Idyllic tropical islands: readers’ travel tips

White sand, turtles, coral and rainforest-shrouded hills … our tipsters have sailed to far-flung archipelagos from Panama to the South China Sea

How to book and travel by high-speed train around China

China’s rail network is a fast-paced wonder that makes exploring this huge country – including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen – much easier

‘My romantic holiday’: the good, the bad and the calamitous

To celebrate Valentine’s Day, we asked writers to describe their best (or worst) romantic escapes and adventures with the ones they love

Ghost villages and feral cows: island-hopping adventures in Hong Kong

The lesser-visited islands of Hong Kong’s archipelago offer an escape from the city, with everything from rock-hard climbs to ancient forts – and the occasional wild bovine

Georgian splendour: trekking in the Caucasus

Walking and horse riding in the ruggedly beautiful Tusheti region of Georgia reveals rustic lifestyles and vast vistas stretching across the border into Russia

The Czech Republic’s Bohemian Paradise: as magical as it sounds

A location for Sky Atlantic’s TV series Britannia, this enchanted landscape in the north of the country is somewhere to go into Bohemian rhapsodies over

‘You could say I’m reluctantly retired from writing books’: travel writer Dervla Murphy

In a rare interview, the much-loved author of Full Tilt and Through Siberia by Accident, now 86, looks back on more than 50 years of pioneering, intrepid travel

Stairway to heaven: hiking ancient pilgrimage trails in southern Japan

Mountainous Kumano is the holy ground of Japan and pilgrims have been trekking there for centuries. Shrines, mist, forests and waterfalls combine to create an entrancing hike

Weekend warriors: adventure beckons in the Brecon Beacons

With abseiling, ziplining over a river, rafting and hikes, a two-night camping adventure in the south Wales national park proves energy-sapping – and boundless fun

10 of the best activity and adventure holidays: readers’ travel tips

From volcano trekking in Indonesia to kayaking around south Wales, our readers have found big thrills in incredible settings

Damaraland, Namibia: where ‘each day lasts 100 hours’

Pico Iyer’s biggest holiday challenge used to be ‘filling the days till they burst’. But nine days in the desert of Namibia with nothing much to do was a liberating experience

20 of the best adventure travel challenges for 2018

Marathon cycles meet epic swims and uplifting hikes in our guide to the best breaks that, from the Lake District to the Sahara, will get you off the sofa and into the great outdoors

Koh Chang to Koh Kood: island-hopping around eastern Thailand

Thailand’s eastern islands offer the beauty, unspoilt beaches and a personal touch missing from more touristy areas and, with accommodation from £18 a night, they’re affordable, too

‘The wind makes Karst people stay in, and gives them character’: walker and author Nick Hunt

For the Stanford’s Travel Book of the Year nominee, the Bora wind influences every part of life on this wild plateau – straddling Italy and Slovenia – from the architecture to the inhabitants and their food

Mountains of the moon: climbing Uganda’s highest peak

The remote Rwenzori mountains, on the Uganda/DRC border, offer treks through varied and stunning landscapes and a satisfying but challenging summit, with none of the crowds found at Kilimanjaro