Top Road Trips in the World
The road trip, as a ritual, has been romanticized and immortalized in popular culture through classic novels, essential movies and countless songs. It’s as much a rite of passage as it is an ultimate bucket-list adventure, and it's somehow distinctly American. Plan your next getaway by perusing our list of the 22 very best US road trips, which boast incredible views, whether they're of one of the country's top national parks, those amazing attractions you’ve been meaning to check out or America's prettiest sandy beaches. Consider this your primer for hitting the road like a pro. As always, stay safe out there.
Dalvos to Stelvio Via Bormio
Switzerland/Italy
You will spot this unique road through the peaks of the Eastern Alps, as it looks like a mind boggling zigzag. The Stelvio Pass at 8,200 feet, can be reached from Santa Maria in Switzerland, a border town which features the smallest whiskey bar on earth.
It's not just me praising this road: TV's Top Gear has declared this road one of the best driving roads in all of Europe! Watch their video as they attack the mountain pass in their sports cars...
But be warned: Driving on this road is truly a workout for both the vehicle and the driver, as it takes some real thought and skill to navigate those unexpected twists, turns and bumps carefully. There are a total of 60 hairpin turns, as well as the possibility of snow during summer... But the views are well worth the drive!
E4, Norway
The 988-mile (1,590 kilometers) E4 runs from Helsingborg via Jönköping to Stockholm (where there is a bypass) and all the way north to Haparanda at the Finnish border. Only one kilometer of E4 is in Finland while the remainder runs through Sweden.
Using a car ferry often shortens driving times and affords access to Scandinavia. The shortest routes from Denmark to Norway and from southern Sweden to Finland are ferry routes. Denmark is connected to mainland Europe and Sweden by bridges.
B4560, Wales
Crossing some of Britain's loveliest open countryside and frequently used for test drives, this narrow winding road packs in panoramic views over Brecon Beacons National Park and the Black Mountains along with plenty of challenging mountain corners and dreamy villages.
Atlas Mountains, Morocco
From Marrakech, take the N9 southeast toward Ouarzazate across the majestic Atlas Mountains. The road's twists and turns provide a test of skill and nerves for drivers, while the ascent in the Khaki Mountains provides passengers with panoramic pleasures.
Trans-Andean Highway
Chili, Argentina
This dizzying 220 mile drive from Santiago to Mendoza steeply snakes up through Chili to the 2 mile long Cristo Redentor tunnel. On a clear day, look out for 22,841 foot Cerro Aconcagua, the southern hemisphere's highest peak. In contrast, the Argentine side is a gentle descent past an alpine lake and through cactus fields.
Osado Skyline is approximately 19 mile long route for a scenic drive between Kanai and Aikawa. The highest point is above 2,900 feet, and you can look over the entire island, from Mano Bay, Ryotsu Bay, Kuninaka Plain to Kosado Mountains. The view from Hakuundai, a rest area with a viewing deck, is stunning. The scenery in each season such as fresh foliage in early summer and red leaves in autumn is a must-see.
Te Anau Milford Sound, Fiordland
South Island, New Zealand
The hub of Fiordland National Park is the own of Te Anau, on the shores of the eponymous lake. From here the 73 mile drive to the beautiful fjord at Milford Sound is alpine driving nirvana.
A 145 mile road runs between the historic hill station of Shimla - once the summer capital of British Raj with India's second oldest church - and Manali, a trekking trailhead with a more Asian ambiance. Along the way you discover lush countryside, fruit orchards, rustic villages, small towns, and hotwater springs of the Kunlun valley, all back by snow capped Himalayan peaks. For southern Indians unused to ice and snow, the region makes an exotic retreat.
Grossglockner-Hochalpenstrasse
High Alpine Road, Australia
On the road between Heiligenblut and Bruck over Austria's highest peak, the Grossglocker, brace yourself for 36 hairpin bends, wildlife including chamoix, marmots, and ibex, and on a clear day, view 37 mountains, all higher than 9,842 feet, alongside 19 glaciers.
This quiet 85 mile back road through the Apennine mountains is positively bucolic. Linking Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna, it leads northwest from Pistoia, just east of Florence, to Ferrara via Bologna, It crosses thick chestnut forests, the ancient spa resort of Porretta Termel and small, sleepy towns.
With numerous switchbacks and plunging drops to the sea, the drive along the Amalfi coast is as hair-raising as it is stunning, with sublime views of towns and villages perched on top of rugged mountains, and tiny inlets and harbors where fishing boats bob at anchor.
The lakes of Parque Nacional Nahuel Huapi along with RN40 offer sparkling clear waters among snow capped peaks. When you arrive in El Bolson visit the famous street markets and hike in the nearby mountains. Spend the night back along the water at Lago Puelo.
Follow in the footsteps of explorer John McDouall Stuart through the desolate salt bush country of Australia's deserts across the Red Centre to Alice Springs and on through the peaceful archipelago of outback settlements in the north.
Drive through the steppes of the Gobi form Mongolia's capital to Karakorum, Genghis Khan's 13th Century seat, through a curious mix of mountains, forests, and towering sand dunes, On the road, look out for unique natural formations, dinosaur remains, yurts, and wildlife such as Bactrian camels, Asiatic wild asses, and gazelles.
There’s nothing quite like an Iceland road trip. Especially when driving past incredible volcanoes, icebergs, waterfalls, and magical northern lights on Iceland’s Ring Road!
An 832 mile highway around the rim of Iceland showcases extraordinary natural phenomena, including sulfur pits, hot springs, icebergs, icecaps, and laval outcrops. You'll find lots of evidence of human habitation on thee way: sheep-dotter farmlands, fish smokeries, and gaily colored houses and churches.
For more then 2,000 years, trade routes ran across Asia, connecting China to the Mediterranean. Precious goods were transported by caravans of camels, horses, and mules, and with them came new religions and fresh ideas.
This drive down the length of the continent reveals the extremes of Africa, from the fabled splendors of Egypt, to grasslands and mountain landscapes, rivers and lakes, through busy towns and empty deserts, eventually arriving in rambling, multicultural Cape Town.
Two Cotswold Drives
London to Oxford
Easily accessible from London or Oxford, the tiny Cotswold villages, with their trademark golden-hued buildings, have retained their individual characters and remain some of the most beautiful and remote spots in England.
About 50 miles southwest of Kathmandu, the Tribhuvan Highway reaches Daman with superb panorama of the world's highest peaks-use the long-range telescopes in the viewing tower. To traditional pagodas and woodcarvings, head west to Bandipur and Sirubari. Contact the tourist board for information about staying with village families.
Trail of the Ancients,
Colorado/Utah
A double loop route straddling the "Four Corners" takes in a region inhabited since ancient times by Native American peoples and passes through dramatic sculptural landscapes of bare, eroded rock. Covering 480 miles, it starts at Cortez and Mesa Verde National Park. and includes Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park and the Anasazi Heritage Center.
The Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway (also Dinosaur Diamond Scenic Byway) is a 512-mile-long (824 km)[1] National Scenic Byway in the U.S. states of Utah and Colorado.[2] The highway forms a diamond-shaped loop with vertices at Moab, Helper, Vernal and Grand Junction.
The segment within Utah is known as the Dinosaur Diamond Prehistoric Highway. The segment within Colorado is known as the Dinosaur Diamond Scenic and Historic Byway. Notable features surrounding the Dinosaur Diamond include Dinosaur National Monument, the Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Canyon lands National Park, Arches National Park, Natural Bridges National Monument, Colorado National Monument, and several national forests
Red Rock canyons, extraordinary geological formations, and cottonwood lined rivers flowing through arid, high plains terrain delight the eye at every turn on thsi drive. But the real stars are the dinosaur fossils and footprints you'll see in the museums along the way.
