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 One off limited edition pocket-sized books.
Full-colour magazine style.
Vibrant, inspirational and engaging
Each book details 25 ultimate experiences from
riding an elephant in Thailand to sleeping in a yurt in Mongolia, seeing the Northern Lights in Alaska and walking around Uluru in Australia's Outback.
To celebrate the launch of the Rough Guides 25s, this month the team have decided to reveal some of their ultimate travel experiences. Whether transported back in time to the preserved town of Pompeii, dancing the streets of Sydney with half a million others at the Mardi Gras, or flying through the Everglades on the lookout for 'gators there is truly something for everyone to enjoy!
Playboys and Petrolheads: watching the Monaco Grand Prix
Solving the Mysteries of Pompeii
Viewing the Northern Lights in Yellowknife
Walking on the Wild Side at the Sydney Mardi Gras
Soaking in Wikki Warm Springs
Up close with alligators on the Anhinga trail, Florida
Cruising the Three Gorges
Go west- walking the Pembrokeshire Coast Path |
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From the hotel- sized yachts in the harbour to the celebrity- filled Casino, the Grand prix in Monaco is more than a motor race- it's a three day playboy paradise. The Monaco crown remains the most sought after in motor-racing circles, although today's event is as much a showcase for the richest men and women on the planet as it is for the drivers. Set amongst the winding streets of the world's second smallest and most densely populated principality, the cars roar around the city centre at four-times the speed the streets were designed for. Watching the gladiatorial spectacle around the Portier corner is particularly thrilling but one of the best and cheapest places to watch is the standing-only Secteur Rocher, a grassy area on a hill above the last corner, which offers fine views and attracts the most passionate FI supporters.
For the glitz, glamour and allure of Monaco and other ultimate European experiences, check out:
Rough Guides 25s: Europe |
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Vesuvius famously buried Pompeii in 79AD and the result is perhaps the best-preserved Roman town anywhere, with a street plan that is easy to discern not to mention wander- and a number of palatial villas that are still largely intact. It's crowded, not surprisingly, but is a large site, and its quite possible to escape the hordes and experience the strangely still quality of Pompeii, sitting around ancient swimming pools, peering at frescoes and mosaic still in situ, standing behind the counters of ancient shops.
To discover more about the secrets of Pompeii, pick up:
Rough Guides 25s: Italy |
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Both a natural wonder and altogether otherworldly, the stunning aurora borealis (northern lights) are every bit worth travelling to the far reaches of Canada's Great North to see- and in subzero temperatures, no less. Some Inuit peoples believed they were the spirits of animals or ancestors, while others thought they represented wicked forces. Today, science explains the phenomenon as the result of "solar wind"- charged particles hurled from the sun and drawn into the earth's magnetic field. Some of this energy is released as visible light, offering and extraordinary chance to observe the upper limits of the atmosphere.
If you want to read about more the Northern Lights and other Canadian adventures flick through:
Rough Guides 25s: Canada
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The Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is a party of the rarest and most uninhibited kind; it's the single largest night-time parade in world and draws a bigger crowed than any other annual event in Australia, with about six hundred participants and half a million spectators. In essence, it's a full-on demonstration of gay culture, and a joyous demonstration of pride; but its enjoyable for people of any sexuality, provided partial nudity, g-strings, wild unleashing of inhibitions, senseless acts of kindness, random acts of love and lewd innuendo don't offend.
For more Antipodean excitement why not have a look at:
Rough Guides 25s: Australia |
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Bathing in the near- perfect pool at Wikki Warm springs, part of Nigeria's remote Yankari National Park, is simply one of West Africa's most gratifying experiences. Below the park lodge, down a steep path, the upper Gaji stream bubbles up from a deep cleft beneath a rose-coloured, sandstone cliff. Twelve million litres a day, at a constant 31 degrees Celsius, flood out over sparkling sand between a dense bank of overhanging tropical foliage on one side, and the concrete apron that serves as a beach on the other- the one dud note in an other-wise picture-perfect environment, though the concrete helps keep the crystal-clear water clean. Floodlighting makes the springs equally idyllic at night, giving them a satisfying theatrical appearance, like an elaborate bit of New Age interior design. The springs are the perfect place to wash away the frustrations of travel in Nigeria.
To uncover Africa's greatest travelling experiences, including the Wikki warm springs, be sure to get a hold of:
Rough Guides 25s: Africa |
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Located down in Florida's tropical south, the Everglades National Park covers 1.5 million acres of saw-grass covered marshland and swamp, the largest sub-tropical wilderness in the United States and the perfect home for the American alligator. So, as you stroll along admiring the exotic birdlife, don't let your guard down; all around you, massive carnivorous reptiles are lurking in the shadows, blending effortlessly into their surroundings. Almost comically pre-historic looking, they sunbathe inches from the path or sometimes even stretched across it, motionless and slit-eyed, with seemingly hundreds of long, pointed teeth glinting in the hot Florida sun.
For this and other jaw-bitingly close experiences, get your teeth into:
Rough Guides 25s Wildlife Adventures |
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There's something about China that is constantly cutting you down to size: the density of the crowds, the five thousand years of history, the complexity of the language, the awkwardness of chopsticks…But often it's the scenery alone, no more so than at Qutang Gorge, the first and most ferocious of the Three Gorges that together flank a 300-kilometre-long stretch of the Yangzi. " A thousand seas poured into one tea cup" was how the poet Su Dongpu described this narrow, steep-sided canyon. The landscape is completely humbling. The best of it isn't on the Yangzi but the offshoot Daning River, through the Little Three Gorges- a cool stretch of lime-blue water with monkeys and pre-historic coffins hanging from the perpendicular cliffs.
For more fantastic things to see and do in China, why not try:
Rough Guides 25s: China |
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The Pembrokeshire Coast Path fringes Britain's only national park, which has resisted the onslaught of the 21st century in all but a few hotspots such as Tenby and St. David's (and even these remain remarkably lovely). Get out and stride along part of the 299 km trail and you'll soon appreciate this evocative and spectacular edge of Wales. Long golden surf beaches easily rival those of California; the clear green seas are the habitat of seals, whales, dolphins, sharks and, in summer, exotic species such as seahorses; further offshore you'll spot islands that are home to internationally important seabird colonies; you can wander atop the highest sea cliffs in Wales, bent in dramatic folds by ancient earth movements; and in the hamlets, harbours, and villages you pass through along the way there are plenty of charming pubs and restaurants at which to re-fuel.
The ultimate guide to Britain and Ireland is revealed here:
Rough Guides 25s: Britain & Ireland |
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For even more top destinations, as recommended by the Rough Guides team, click here.
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