The world’s nine best (and five worst) countries for a road trip

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This article is part of Traveller’s Holiday Guide to the world’s greatest road trips.

A driving holiday is all about turning the A-to-B part of a trip into a pleasure rather than a pain. This can mean everything including petrol and EV-charging stations, basic road safety and a decent bite to eat in a pleasant place along the way.

It might mean a scenic experience – deserts and canyons, volcanoes and rainforests, or distant views of cities and big skies.

If you’re taking the family, you will want plenty of places to stop. If the roads are not all paved, you will want to be able to hire an affordable and reliable four-wheel drive.

How can you ensure you choose the destination best suited to your specific road-trip requirements? We’ve done the leg-work to come up with Traveller’s choice of the best destinations for a driving trip, as well as those best avoided.

On our honourable mentions list includes Ireland, which has the splendid Wild Atlantic Way coast road in the west, France for its well-liked aires and some lovely rural roads and Italy for its iconic appeal, especially for soft-top and sports-car pilots who want to live out James Bond fantasies on the Amalfitana.

Canada is great for long, lonely drives. Chile has one amazing road from the north to the south, which extends on to the Carretera Austral, and Peru is good for driving on the Andean high plain and along the coast. But Lima is hell.

THE BEST COUNTRIES FOR DRIVING

Iceland

Few numbered highways are circular, and even fewer are nice, but Iceland’s glorious Route 1 (known as the Ring Road) is an exception. The 1333-kilometre route runs around the edges of this large island, visiting many of the most sublime landscapes. A three or four-day jaunt from the capital Reykjavik on the so-called Golden Circle is perfect for seeing key sights, including Thingvellir National Park and Thingvallavatn Lake, the famous Strokkur geyser, Gullfoss waterfall, many mountains and glaciers, and the Blue Lagoon. Tourism is big business, but roads are quiet in the off-seasons. Iceland is dotted with lovely roadside chalets with hot tubs (wonderful after a day behind the wheel), and also has the world’s lowest road-fatality rate for each person. On the downside, car hire is costly. EV charging is not as widely available as in market leader Norway, but thanks to the superb renewable energy infrastructure, it is the cheapest in Europe. Just as well, really, as there are no railways in Iceland – so the car is king, whichever way you look at it. See visiticeland.com

Namibia

“Africa” and “fly-drive holiday” do not go together naturally. Mauritania, the DRC and Chad have some of the worst roads on Earth. Nigeria and the more developed southern nations are crash zones. Namibia is an outlier, however – and a fairly well-established fly-drive destination, with or without a professional chauffeur. The roads in the vast coastal Namib Desert are, unsurprisingly, not the world’s best, and you will need a good four-wheel drive for the gravel – and dune visits – but the region in general is doable by car. Namibia’s Caprivi Strip is a narrow belt of land that runs east towards Victoria Falls, wedged between Angola to the north and Botswana to the south. It’s full of game and has stunning riverine landscapes, and a tarred road. Namibia used to have a bad accident rate but appears to be improving. See visitnamibia.com.na

Argentina

The eighth-largest country in the world is great for long-distance driving holidays. Three highways create a mega-triangle of epic challenges: the Ruta 9 from Buenos Aires to the Bolivian border via the Andean valleys around Salta; the Ruta 40 from the border all the way down to Southern Patagonia, running parallel to the mountains via the wine regions near Mendoza, the lake district and the UNESCO-listed Cave of Painted Hands; and the Ruta 3, from Ushuaia on the Beagle Channel all the way back to Buenos Aires, via the Pampas. The number 2 and 11 highways are fast tracks to the seaside resorts of Mar del Plata and Villa Gesell. Local drivers can be temperamental, to put it mildly, and some macho drivers behave like a poor man’s Juan Manuel Fangio. But highways are not busy by European standards, and there are spectacular high roads into the glacial valleys of the south and the multi-hued mountains of the north. Avoid Buenos Aires and other big cities with their grid layouts, raging rush-hours and creeping taxis. See argentina.travel

New Zealand

Temperate, mountainous, lake-filled, gorgeously green: New Zealand is ideal for a car or campervan experience. The 5.4-million-strong population is concentrated in a few cities and towns, and once you’re out on rural highways, you can feel quite alone, though you’re rarely far from a place to refuel, sleep or eat. The variety of landscapes is impressive. The North Island lends itself to a big circular drive over a week or so, taking in Auckland, Napier and the Whanganui National Park. An easy trip with a year-round pleasant climate and some spectacular scenery is the Coromandel Peninsula. South Island is more about big country views, with Fiordland as the grand finale. It’s not all perfect; some back-country roads are pocked and potholed, though the government has committed funds for improvement with government statistics showing “alcohol or drugs was a factor in 48 per cent of fatal crashes”. Care is required. See newzealand.com

Costa Rica

Small, mountainous, wild and beautiful, Costa Rica is generally viewed as “Central America lite”. It’s certainly the region’s easiest country for a fly-drive (though Panama is also simple to explore by car). The Pan-American Highway provides a fast track to main towns and inland national parks, but national routes 126 and 140, north of capital San Jose, are more fun if you want to slow down through the steep, green hills, white-water rivers and coffee plantations. There are decent roads to Puerto Limon on the Caribbean coast and all the way down the popular main Pacific Coast, though the Osa Peninsula has poor roads and Tortuguero is only viable by plane and boat. Pot-holed roads can be an issue anywhere in Costa Rica, so hire a car with good suspension. See visitcostarica.com

Scotland

The Kylesku Bridge spanning Loch a’ Chairn Bhain in the Scottish Highlands.

Of the four nations of the United Kingdom, Scotland has the most alluring roads. The NC500 circular road trip is now a victim of its success, with too many campervans to make it much fun for locals or cyclists, but there are still many options around and off this popular tourist circuit. Good A-roads cut through the Flow County and Dumfries and Galloway, with its star-loving dark skies. Away from the loch-side roads there are heavenly little lanes to relatively tourist-free hamlets and rural lodges. Aberdeenshire and Moray have their own road circuit, the NE250, that takes drivers through the sunniest, driest regions of the country. And, if you take yourself to Shetland, there’s easy cruising over the main islands, with hop-on car ferries for taking a breather. And there’s EV charging all the way. See visitscotland.com

Spain

Spanish motorways are fast and dull, as elsewhere, but once you move onto back roads in regions such as Andalucia and Extremadura, the magic of the interior is all around. A small car is best for the narrow, sharp-cornered lanes that wind through the tiny mountaintop towns and villages. Roads shadow the ancient trade and pilgrim routes as well as fabulous byways: the Via de la Plata, Don Quixote’s La Mancha, the Camino de Santiago. There are sherry, ham and wine roads. The coast – lazily generalised as “the costas” – feels different when you do it by car, weaving in and out of resorts and inter-resort towns, and slowing down to explore wilder, less-impacted places such as Cabo de Gata. The same goes for the islands: Majorca has a superb round-island road just up from the beach strip. See spain.info

United States

The mittens geologic feature in Monument Valley tribal park, Arizona.

It has a rotten traffic accident rate. It has freeways with so many lanes that you have to plan your slip-road exit half an hour before taking it. Not only that, but it has bewildering highway naming and numbering systems. It has ultra-fat gas-guzzling cars and mean cops. But the US has successfully mythologised its roads through movies, literature, photography and songs, providing real-life comforting diners and cartoonish roadside architecture that make a fly-drive holiday feel special and surreal. Tourist-friendly circuits such as the Pacific Coast Highway and Blue Ridge Parkway are sublime. Empty highways like those around northern Arizona or across deepest Texas are dreamlike. Spotting Monument Valley in the mirror is too astonishing to ignore. Drive by daylight, keep your daily mileage down and stick to the law and being on the American road is still a great adventure. See visittheusa.com.au

Jordan

Most visitors to Jordan, when the geopolitical conditions in the Middle East allow, hire a driver, partly to relax and enjoy the ride – and the views – but also because it’s a great way to make local connections. The 185- kilometre King’s Highway connects Amman to Aqaba via, with a few short detours, Mount Nebo (where Moses glimpsed the Promised Land), the market town of Madaba, which has some of the best preserved Byzantine mosaics in the world, Shobak and the Dana Biosphere Reserve, and the hilltop city of Al-Karak. There are signposts in Arabic and English. Not far off the highway lie Petra, the desert of Wadi Rum and the resort hotels of the Dead Sea.

… AND THE WORST COUNTRIES FOR DRIVING

China

About 25 years ago, a quarter of a billion Chinese people began to swap their bicycles for four wheels. Beijing became, rapidly, a gridlocked monster, encircled by concentric M25-type orbitals. Problems abound: slow drivers; drivers not looking left, right or behind; mega-tailbacks at tollgates and terrible rural and mountain roads.

India

The horn-code music system used on Indian roads is harder to work out than the Hackney cab driver’s Knowledge. Cows and rickshaws cause havoc. Markets stray onto city roads. Rates of road traffic accidents are middling, but India has the highest number of road deaths globally, at 250,000 deaths a year. Like the rest of South and South-East Asia, it’s best to have a driver here – and even that can be hairy as much as it is exhilarating.

Vietnam

This is a hard one because Vietnam does offer some incredible, memorable experiences for those willing to tackle its roads independently. And it’s particularly incredible and memorable if you move around the country in the same way everyone else does, on a basic Honda motorcycle. But herein lies the danger because if you’re not experienced and skilled on a motorbike – and even just not lucky – you will have a torrid time on Vietnam’s notoriously chaotic and rule-free roads.

Mexico

Mexico is great. The food is amazing. The history is long. The culture is vibrant. But don’t get in a car – there’s just no need. This country might have relatively solid road infrastructure, but it also has numerous security issues, and a quick scan of smartraveller.gov.au will have you cancelling that hire-car booking immediately including the fact that: “carjackers and armed robbers may target people at traffic lights” and to “stop at all roadblocks or you risk getting killed”. Just fly.

Zimbabwe

From being stopped all the time for no obvious reason to encountering maniacally fast overtakers and blood-curdling accidents, Zimbabwe is not recommended for driving holidays. Zimbabwe’s road-crash fatality rate in 2022 was 2000 deaths a year – more than five deaths a day – but “may be more than three times higher at some 7000 road deaths per year”. The UN predicted this “to triple in the next 10 years in the absence of concerted action”. None was taken.

Five of the best roads in Australia

Sea Cliff Bridge on the Grand Pacific Drive route in NSW.

Gibb River Road, WA
If your car has a four-wheel drive setting, this is where you want to take it. Gibb River Road is a 660-kilometre track that winds through the Kimberley from Derby to Kununurra. It takes in some of Australia’s most spectacular outback scenery, including the likes of Adcock Gorge, Galvans Gorge and Dalmanyi, vast cattle stations, plus accommodation along the way ranging from basic campsites to the luxurious El Questro homestead. See westernaustralia.com

Great Ocean Road, Vic
While this entry is obvious – everyone knows about Great Ocean Road – it remains spectacular. Stretching 243 kilometres from Torquay to Allansford in southern Victoria, the Great Ocean Road hugs the cliff-strewn coastline, skirting the 12 Apostles rock formations, passing through many character-filled towns. You could do this journey in a day, or split it up with stays in the likes of Lorne, Apollo Bay, the Otways and Port Campbell. See visitvictoria.com

Nullarbor Plain, SA/WA
Some might rate this among Australia’s worst drives, given the tedium involved with driving 1365 kilometres from Ceduna in South Australia to Norseman in Western Australia with little to look at. That includes the 90-Mile Straight, known as Australia’s longest and straightest road at 147 kilometres without having to touch the steering wheel. But this is an icon and truly amazing to experience. See australia.com

Grand Pacific Drive, NSW
We could talk about any number of lovely stretches of road along this 140-kilometre coastal drive from Royal National Park to Shoalhaven, taking in Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama, but who are we kidding: you’re here for Sea Cliff Bridge. This is 665 metres of engineering brilliance near Coalcliff, a beautifully curved roadway with cliffs on one side and Pacific Ocean on the other. Best of all, you can take your time enjoying it: there’s a pedestrian lane on the ocean side. See visitnsw.com

Bloomfield Track, Qld
Here’s another one for the four-wheel drive enthusiasts, a bucket-lister of a journey from the Daintree River to Cooktown. And you really do need a four-wheel drive: there are creek crossings here, steep, muddy climbs, and plenty of spots to get yourself bogged deep in the rainforest. Along the way, you’ll see beautiful Cowie Beach, the Bana Yirriji Art Centre, thundering Wujal Wujal Falls, and a great lookout over the Bloomfield River. Just make sure you know what you’re doing. See queensland.com

….and five of the worst roads in Australia

Bruce Highway, Qld
Queensland’s main arterial, the Bruce Highway, isn’t a bad road, technically speaking. It’s well looked after, with plenty of dual carriageway in the south. The problem, however, is that it’s boring. Once you get north of the Sunshine Coast, you’ve got about 1200 kilometres up to Townsville with little but monotonous bush. The stretch between Sarina and Mackay, too, is notorious for accidents.

East Tamar Highway, Tas
You would think all roads in Tassie would be quiet and peaceful, but then you clearly haven’t driven between Launceston and Bell Bay. This is not only a popular route for tourists but also for heavy industry, as trucks and other large vehicles access the state’s third-largest port and a huge industrial area. There’s a strategy in place to improve conditions on the East Tamar Highway, but as it stands, this isn’t a fun journey.

Hume Highway, NSW/Vic
Never mind the Nullarbor – the highway frequently rated the most boring drive in Australia is in NSW and Victoria: the Hume Highway. Coming out of Sydney, Mittagong and Bowral are nice, though once you’re south of Berrima you’re into one seriously dull drive with little cause to pull over for a look-see. The trick, if you have time, is to take as many detours as possible.

Tanami Track, NT/WA
If you enjoy the feeling of your teeth resting in your head in the way they do right now, maybe don’t drive the Tanami Track. This 1013-kilometre road from Alice Springs in the Northern Territory to Halls Creek in Western Australia is notorious for its long stretches of deeply corrugated dirt track, which make for one very bumpy, teeth-clacking ride. There are also bulldust holes, dry creek beds filled with sharp gravel and more than 600 kilometres with no petrol station. Good times.

Sydney M4, NSW
The M4: beautiful? No. Enjoyable? Hardly. Hair-raising? Usually. Or at least the section of this motorway (which runs from western Sydney to the foot of the Blue Mountains) connecting suburban Concord with the M7. Rated Australia’s worst stretch of road by the Australian Roads Assessment Program, given the high number of accidents, improvements have since been made, but still, at peak hour, you would rather be anywhere else.

With Ben Groundwater

This is an edited version of an article which originally appeared in the Telegraph London newspaper.

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