1pm Friday: Timesonline Q&A on eco holidays

The Times is launching a new series of online chats with a discussion on green travel. Richard Hammond and Jeremy Smith, co-authors of 'Clean Breaks' the new Rough Guide to eco-friendly holidays, will answer questions on green travel experiences.

"Key 'ecotourism' or 'responsible travel' into an internet search engine and you’re likely to find thousands of results, from remote ecolodges and luxury hotels to safari holidays and voluntourism. But how can you be sure that any are the genuine article? Similar search terms, such as "ethical" and "sustainable" are becoming just as overused (and abused) by tourism companies looking to cash in on the green wave. An increasing number of websites claim to point you in the right direction yet often these are merely portals to places that claim they are green; few websites have actually sent anyone to check. Travellers’ feedback forums can be useful but you’ll rarely find authoritative reviews on how green a place is. After all, who wants to spend their holidays sticking their noses into recycling bins or asking hotel managers about ethical procurement policies?"

Richard Hammond, founder of greentraveller.co.uk and the co-author of "Clean Breaks – 500 new ways to see the world' will be available to answer questions and recommend fun holidays that tick the right green boxes. Richard wrote an article for The Times last week based on his book. And he wrote a second article for Times Online on the 'opposition' - his five favourite green travel guidebooks. Jeremy Smith, the former Editor of The Ecologist and co-author of the book will also be on hand to give advice. They will be joined by Steve Keenan, Times Online Travel Editor and Ginny McGrath, Times Online Assistant Editor.

To join the discussion, which will be live at 1pm on Friday, go to timesonline.co.uk

Update, Monday 10 August
The comments posted in this live Q&A have been recorded and are now available to read on this page on timesonline.co.uk.