Routes

Eight of the world’s great road trips

July 31, 2026 838 words

The best drives are not the longest ones. They are the ones where the landscape changes faster than you expect. These eight do that better than almost anywhere else.

A good road trip is not about distance. It is about how quickly the view changes — and on the best routes it changes every hour. These eight do that as well as anywhere.

1. The Ring Road, Iceland

Around 1,330 kilometres, a single loop around the island, seven to ten days at a reasonable pace. Waterfalls, black beaches, glaciers, geothermal steam, and long empty stretches where you see nobody for an hour.

It can be driven in five days. Do not. The point of the Ring Road is the detours — the Snæfellsnes peninsula, the Eastfjords, the road up to Dettifoss — and five days leaves no room for any of them.

2. The North Coast 500, Scotland

Around 830 kilometres from Inverness back to Inverness, five to seven days. Single-track roads with passing places, sea lochs, and a stretch along the north coast that feels like the end of the country because it is.

Go in May or September. In July the road is busy and the passing places turn into a negotiation.

3. Pacific Coast Highway, California

Around 1,000 kilometres if you take it from San Francisco to San Diego, five days. Highway 1 through Big Sur is the famous part and it earns the reputation: the road is cut into a cliff with the Pacific directly below.

Drive it north to south. That puts you on the ocean side of the road, which matters more than it sounds.

4. The Great Ocean Road, Australia

Around 240 kilometres, and people try to do it in a day. Two is better. Surf beaches, rainforest, the Twelve Apostles standing out of the water, and koalas in the trees near Kennett River.

The eastern half is the prettier drive; the western half has the famous rock stacks. Both, ideally.

5. Atlantic Road and Trollstigen, Norway

Short in kilometres, enormous in effect. The Atlantic Road is only eight kilometres of bridges hopping between islets, but it is one of the most photographed roads in Europe. Combine it with Trollstigen’s eleven hairpins and the Geiranger fjord for a three-day loop of about 400 kilometres.

Trollstigen is closed in winter, usually from October to May.

6. The Transfăgărășan, Romania

Ninety kilometres of switchbacks over the Carpathians, climbing above 2,000 metres. You can drive it in two hours and you will stop far more often than that.

Open roughly from July to October — the rest of the year the top of the pass is under snow. Pair it with the Transalpina to the west for a proper two-day mountain loop.

7. The Garden Route, South Africa

Around 300 kilometres from Mossel Bay to Storms River, three to four days. Forest, lagoons, a coastline that alternates between beaches and cliffs, and some of the easiest driving on this list.

Take Route 62 inland on the way back and the same trip becomes a loop through semi-desert and vineyards. Two completely different landscapes in one week.

8. The Amalfi Coast, Italy

Only about 50 kilometres, and it will take you a full day. The road is narrow, carved into the cliff, and busy. That is also why it is worth it: Positano, Amalfi and Ravello appear one after another below you.

Go outside July and August, and start early. By ten in the morning in high season the road becomes a queue.

Watching the route afterwards

Whichever one you drive, your phone is already recording it. Exporting your location history when you get home and watching those days play out on a map is the thing that finally shows how far you actually went — especially on coastal roads, where the straight-line distance is often half the real one. Photographs remember the stops. The map remembers the road between them.

Which one to start with

Do not try to fit all eight into one summer. If this is your first long road trip, start with the Great Ocean Road or the Garden Route: short distances, good roads, and a town whenever you need one. The Ring Road is the best all-round week.

Leave the Transfăgărășan and the NC500 until you have a trip or two behind you. Both are superb and both are more demanding driving than they look on a map.

The season matters more than the route

Half of these roads close, or become unpleasant, outside a narrow window. Trollstigen and the Transfăgărășan are shut by snow for much of the year. Iceland in winter is a different trip entirely. Scotland in August means midges and traffic.

Check the opening dates before booking anything else. A great route in the wrong month is a worse day than an ordinary route in the right one.

Driving one route twice

Most of these feel different in the other direction. The Pacific Coast Highway north to south puts you on the ocean side. The Ring Road clockwise saves the glaciers for late in the week. Doing a road in reverse is close to finding a new one, and it takes no planning at all.