pigs or chucking around black puddings. Here are the best ones to…
Step back in time and enjoy some spectacular British castles and palaces in our pick of the bunch from Make The Most Of Your Time In Britain… Warwick Castle, Warwick On the surface, Warwick Castle looks like an ideal place to spend a genteel, quintessentially English day out. The wonderfully restored medieval castle, built in…
Of course Britain has more than its fair share of world-class art galleries and exhibitions, but sometimes it’s more interesting to find artwork out and about in public spaces. Here’s a few of our favourite al fresco pieces, drawn from travel bible Make The Most Of Your Time In Britain. The Angel of the North,…
If you fancy a book pilgrimage this year, look no further than our round-up of Britain’s top literary destinations, taken from the pages of Make The Most Of Your Time In Britain. The Hay Festival Hay-on-Wye is a lovely, little Welsh border town that is a pleasure to hang out in for a variety of…
From Kinross to Kent, Britain is home to all manner of beautiful gardens, ranging from wild and sprawling estates to compact, tidy arrangements. Here’s a few of our favourites, taken from Make The Most Of Your Time In Britain. Aberglasney Gardens Once a grand Carmarthenshire estate, Aberglasney fell on hard times during the twentieth century…
With over 5000 miles of coastline on mainline Britain alone, it’s no wonder the nation has an almost endless array of watery destinations to explore. Here’s twelve spectacular spots that are very much worth a detour. The North Norfolk coast The North Norfolk Coastal Path allows you to explore an unusual semi-watery landscape, and to access…
From Jersey up to Hadrian’s Wall and beyond, Britain is packed full of historic sites worth exploring. Here’s a few suggestions for reliving the nation’s long history, from Arthurian legends to its more recent nuclear past. Soaking up the Saxon past at Sutton Hoo When unearthed more than seventy years ago, the burial mounds at…
Britain is a nation bursting with song. While this most musical of islands has nurtured numerous world-class singers and bands, it almost bursts with festivals and concerts all year round. Here’s five favourite escapes for music fans. Add yours below. Shetland’s legendary folk festival Despite a surprisingly diverse live music scene, Shetland is best known…
Whether seeking a dose of The Good Life or wanting to do your bit to keep Britain a green and pleasant land, connecting with the environment can help revive the spirit of even the weariest urban dweller. Spend some quality time in the countryside and nurture self-sufficiency skills for a brave new eco-world. Wwoofing in…
Zoologist, committed conservationist, award-winning writer and bestselling author, TV and radio presenter, prolific wildlife photographer and expedition leader, Mark Carwardine is a hard man to pigeonhole. One thing, however, is for sure – his passion for the natural world is all-consuming. Here we get a flavour of the spine-tingling wildlife encounters that are the stuff…
However good your intentions are, it’s often all too easy to retreat to the comfort of the hotel room and shy away from really engaging with the locals when you’re on your travels. Here’s a selection of holiday ideas that will thrust you into the heart of the community you’re visiting and foster a much…
It’s one of the ultimate travel goals: how to well and truly get away from it all. Here’s ten trips, selected by the writers and editors at Rough Guides, that offer true isolation and recuperation. Share your own below. Sleep out in a remote bothy Britain may be one of the most crowded islands on…
Britain has a lot of history, and heritage coming out of its ears, but it’s not all stately homes, worthy-but-dull museums and nerd-heavy battle re-enactments. The booming nostalgia industry throws up some fantastic participatory experiences. Here’s five of our faves. Beamish, County Durham Britain’s best open-air museum puts you right in the middle of daily…
Grab those boots, the ones that were made for walking, as we’re taking you on a trip round the world’s best hiking spots. From Estonian bogs to Ethiopian highlands, these are some of the most memorable walking trips we’ve ever experienced. Bog walking in Estonia Estonia is said by its locals to have a fifth…
From whales in Iceland to the pink penguins of Hong Kong harbour, here’s ten of our favourite holidays for seeing whales and dolphins, taken from the pages of travel bible Great Escapes. Let us know your own below. Whale-watching off the coast of Iceland Iceland’s waters are blessed with large numbers of almost every kind…
Mark Adams, author of Turn Right at Machu Picchu, uncovers the myths and mystery around the spellbinding Peruvian landmark. This year, around a million visitors will make the epic journey to Machu Picchu – an odyssey that for most people entails a long flight to Lima, a second flight to Cusco, and then a three-and-a-half…
Bestselling author, TV presenter and insatiable traveller, Simon Reeve has visited more than 110 countries in his time. Drawn to far-flung, mysterious and often troubled places, he is an expert at chronicling the lives of the people he encounters along the way. He is best known for the BBC series Tropic of Capricorn, Tropic of…
One of the easiest mistakes to make when travelling is to try to see and do too much at once. It’s far better to slow right down, take it all in, and not worry so much about where you’re going and how fast you get there. Here’s a few of our favourite journeys that go…
Have you ever dreamed of living the life of a travel writer? Well, we’ve teamed up with World Nomads to give one lucky reader the chance to realise that dream. After a hugely successful 2012 program, this year we’ve decided to send our winner off on assignment to Beijing! Once there you’ll work with Rough Guides…
Update March 5th: We have a winner! Congratulations to Moira Ashley for her excellent entry. Watch this space for an update from Moira on her trip. Hands up who fancies dropping everything and travelling the world for a bit? All of you? We thought as much. To celebrate the launch of the new Rough Guides website,…
Britain’s more remote fringes are perfect for getting back to nature. Here’s seven our our favourite wild and remote spots drawn from travel bible Make The Most Of Your Time In Britain. Visit Bardsey, island of 20,000 saints You might get more than you bargain for if you’re out for a breath of fresh air…
Kids – you’ve got to love them, but you’ve also got to keep them entertained. In the second part of our special guide to British breaks for children, we look at puppet theatres, model villages, and trusty Thomas the Tank Engine. Share your own ideas for kid-friendly holidays below. Revisit the Viking era in York…
Our rundown of essential holiday experiences for kids features farms, festivals, wild watery adventures and even a spot of digger driving. As ever, share your own child-friendly holiday ideas below. Getting wet and wild on the Pembrokeshire coast There are family days out that involve being a spectator or sitting down for a ride. And…
Travelling with children can be a bit like taking a herd of wild goats on holiday. Whether they’re your own or someone else’s, factoring a child’s needs into your travels involves a lot more than sticking on a CD full of pop music and making toilet stops. Here two Rough Guides writers share their hard-won…
From cricket at Lords to darts in Lakeside and boxing in London, here’s ten of our favourite British sporting breaks. Share your own below. Visiting the home of cricket at Lord’s Former Australian Prime Minister John Howard once said that he considered Lord’s “the cathedral of cricket”. Nestled into your seat at a Test match…
If you like getting up close and personal with the animal kingdom on your travels, these trip ideas should appeal. From alligators to zebras – via reindeer, cheetahs, baboons and gorillas – we’ve herded together a veritable wildlife park to inspire you. See wildlife in Gabon The jungles in Gabon have the highest diversity of…
Hiking up a volcano and dunking in natural hot springs should be on everyone’s bucket list. If you’re yet to get up close and personal with lava, and the only geysers you’ve encountered are down the pub, might we suggest one of these memorable experiences? Hiking by Stromboli’s lava flows, Italy Stromboli is the most…
If you’re the kind of traveller who saves extra space for holiday purchases – or even dumps old clothes and toiletries to make room for impulse buys – you’ll want to check out some of these unique shopping experiences from around the world. From carpets in Turkmenistan to jewelry in Dubai, we’ve rounded up some of the…
Camping’s revival isn’t just about the money in people’s pockets; there are few better ways to get some fresh air and few more eco-friendly trips. The British campsites below stretch from Scilly to Orkney, taking in New Forest ponies, basket-weaving courses and ancient trails, and are fine options for a summer that’s due some sunshine.…
This excerpt from Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth sees one intrepid Rough Guides writer experience a night to remember… My Bedouin guide settled forward over his ribaba, a simple traditional stringed instrument. As he drew the bow to and fro, the mournful, reedy music seemed to fill the cool night air, echoing…
If you find yourself in Quito, a visit to the equator is more or less obligatory – the middle of the Earth is only about a thirty-minute drive north from the Ecuadorean capital. As you get closer, the highland vegetation gives way to sandy plains punctuated by uninspiring brown hills. The “Mitad del Mundo” monument…
From Spain to El Salvador, our round-up of the best surfing sites from Make The Most Of Your Time On Earth covers some spectacular breaks. So whether you’re a seasoned surfer or you’ve never been near a board in your life – let alone caught a wave or hung ten – give one of these…
A canny bit of marketing may lie behind the origins of the Galway International Oyster Festival, but Ireland’s longest-running and greatest gourmet extravaganza continues to celebrate the arrival of the new oyster season in the finest way possible: with a three-day furore of drinking, dancing and crustacean guzzling. Just after midday in Eyre Square, Galway’s…