12 Of The Worlds Most Amazing Road Trips You Must Take!
Looking for some of the worlds best road trips? and the best way to travel? Road tripping of course! Whether this is by a car, a bike, train, or maybe even flights. Travelling around an area of the world is always amazing. Travelling from one place to another is always exciting for whatever you're going to discover next.
There are lots of amazing road trips you can take throughout the world but here’s what we think are the best road trips to add to your bucket list! Every part of the world is so different but so worth exploring.
Europe
In comparison to other countries such as Australia and America, European cities are so close together and easily accessible and there is so much to visit too
Although Europe is a fairly small dense area, it offers a complete range of terrains, cultures and people you can meet all in a relatively small distance
Western Europe
Dublin → London → Brussels → Amsterdam → Berlin → Prague →Vienna → Venice → Rome → Paris
Visit Dublin Ireland, then across to London to visit Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Westminster. Eurostar to Brussels to eat waffles, across to Amsterdam to ride on the canals and ride a bike!
Then across to Berlin to visit the historical city. Prague next, a beautiful part of the Czech Republic with a beautiful castle, rivers and bridges. Down to Vienna, then to Venice to get lost in the small streets and admire the canals.
Rome being the penultimate destination to walk around the Colosseum, the Trevi Fountain and Vatican City then finally Paris, to admire views from the top of the Eiffel tower.
Eastern Europe
Warsaw → Krakow → Budapest → Sarajevo → Dubrovnik → Athens → Bucharest → Moscow
When visiting parts of Eastern Europe, it can be really cheap compared to Western Europe! For both, places to stay and food!
Visit Warsaw and Krakow in Poland and visit the history of world war II by visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau.
Down to Budapest and spend nights in their famous ruin bars. To Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina, down to the beautiful coast of Croatia in Dubrovnik.
Down towards the Greece capital on Athens, and the ruins of accident greens. Up to Bucharest in Romania and finally way up to Moscow to admire the strange but amazing architecture.
Northern Europe
Hamburg → Copenhagen → Oslo → Bergen → Stockholm → Helsinki → St Petersburg
Visit the colder part of Europe! Starting in Hamburg of northern Germany, up towards Copenhagen in Denmark for its colourful buildings.
On to Oslo to the capital of Norway for the museums and parks over to Bergen to explore the Fjords. Across to Stockholm in Sweden, Helsinki in Finland, and eventually St Petersburg in Russia.
The North Coast 500
The North Coast 500 is the most beauitful 500 miles around the highlands of Scotland. The idea was to increase the tourism to the highlands of Scotland and it has definitely achieved that!
If you're looking for something slightly different, the NC500 is a casual road trip with so much to see. Read more below! We also added on the Isle of Skye onto our trip and couldn't have been better!
How to Get Around Europe
Since Europe is so dense with cities, mountainous ranges, countryside and every possible climate, there is so much to explore throughout the continent of Europe
Why not drive? Compared the other continents, Europe is probably the most easiest to drive. Lots of roads, good signs and maps and travel times aren’t too excessive! Petrol prices vary greatly across Europe with the UK probably having the most expensive in Europe. Make sure to consider this if wanting to travel more on a budget!
Using public transport across Europe can be a quicker option if you’re a little more pushed for time or maybe driving isn’t really your thing! Using an inter railing pass or websites such as Omio, you can compare all modes of travel across Europe to see which is the cheapest and most convenient for you
Australia
Perth → Ayers Rock → Alice Springs → Adelaide → Melbourne → Canberra → Sydney → Brisbane → Byron → Great Barrier Reef → Cairns → Darwin
Australia is the 6th largest country in the world! This means one thing, it takes a long time to drive from one place to another, but so much to see!
If you’re planning a road trip to Australia, we would give it at least 6 weeks to have a good amount of time in every place. As well as enough time to drive and rest! But Australia is always a one to visit and one of a kind.
Spend a few days in Perth before driving to Ayers Rock, the huge rock I'm sure you've seen photos of many times. Then to Alice Springs and down towards Adelaide.
Take the ocean road down to Melbourne, across to Canberra the capital of Australia. Up to Sydney to visit the Sydney opera house and Sydney’s Harbour Bridge.
Then towards Brisbane, the gold coast and Byron exploring the Great Barrier Reef up towards the north of Cairns and eventually across to Darwin.
You can drive around Australia or get internal flights, you can also get trains - especially from north to south, and stop off along the way.
You could drive from Alice Springs down and around towards Sydney. It may take a while but the drive through some of the Australian outback is on our bucket list. The vast open space, wildlife and the true road trip experience. Therefore we had to include Australia in the world’s best road trips
Australia is huge and you could easily underestimate the amount of time it takes to drive between places. It's full of beautiful beaches and beautiful drives.
Getting Around Australia
This completely depends on a multitude of things! How much time do you have, how slow of a road do you want to take, and of course, money
Due to Australia being pretty big, you can fly from major city to major city. It's a much quicker way of travelling but you don't necessarily see the more remote parts of the country
There is always a car, motorhome or campervan option! Our prefered mode of travel is by campervan.
Being a road trip, generally, it's completed in a vehicle but the choice is up to you!
New Zealand
New Zealand is quite different from Australia. Although very vast and often full of nothing, it is also full of greenery and amazing scenery.
New Zealand is split into north and south and so much to do and see in both!
North Island
Auckland → Parkeura Bay → Waipoua Forest → Hamilton → Rotoruna → Tongariro → Wellington
See coastal views when driving up the eastern coast of the north island visiting Parkeura Bay, then visiting the Waipoua Forest to see some of the worlds tallest trees.
Visit the city of Hamilton, then driving to Rotorua to see thermal spring, geysers and Wai-o-Tapu.
Take part in a volcanic terrain hike at Tongariro and sights of glaciers and lakes and finishing visiting the north island by exploring the city of Wellington
South Island
Pancake Rocks → Arthur’s Pass → Lake Tekapo → Wanaka → Queensland → Milford Sounds → Christchurch
Driving through Pancake rocks (who doesn't want to visit rocks named after an amazing food) down the coast through Greymouth is a beautiful scenic drive towards Arthur’s pass.
Beautiful sites of New Zealand while driving through the South Island. Driving to Lake Tekapo for the amazing sights of the enormous lake and mountains, Wanaka, then to Queensland, a boat around Milford Sounds and eventually to Christchurch.
New Zealand is beautifully scenic and a road trip not to miss. So many mountains, lakes to see and discover.
For many of us, New Zealand is a fair distance from our home country, which requires a lot of travelling.
To take one of the world's best road trips I would suggest at least a month to drive the north and south island of New Zealand.
North America
North America is a perfect, popular road trip and definitely one of the world's best road trips, or 3 road trips!
America is a popular destination for a road trip. But what’s great, is that you can drive east coast, west coast, or coast to coast. There’s just so much to see!
East Coast
New York → Philadelphia → Washington DC → Atlanta → Orlando → Miami
There are way more places you can stop along the way but I’ve mentioned the main ones. The road trip spans for 1278 miles and can be driven in 2 weeks! If you want to spend more time stopping off you could take longer.
You can explore New York for all the buildings, central park and shopping! Washington for the white house and monuments and finish off in Miami Florida for Disney world and great beaches!
West Coast
Seattle → San Francisco → San Jose → Las Vegas → Los Angeles → San Diego
Out of the road trips of North America I've listed, I think this would be our first choice. I think there is a lot more to see and do on the west coast.
There are more destinations closer together and more places to visit. The west coast of America usually has hot weather apart from Seattle (often raining).
It includes Venice Beach, California Disney land, Las Vegas strip, and the hilly city of San Francisco!
Coast to Coast
Route 1: LA → Las Vegas → Phoenix → Dallas → Houston → New Orleans → Jacksonville
Route 2: San Francisco → Salt Lake City → Denver → Kansas City → Chicago → Washington DC → Philadelphia → New York
There are multiple routes you can take and America is so vast I believe you have to pick one route or the other really, for create an even longer trip and combine a few!
If you have longer amount of time such as 4 weeks you would be able to complete a coast to coast road trip, this way get to see more of America and the variety of cities, beaches and culture.
North America is popular for road trips and can always see why. A lot of people travel quite a long way and want to see as much of the county as possible! A road trip is a perfect way to do that. A road trip in the USA is one of the ultimate road trips to complete. The most obvious mode of transport is most definitely by a by van, a way to discover more of that open road
The only downsides to this is you may often spend a whole day driving due to the distance between cities and the vastness of the country. For you US readers though, maybe you're more used to it than we are
When I went to America I fell in love with Walmart, Tacobell, and the number of drive-throughs! A drive-through for everything it seemed
Iceland
Ed and I drove 1700 miles around Iceland in July 2018 and it was another world entirely. I had read a lot about road-tripping around Iceland and I would name this number 1 in the world's best road trips.
Iceland is full of amazing views, glacier walks, whale watching, and mountain roads to drive and enjoy. You can find landscapes you won’t find anywhere else in the world
Iceland can be driven in a circular route covering the west, north, east and south to drive this one of a kind landscape
West Iceland
Reykjavik → Deildarunguher → Hraunfossar and Barnafoss → Snaefellsness → Hellnar and Longrangar → Kirkjufell → Stykkisholmur
Starting in the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, travel to the hot springs at Deildarunguher, lava and waterfalls, Snaefellsness mountain, Hellnar walks, Kirkjufell mountain, and Stykkisholmur town.
West Iceland also includes the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Not usually included on the Route 1 road trip, but not to miss! There is so much to see in a small area, including Kirkjufell mountain, huge gorge's, natural lakes and so much more
North Iceland
Akureyri → Godfoss → Skutsstadahigar → Dimmuborgir → Hverir → Myvatn Nature Baths → Leirhnjukur → Dettifoss and Selfoss West Bank
The north of the island is full of lava fields and hot springs!
Visit the town of Akureyri and go whale watching off the coast, visit Skutsstadahigar which looks like a crater but it actually isn’t! it’s the natural shape of the rock.
Enjoy the Myvatn Nature Bath, cheaper than blue lagoon, and less busy. Leirhnjukur lava fields, and Dettifoss and Selfoss waterfalls!
East Iceland
Bakkafjordu → Vestrahorn → Jokulsarlon → Svartifoss
Drive the coastal route from Selfoss waterfalls past Bakkafjordu and Hidarvegur through to Vestrahorn.
Visit the humongous mountain Vestrahorn on the edge of the eastern coast down to Jokulsarlon also known as the diamond beach and finally Svartifoss Iceland’s ‘black falls’, a very tall waterfall surrounded by lava rock.
In the east of Iceland at Borgarfjordu Eystri we also got to see a colony of puffins! Taking small roads but all worth it!
South Iceland
Vik Beaches → Skogafoss → Plane wreck on the beach → Seljalandsfoss → Geyser
Including the Golden Circle, there is a lot to visit within the south of Iceland and the most accessible from Reykjavik
Visit the town of Vik and its black sanded beaches, Skogafoss amazing waterfall then to the old plane wreck on the beach! (63°27'32.5"N 19°21'52.0"W).
Then along to Seljalandsfoss one of Iceland’s most famous waterfalls where you can stand behind it and admire the views through the water, and of course Iceland’s Geyser apart of the Golden Circle.
Can finish off the trip by travelling to the Blue Lagoon! Go and relax in the hot baths and try on a facial mask to relax!
Iceland is so vast but with only a population of about 330,000 it has huge open spaces and nature undisturbed. It is amazing to go and visit and to witness and enjoy nature in its best form.
Iceland has been our favourite country to travel to so far, and we would rush back in a heart beat
Vietnam
Ho Chi Minh City → Nha Trang → Hoi An → Da nang → Hanoi → Sapa → Ha Long Bay
Travelling through Vietnam on a motorbike is any aspiring travellers dream. Vietnam is full of temples, beach bays, and amazing scenic Vietnam places to explore easily be completed in 2-3 weeks.
Visit Ho Chi Minh city for a few days sightseeing and going on Mekong Delta river tours.
Travel to Nha Trang a beach town where you can visit the temples of Pagoda, then to Hoi An, on the Vietnam coast, travel up the river on boats, experience amazing coffee, marble mountain, cau dai beach, and huyen khrong cave.
After that travelling up through Danang up to Hanoi and spend a few days sightseeing, and then up to Sapa for steep rice fields and then across to Ha Long Bay with even more amazing views of beautiful Vietnam.
Travel Resources
Omio: The only website that compares every mode of travel! Flights, trains, buses, and car hire. The easiest way to save as much money when travelling
Eurail/Interrail Travel Pass: Travel around Europe on one pass to use on all and any train in Europe
Viator: Tours, things to do in any city throughout the world, and usually the most cheapest price
Rentalcars.com Rent a car internationally
Happy Campers Iceland: One of the most popular campervan rental companies in Iceland
Vroomvroomvroom: Rent a campervan or an RV in basically any country across the world
There’s so much to see of the world, and I don’t feel like we can go to one place in one country and say we’ve properly been and admired that country
Doing road trips you can experience much more. Explore more of the country or continent, understand more of the culture, and often see amazing views and of course, getting some amazing photos!
