Introduction to Halo 5: Guardians

Sitting on the far west coast of Africa , just south of Senegal, Guinea Bissau is a small yet vibrant African nation just beginning to take its place on the tourist map. Years of colonial rule followed by decades of political instability kept this once-Portuguese outpost a secret, known only by dedicated deep-sea fishermen and a handful of NGO workers. But it’s not going to remain a secret for much longer, as Explore begin running trips to Guinea Bissau in November 2016. We sent photographer Diana Jarvis to uncover Guinea Bissau – here are some of her best shots.

We travellers love to seek out the old, cobbled, timeworn corners of cities and turn our noses up at the glistening new builds. It’s part of the reason that ruins are so irresistible. Then there are the unfinished places, of which Barcelona’s Sagrada Família is the most celebrated example. Do we ever want Gaudí’s masterpiece to actually be finished?

Rough Guides authors and editors have made some pretty unconventional journeys over the years, but crash-landing in the steamy Peruvian jungle is a new one on us. That said, for an adventure as epic as the one you’re about to take, it’s an entirely appropriate beginning. For from the moment you set off from the crash site, your senses tingling and on high alert, you’ll be moving from one increasingly eventful encounter to another. To put it another way, you’re not going to be short of things to write about on the postcards you send home…

With everything from rolling hills, valleys and craggy mountain passes to sodden heath, windswept moor and sparkling lakes, Great Britain sure packs a lot in. At Rough Guides, we usually advise against trying to see everything a location has to offer in one trip. Not this time.

Have you ever watched a TV advert for a new computer game and struggled to tell the difference between the gameplay graphics and real life?

At Rough Guides, we’ve always applauded travellers who incorporate a bit of volunteering into their round-the-world trips when feasible. After all, lending a hand at an animal sanctuary or teaching local kids can be a wonderful way to give something back – and enrich your travel experience while you’re at it. Helping out on infrastructural projects is another common type of travel volunteering – and that’s precisely what you’ll be doing on this visit to Washington D.C.

The word “epic” is overused, especially in travel. Epic adventures, epic views, epic journeys. Come on – when your hotel’s breakfast buffet is epic, is anything? The word more correctly (some might say snootily) refers to those long (some might say interminable) tales of heroic adventure from classical times, particularly classical Greek times.

Nepal’s energetic capital is the entry point for most travellers who come to this mountainous and culture rich country. Foreigners tend to apply a “get in and get out” policy to the sometimes overwhelmingly chaotic city, sunk in the basin of the Kathmandu Valley. There are, however, plenty of remarkable sights in the metropolis to make a few days or more here compelling, memorable and – though it may seem surprising – relaxing. Here are our top tips on the best things to do in Kathmandu.

The fabled Trans-Siberian Express is arguably the world’s greatest journey. The legendary railway tackles the vastness of Russia in such a way that it becomes something to be appreciated, with the locomotive making its way across the landscape, unhurried and untroubled.

You feel it as you leave the plane. You feel it when you wake the next morning and throw open the bedroom window. You feel it the moment you step out into the hubbub of an unfamiliar city’s dusk for the first time. When you go somewhere new, its newness seeps into you in an all-consuming way. It’s not about the individual sights or anything you can very easily pinpoint. It’s more than that, more than the sum of its parts – it’s why we travel. It’s why Rough Guides exists.