FOUR SEASONS OF TRAVEL: 400 of the World s Best Destinations in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall

WASHINGTON (Sept. 12, 2013)-This fall, the National Geographic Travel Group will offer a stunning new book to help readers make the most of travel year-round. FOUR SEASONS OF TRAVEL: 400 of the World's Best Destinations in Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall (National Geographic; Oct. 15, 2013; 978-1-4262-1167-6; hardcover; $40) spans the United States and the globe to present the 100 most scenic, exciting, musical and delicious places to visit in every season. Each destination includes a detailed description brought to life with vivid photography and insider tips.

Andrew Evans, National Geographic Traveler magazine contributing editor and Digital Nomad, penned the foreword to FOUR SEASONS OF TRAVEL as well as a piece on Kiev, and he serves as spokesperson for the book. He is one of several notable contributors who share their personal recollections of favorite seasonal getaways. Others include Cokie Roberts, who recommends Washington, D.C., in autumn for the Library of Congress National Book Festival; skateboarding legend Tony Hawk, who writes about touring and skateboarding in Santorini, Greece, in the summertime; journalist Lisa Ling, who suggests a visit to the South by Southwest festival in spring in Austin, Texas; and actor Alec Baldwin, who shares his passion for London at Christmastime.

Arranged by season, the book begins by sharing spring highlights, including visiting Nashville for the Tin Pan South Songwriters Festival to enjoy regional music and cuisine, or New Orleans for the annual Jazz Fest; heading to Denmark for some of the world's best bird watching at Wadden Sea National Park; or experiencing the Berber culture of Morocco's Atlas Mountains as the spring thaw sends melting snow rushing into the mountain streams.

As summer sets in, prime destinations include Inuvik in Canada's Northwest Territories for midnight sunshine and creative inspiration during July's Great Northern Arts Festival. One can also luxuriate on the beautifully preserved beaches of Pawleys Island, S.C.; camp in northern Botswana's Okavango Delta in May and June, while watching wildlife gather on marshy islands created by annual floods; or take a late summer trek to Telluride, Colo., for mountain biking, rock climbing, rafting, fishing and the Labor Day Telluride Film Festival.

Great fall activities include an evening kayak in Maine's Acadia National Park to take advantage of stunning star-gazing opportunities, and celebrating the colorful Day of the Dead - D a de los Muertos - in Oaxaca, Mexico. Leaf-peepers will enjoy a visit to the White Mountains of New Hampshire or a trip to the opposite side of the world to take in the autumn foliage among the volcanoes and hot springs of Daisetsuzan National Park in Hokkaido, Japan.

In winter, one can experience winter sports and wildlife vistas during the breathtaking off-season in California's Yosemite National Park; meet manatees on their winter migration in Florida's Blue Springs State Park; or embrace a new culture while sledding across Russia's frozen Lake Baikal and enjoying fresh-caught grayling and omul salmon before relaxing in a traditional steam house.

FOUR SEASONS OF TRAVEL also features dozens of Top 10 lists, arranged season-by-season. Find out where to sip Syrahs and Viogniers at the best vineyards to visit in springtime, get tuned into the most show-stopping outdoor music venues in summer, learn which are the best Oktoberfests outside Munich and expand your cold-weather repertoire with 10 unique winter sports beyond skiing.

Travel offers us an eclectic calendar of changing moods, when time and place converge into the perfect moment. This book explains the beauty of the right place at the right time. Its pages celebrate the span of seasons across the globe and offer up the simple reminder of it's not just where you go - but when you go, writes Evans in his foreword.

Sure to fuel wanderlust, FOUR SEASONS OF TRAVEL will help readers plan seasonal adventures close to home and far away.

About Andrew Evans

Spokesperson Andrew Evans is a contributing editor at National Geographic Traveler magazine and National Geographic's Digital Nomad. He travels the globe, creating interactive travel experiences for readers using the Internet, digital mapping and social media. In 2009, Evans rode from Washington to Antarctica - primarily by bus - sharing the uncharted 12,000-mile journey with his readers in real time. Evans is the author of four books and has contributed to numerous others. For more information, visit digitalnomad.nationalgeographic.com.

About National Geographic Books & Home Entertainment

National Geographic Books & Home Entertainment creates and distributes books, videos and other print and digital media that inform, engage and entertain diverse audiences about our world. Annually, the group publishes more than 125 new books for adults, families and kids and releases 250+ new DVDs and digital downloads of the Society's films and TV shows, and these National Geographic titles are available in more than 35 local-language editions. While special photographic and film collections, travel books, nature shows, birding guides and atlases are a core focus of the Society's products, books and videos on subjects as diverse as animals, the human mind, history, world cultures and the cosmos are also produced. For more information, visit facebook.com/NatGeoBooks and nationalgeographic.com/books.

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