Top 10 Road Trips Everyone Should Take Once

The "Mother Road" stretches 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles through eight states and the heart of American mythology. Neon-lit diners, Cadillac art installations, Painted Desert, and Route 66 ghost towns tell the story of 20th-century America like nothing else. Driving it end-to-end is a pilgrimage through US culture and history.

Iceland's Route 1 circles the entire island in roughly 1,300km, passing glaciers, waterfalls, lava fields, fishing villages, and geothermal hot springs. Every hour brings a landscape so different it feels like a different country. The Northern Lights, accessible from almost anywhere on the ring, complete an otherworldly experience.

The SS163 between Sorrento and Salerno is the world's most vertigo-inducing coastal drive — a narrow road clinging to cliff faces above the Tyrrhenian Sea with pastel villages at every bend. Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi town reward every terrifying hairpin turn. It's best driven in early morning before tourist buses take over.

South Africa's Garden Route between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth passes ancient forests, whale-watching beaches, lagoons, and the Tsitsikamma National Park in 800km of extraordinary variety. Knysna's Heads, Wilderness beach, and the Cango Caves add landmark stops. It's Africa's finest road trip and one of the Southern Hemisphere's greatest drives.

Romania's Transfăgărășan cuts through the Carpathian Mountains in a series of switchbacks so dramatic that Top Gear called it the world's greatest road. Built by Ceaușescu as a military route, it now passes glacial lakes, mountain refuges, and Poenari Castle — Vlad the Impaler's real fortress. Open only in summer, it rewards the pilgrimage richly.

Victoria's Great Ocean Road was built by returned soldiers as a memorial, and its 243km reveal the Twelve Apostles sea stacks, rainforest gorges, and surf beaches of extraordinary beauty. The memorial arch at Aireys Inlet marks a journey of both natural and historical significance. Koalas in roadside trees are not uncommon.

Argentina's Ruta 40 is one of the world's longest roads, running 5,000km along the spine of the Andes from the Bolivian border to Patagonia's southernmost tip. It passes Andean vineyards, ancient petroglyphs, volcanic lakes, and the gateway to Fitz Roy's granite peaks. Completing it in full is a months-long adventure of South American immensity.

The Karakoram Highway is the world's highest paved international road, crossing the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 meters between Pakistan and China. It passes beneath K2 and three other of the world's fourteen 8,000-meter peaks through some of Earth's most remote and vertiginous terrain. Built at immense human cost, it remains one of engineering's greatest achievements.

Scotland's NC500 circles the dramatic northern Highlands in 516 miles of single-track roads, passing ruined castles, sea lochs, white sand beaches, and mountains that glow gold in the long northern summer evenings. Eilean Donan Castle, Torridon, and Cape Wrath deliver Highland drama at its purest. It has transformed rural Scottish tourism since its 2015 launch.

The "Mother Road" stretches 2,400 miles from Chicago to Los Angeles through eight states and the heart of American mythology. Neon-lit diners, Cadillac art installations, Painted Desert, and Route 66 ghost towns tell the story of 20th-century America like nothing else. Driving it end-to-end is a pilgrimage through US culture and history.

Iceland's Route 1 circles the entire island in roughly 1,300km, passing glaciers, waterfalls, lava fields, fishing villages, and geothermal hot springs. Every hour brings a landscape so different it feels like a different country. The Northern Lights, accessible from almost anywhere on the ring, complete an otherworldly experience.

The SS163 between Sorrento and Salerno is the world's most vertigo-inducing coastal drive — a narrow road clinging to cliff faces above the Tyrrhenian Sea with pastel villages at every bend. Positano, Ravello, and Amalfi town reward every terrifying hairpin turn. It's best driven in early morning before tourist buses take over.

South Africa's Garden Route between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth passes ancient forests, whale-watching beaches, lagoons, and the Tsitsikamma National Park in 800km of extraordinary variety. Knysna's Heads, Wilderness beach, and the Cango Caves add landmark stops. It's Africa's finest road trip and one of the Southern Hemisphere's greatest drives.

Romania's Transfăgărășan cuts through the Carpathian Mountains in a series of switchbacks so dramatic that Top Gear called it the world's greatest road. Built by Ceaușescu as a military route, it now passes glacial lakes, mountain refuges, and Poenari Castle — Vlad the Impaler's real fortress. Open only in summer, it rewards the pilgrimage richly.

Victoria's Great Ocean Road was built by returned soldiers as a memorial, and its 243km reveal the Twelve Apostles sea stacks, rainforest gorges, and surf beaches of extraordinary beauty. The memorial arch at Aireys Inlet marks a journey of both natural and historical significance. Koalas in roadside trees are not uncommon.

Argentina's Ruta 40 is one of the world's longest roads, running 5,000km along the spine of the Andes from the Bolivian border to Patagonia's southernmost tip. It passes Andean vineyards, ancient petroglyphs, volcanic lakes, and the gateway to Fitz Roy's granite peaks. Completing it in full is a months-long adventure of South American immensity.

The Karakoram Highway is the world's highest paved international road, crossing the Khunjerab Pass at 4,693 meters between Pakistan and China. It passes beneath K2 and three other of the world's fourteen 8,000-meter peaks through some of Earth's most remote and vertiginous terrain. Built at immense human cost, it remains one of engineering's greatest achievements.

Scotland's NC500 circles the dramatic northern Highlands in 516 miles of single-track roads, passing ruined castles, sea lochs, white sand beaches, and mountains that glow gold in the long northern summer evenings. Eilean Donan Castle, Torridon, and Cape Wrath deliver Highland drama at its purest. It has transformed rural Scottish tourism since its 2015 launch.