Treat yourself to a Clean Break

Most people have their preferences when it comes to travel guides - I know I always have to buy one and shove it in my rucksac where it becomes dog-eared and much thumbed as the journey progresses.

But sometimes the people behind travel guides go beyond their usual 'places to stay' 'places to eat' and 'places to avoid' advice and produce something you might just read for pleasure - even if you'll never get around to visiting every country mentioned.

Rough Guides have managed just that with Clean Breaks - 500 new ways to see the world - their large coffee table-style guide to our planet's most wondrous locations.

All 400 pages are ridiculously tempting with the authors not only advising on some of the world's rarest and most spectacular experiences - but how to do them in a way that minimises the effect on the environment.

The book is divided into continents with pictures, descriptions and details of how to organise your perfect trip...although I should warn you the moment you start reading you will want to organise your perfect trip!

Perhaps it should come with a health warning to be read only when you've just been paid... or when you've got lots of annual leave to use.

I've always fancied exploring South America so I couldn't resist having a little nose at what the book recommends... and, for the above reasons, I probably shouldn't have done.

The book starts with alternative trails in Peru - brilliant considering only 500 people are allowed to follow the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu every year - and suggests these alternative routes are not only less crowded but can also rival the Inca Trail for beauty.

It then moves onto obscure inns in Ecuador, learning to dance in Rio, trekking to a lost city in Colombia, meeting the river people of the Amazon ....have you booked your flights yet?

The list is endless.. from remote shepherd's bothies in England to eco-tours in Iran...food markets in Toronto to elephant lodges in Sri Lanka...

And there are reassurances throughout of the efforts made to ensure the tourism is eco-friendly. 

I was pleased to read that tourism to the Galapagos, for example, benefits the environment there far more than I thought.

The money generated cuts the number of people relying on fishing for their income. Over-fishing has the potential to destroy the island's eco-systems (fewer fish = fewer food for others up the food chain) so provided the tourism is managed well... you might actually do some good.

So there you go - have a read of this book, organise the holiday of a lifetime... and the only thing you'll be feeling guilty about is your credit card bill.

Let me know how you get on!