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.

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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 www.greentraveller.co.uk and the co-author of Clean Breaks – 500 new ways to see the world will be here to answer your 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 - who was one of the judges in The Times' Green Spaces Travel Awards, 2008 - and Ginny McGrath, Times Online Assistant Travel Editor

For more brilliantly entertaining ideas on how to travel the world with green pleasure - and how to enter the 2009 Green Spaces travel writing competition - go to timesonline.co.uk/greentravel

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