The Most Enjoyable Road Trips of the World

Here’s our pick of the ten best drives you could experience in the world.

Driving the Ice fields Parkway, Lake Louise to Jasper, Alberta, Canada is a drive that needs to be experience at least once in a lifetime.  Take in the beauty of the soaring mountains topped with snow all year round.  Along this 143 mile long highway, you’ll find sparking lakes with large forests as far as the eye can see. While travelling the highway, you’ll pass glaciers; view the infamous Canadian Rockies, breathtaking waterfalls and vast rivers.  If you’re lucky, you’ll even find a moose, bear or elk strolling along this Canadian highway.

Stuart Highway, Australia runs in the middle of Australia, between Darwin and Adelaide.  The Stuart Highway is named after the first Caucasian man to cross Australia and return home which was found less than 150 years ago.  With extreme temperatures and remote outposts, dangers include kangaroos and the thundering 'road train' lorries 50m long; however, it's worth tackling the 1, 900 miles just to experience the sheer size of this continent.  This trail passes by the Ayers Rock, unfamiliar desert flowers, odd shaped red rocks and massive cattle stations.  To trek this entire road, allow yourself up to two weeks.  It doesn’t really matter what time of year you go but it’s recommended to go in the cooler, drier months which is April to September.

Put your sunglasses on, turn up the stereo and cruise Highway One from Leggett to Los Angeles, USA.  Hit the road along the Californian coast between the shimmering Pacific Ocean on one side and remarkable mountains on the other.  One of the lifetime experiences when driving this highway is crossing Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.  This 550 miles drive is like being in a movie.

To enjoy the Corniche, Marseilles to Monte Carlo, France drive, start in Marseilles and head east through Toulon, St Tropez, Cannes and Nice. By the time you reach Monte Carlo, you'll have been in traffic jams composed entirely of Ferraris.  Every bend along this 170 mile drive brings another spectacular view, perhaps a precarious hill village or a sensational seascape.  When making vacation plans, keep in mind that around August is considered to be a high traffic season.

Lake Como's shore, Milan is like a Riviera dropped into the middle of the Alps.  While driving this 100 mile road, you'll drive past beautiful people sipping wine at pavement cafes, fabulous villas teetering over the water, historic Romanesque churches, unbelievably villages of pastel paint and all within a ring of spectacular mountains.  One of the highlights of this journey is the lovely lakeside town of Como and Bellagio which can arguably be said to be one of the prettiest, most romantic places in the world.

Austin Ames has many years' experience in article writing and he has written many more in the past.