Make the Most of Your Time on Earth

Let's face it, for many of us, travel is one of the key factors in giving our lives meaning. We build our year around those precious few weeks when we can make our way to some exotic destination and experience things that are different from all that we normally encounter. With Make the Most of Your Time on Earth (subtitled a Rough Guide to the World), we are offered what the publishers claim are `1000 Ultimate Travel Experiences'. And those familiar with the Rough Guide catalogue will know that that is no idle boast. Within this arm-straining book, we are presented (at length) with the most exhilarating travel experiences the world has to offer. Every possible diversion is on offer here, from a cool and aesthetic appreciation of exquisite architecture to pulse-raising adventure holidays. With Rough Guide's intrepid team of specialists (always seeing things from a different angle), one can trek the Ganges or go mountain biking on some of the world's most treacherous roads in Bolivia.

Alongside the more physical adventures here, we are given the perfect guide to enjoying the ancient beauty of Venice as well as many experiences which are more off the normal tourist trail (such as snorkelling in Tanzania). The thoroughness of the book is as exhaustive as one could wish, with (for instance) fascinating detail on wildlife and festivals. And for those of us attempting to ensure that our holidays have an ethical dimension, such elements are treated with the thoroughness one would expect from this publisher. The sheer bulk of the book means that this is one for planning with rather than stuffing into a rucksack, but such pre-planning will be sheer pleasure. --Barry Forshaw

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Inspirational - Rated
I love this book; the romantic style of writing and stunning photography makes you want to travel immediately!
There is good coverage of the whole world, including a decent section on the UK, and includes a wide variety of experiences from hang-gliding in Rio de Janeiro to ghost-hunting in York, to camel riding in Oman, and it also includes festivals.
It is beautifully presented with stunning photography and has experiences arranged by country in the index which makes navigating the book easier. It also includes an appendix with a few lines of useful information about each experience, for example a website.

This book is not one that provides much practical information for planning a trip, but is perfect to give inspiration for where to go/what to do next!

Yes, but how to do it and stay green? - Rated
As you might expect from the Rough Guide, this is a pretty dependable guide in terms of its facts and figures, although as with any '10/100/1000 ultimate' experiences, it's entirely subjective. Furthermore, there's the added trouble nowadays of seeing something of the world without messing it up for future generations (and hey, our own too). Couple this with the vexed question of whether making the most of your time on earth is actually limited to going to see all the places everyone else goes to see, and you've got yourself into a bit of a hole. I personally got more out of the book "Places to Hide" by Dixe Wills which covers some more eclectic (and thus more intriguing) destinations within Britain that you can get to without hopping onto a plane - give it a whirl.