Book Ahead: An expert preview of the latest crop of travel guides

Berlitz

With an ambitious programme of new editions and some great new jackets the list is powering away. Egypt Red Sea Coast is already out, and this month Nice, Cannes and Monte Carlo appears, as does the Turkish Coast, all £4.99.

Bradt

Benedict le Vay is the author of several Bradt's Eccentric Guides; this month he has been allowed to diversify with Britain from the Rails: A Window Gazer's Guide (£16.99). This highly romanticised take on the joys of travelling by rail details the best routes in Britain, with practical information and quirky tales.

True to its tradition of tackling "difficult" destinations, Bradt is publishing the only guide, in any language, devoted solely to Sierra Leone in May at £14.99.

June will see North Africa: The Roman Coast which covers Libya, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia (£15.99).

Cadogan

The new editions come with a bright distinctive new jacket treatment, with a new two-colour layout for navigation, improved maps and better listings. Provence at £13.99, Rome & Central Italy at £14.99 and Umbria at £12.99 came out last month, with Brittany at £14.99 and Croatia due in April, Cote D'Azur at 13.99 in May and Portugal at £14.99 in June.

Cicerone

This firm has taken over the Lakeland Fellranger titles originally published by Collins. Walking in the Orkney and Shetland Isles is just out at £12.95. The Yorkshire Dales: North and East is published this month at £12, Walking Loch Lomond and the Trossachs follows in May at £12.95, and in June The Ridges of England, Wales and Ireland.

Dorling Kindersley

A compact edition of Travel: Where to go when is out at £19.99 and will do well, though I am not sure why they didn't make it available for Christmas and price it at £14.99.

Frommer's

500 Places to Take your Kids Before They Grow Up continues to sell steadily. Next in line on this theme is 500 Places for Food and Wine Lovers published in May at £12.99.

Insight

I was not so sure about the new Smart Guides with the A-Z format but some titles have performed very strongly. Cape Town was released on its own in January, with Chicago, Delhi, Kuala Lumpur, Seattle and St Petersburg this month. Amsterdam and Brussels follow in April, with Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City and Prague in May.

Landmark

If we are going to be spending more time on holiday in the UK, Landmark could well benefit. All the new titles (each £7.99) are for the domestic market, including The Best of Hampshire and The Best of Lancashire. The Best of Staffordshire and Shropshire are April titles, and in May The Best of Sussex and The Welsh Borders are published.

Lonely Planet

Encounter, the new city-break series, has some momentum now, and the guides represent excellent value at £6.99. Amsterdam, Athens, Bali, Florence, Lisbon, Milan and Venice joined the list in January. Languedoc-Roussillon (£13.99) is set for a March publication – the same title has been a best-selling Rough Guide for many years. April will see the first edition of Montenegro at £13.99, while in May the Lake District is published at a very reasonable £10.99.

New Holland

Wild France: The Animals, Plants and Landscapes was published last month, with an accompanying volume to Spain due in April, both £29.99.

Oxygen Books

An attractive-looking list of destination-based literature anthologies. City-lit Paris arrives in April and is followed by City-lit London in June at £8.99. The Paris volume contains a great range of writers, from Joanne Harris to Hans Christian Andersen.

Rough Guides

The first Rough Guide to Montenegro arrives in April at £13.99. Naples and The Amalfi Coast is published in May at £12.99. The Czech Republic at £14.99 is due in May, and finally July sees the appearance of Istanbul at £12.99 with a great-looking jacket.

Sunflower Books

Geneva and Western Switzerland in the Landscape series (April, £14.99) is the only new title; I expect this to do well.

Thomas Cook

New Cityspots include Liverpool (a year too late?) and Biarritz, Pisa and Reims in April, all £6.99. Halkidiki, Seychelles and Skiathos are all first-edition Hotspots scheduled for April at £4.99

Trailblazer

The Cotswold Way (£9.99) was out last month and claims to have several key selling points over the competition, such as better accommodation listings and more detailed maps. June sees a new Chris Scott title, Morocco Overland (£15.99).

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