Legendary
The world's most extraordinary drives — once-in-a-lifetime road trips with cinematic scenery, legendary roads, and unmatched cultural depth. 72 curated drives with mapped stops, distance, duration, and route notes — including Route 66, Pacific Coast Hwy, Blue Ridge Parkway.
These 72 routes range from 40 to 5200 km and from 0.08333333333333333 to 30 days, across 38 countries. Top picks: Route 66, Pacific Coast Hwy, Blue Ridge Parkway.
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LegendaryRoute 66The Mother Road. From Chicago to Santa Monica, Route 66 is America's original road trip, neon diners, desert motels, and wide-open sky that defined a nation on wheels.EV-friendly
LegendaryPacific Coast HwyCalifornia Highway 1 hugs the coast from San Francisco to Los Angeles, cliffs, redwoods, Big Sur, and beaches that look designed for film shoots.EV-friendly
LegendaryBlue Ridge ParkwayThe most beautiful drive in the eastern United States, 755 km of ridge-top parkway through the Appalachians from Shenandoah National Park to the Great Smoky Mountains, with no commercial traffic, no billboards, and no stoplights. Named overlooks appear every few kilometres above a landscape of unbroken hardwood forest turning gold and crimson each October.EV-friendly
LegendaryIcefields ParkwayOne of the most spectacular mountain drives on Earth. Highway 93 runs from Lake Louise to Jasper through the Canadian Rockies, with glaciers, turquoise lakes, and peaks over 3,000 m at every turn. Banff and shuttle-only Moraine Lake work best as a separate pre-trip extension.EV-friendly
LegendaryBeartooth HighwayThis iconic alpine drive climbs from Red Lodge, Montana to the Beartooth Plateau and down toward Cooke City, threading past hairpin switchbacks, glacial lakes, and broad tundra views. It is one of the highest paved roads in North America, with nonstop scenery and crisp mountain air.
LegendaryRoad to HānaThe Hāna Highway winds along Maui's dramatic northeastern coastline through 59 bridges and 620 curves, bamboo forests, hidden black-sand beaches, waterfalls tumbling into the sea, and one of the most lush drives on Earth.EV-friendlyPermit required
LegendaryGoing-to-the-Sun RoadThe only road that crosses the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park threads through the most dramatic mountain scenery in the American Rockies, hanging valleys, waterfalls cascading across the road, and grizzly bears roadside.
LegendaryCabot TrailCape Breton's Cabot Trail is one of the most scenic drives in North America, the road climbs over the Cape Breton Highlands, drops to sea-level fishing villages, and traces cliff edges with 300m drops into the Gulf of St. Lawrence.EV-friendlyPermit requiredLoop / circuit
LegendarySouthern Utah Parks TraverseA seven-day traverse through Utah's five national parks, from St. George and Zion to Monument Valley, with Goblin Valley and the Moab parks given their own realistic days.EV-friendlyPermit required
LegendaryGrand Teton to YellowstoneAmerica's ultimate wildlife corridor, from the jagged Teton skyline above Jackson Hole, north through moose meadows and bison herds into the world's first national park, where the earth erupts with geysers, prismatic hot springs, and mud pots.EV-friendly
LegendaryBaja California Highway 1The world's longest peninsula drive, Highway 1 traces 1,700 km of Pacific surf, Sea of Cortez lagoons, giant cardón cacti, and grey whale sanctuaries from Tijuana all the way to Cabo San Lucas.
LegendaryGreat Ocean Road and Western Coast ExtensionThe classic Torquay-to-Allansford Great Ocean Road links surf coast, rainforest and the Twelve Apostles. This extended itinerary begins in Melbourne and continues beyond Allansford through Port Fairy to Portland, which is why its headline distance is 660 km.EV-friendly
LegendaryMilford Sound DriveFiordland is New Zealand's wildest corner, a frayed landscape of mountains sliced with fjords. The only road into Milford Sound from Te Anau follows Lake Te Anau's inland fjord shores, traverses the Eglinton Valley, passes the Mirror Lakes, climbs to the Divide through the 1.2 km Homer Tunnel, then descends steeply into mountain-rimmed Milford Sound.EV-friendly
LegendaryUluru & The Red CentreA five-day Red Centre progression from Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa to Watarrka/Kings Canyon and Alice Springs, finishing with a West MacDonnell day loop to Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek and Ormiston Gorge. The mapped points are visitor centres, trailhead car parks and signed day-use access—not the inaccessible centres of the rock formations.
LegendaryGibb River RoadThe Kimberley's legendary outback dirt road connects Derby to Kununurra through ancient boab tree forests, Aboriginal rock art sites, spectacular gorges, and remote cattle stations, Australia at its most raw and untouched.4WD onlyOff-road sections
LegendaryRing RoadA complete clockwise Reykjavík-to-Reykjavík circuit of Iceland Route 1, paced across the south coast, East Fjords, Mývatn, Akureyri and the west.EV-friendlySUV onlyLoop / circuit
LegendaryAmalfi CoastThe SS163 may be the most beautiful road on Earth, hairpin bends cut into cliffs, pastel villages above an impossibly blue sea, lemon groves scenting the air.EV-friendly
LegendaryNorthern and Western Wild Atlantic Way to the Ring of KerryA linear ten-day journey from Malin Head through Donegal, Sligo, Achill, Connemara, Galway, Clare, Dingle, Killarney and the Ring of Kerry.EV-friendly
LegendaryNorth Coast 500A correctly ordered six-day clockwise NC500 from Inverness along the east and north coasts, then through Ullapool, Wester Ross, Applecross and back to Inverness.EV-friendly
LegendaryThe DolomitesThe Grande Strada delle Dolomiti, the Great Dolomites Road from Bolzano to Cortina d'Ampezzo through the most spectacular mountain scenery in the Alps. Huge cathedrals of rock, the Val di Fassa, the Sella Ronda massif, the Alta Badia, and vertiginous switchbacks between peaks of 3,168m and 3,218m.EV-friendly
LegendaryGrossglockner High Alpine RoadThere's a reason the Grossglockner Road is often cited as the finest drive in the Alps, a 48 km rollercoaster of sheer glacier-encrusted mountains, waterfalls, forested slopes, jewel-coloured lakes, and 4,000 m peaks on almost every distractingly lovely bend. The crown is Grossglockner itself at 3,798 m, Austria's highest peak, and the rapidly retreating Pasterze Glacier below the Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe lookout.EV-friendly
LegendaryTrollstigenThe Troll's Path, eleven hairpins on a 10% gradient rising 850m above the Istra valley, with the 180m Stigfossen waterfall cascading alongside the road. Norway's most dramatic single route descends to Geiranger, the country's most celebrated fjord.EV-friendly
LegendaryTransfăgărășan: Poenari to SibiuA two-day northbound crossing from Curtea de Argeș via timed Poenari Castle, Vidraru Dam and Bâlea Lake to Sibiu.EV-friendly
LegendaryAdriatic Coastal HighwayA linear Trogir-to-Dubrovnik Adriatic route with Split first, then Makarska, Biokovo, the Neretva delta and Ston.EV-friendly
LegendarySwiss Alpine PassesA coherent five-day high-pass figure-eight: Lucerne to Andermatt, west over Susten to Meiringen, east over Grimsel and Furka back to Andermatt, then south over Gotthard and Nufenen to Brig before parking at Täsch for car-free Zermatt. Each road day follows a continuous drivable order without the former Susten-to-Grimsel reversal.EV-friendly
LegendaryRoute des Grandes AlpesA true Alpine spectacular, La Route des Grandes Alpes traverses the French Alps from the shores of Lake Geneva to the French Riviera, ascending and descending 16 mountain passes including some of the highest sealed roads in Europe. The route took almost 30 years to construct and passes through three national parks, Vanoise, Queyras, and Mercantour, with views of Mont Blanc from the opening passes.EV-friendly
LegendaryStelvio PassThe classic one-way east-to-west Stelvio ascent from Prato through Gomagoi, Trafoi and Franzenshöhe to the summit, then down to Bormio.
LegendaryAtlantic Ocean Road: Kårvåg to BudThe classic 36 km Norwegian Scenic Route from Kårvåg over the Atlantic Road bridges and island walks to the fishing village of Bud.EV-friendly
LegendaryCarretera AustralChile's Ruta 7 is one of the world's great adventure roads, unpaved, remote, cut through Patagonian fjords and ancient rainforest. Glaciers, hanging valleys, thermal pools, and almost nobody ahead of you.SUV onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendaryRuta 40: Full Seasonal ExpeditionArgentina's longest highway traces 5,000 km of the jagged Andes from the shores of the South Atlantic at Punta Loyola through Los Glaciares, Bariloche, Mendoza, Salta, and the Bolivian border at La Quiaca, traversing 20 national parks, crossing 18 major rivers, and climbing over 27 mountain passes. One of the most epic drives on the planet.4WD onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendarySalar de Uyuni CircuitAcross the world's largest salt flat, a 10,582 km² mirror of white that becomes a perfect sky reflection after rain, then through volcanoes, lagoons of pink flamingos, and geysers at 5,000m into the Altiplano.4WD onlyOff-road sectionsPermit requiredLoop / circuit
LegendaryCape Town & Garden RouteSouth Africa's most celebrated road trip, from Cape Town's two-ocean peninsula along the Garden Route's coastal forest to Storms River. The Cape Point/Boulders Beach loop, Chapman's Peak Drive, the whale nursery of Hermanus, the lagoon town of Knysna, the Tsitsikamma forest's 800-year-old yellowwood trees, and the Bloukrans Bridge bungee jump (the world's highest) are strung along a coast of extraordinary biodiversity.EV-friendly
LegendaryNamib Desert CircuitThe world's oldest desert, 55 million years, and its most photogenic. Sossusvlei's 300m apricot dunes, the bleached bones of Deadvlei, the sand-swallowed streets of Lüderitz's Kolmanskop ghost town, and Fish River Canyon's billion-year-old gorge.SUV onlyOff-road sectionsLoop / circuit
LegendarySani PassA boulder-strewn 4WD track climbing 1332 vertical metres in 9km through the Drakensberg escarpment into the mountain kingdom of Lesotho. At the top: the highest pub in Africa, a blanket of stars, and a Basotho world entirely apart.4WD onlyOff-road sections
LegendaryPamir HighwayThe classic west-to-east Pamir Highway links Dushanbe and Osh through Qalai Khumb, Khorog, the Tajik Wakhan, Murghab, Ak-Baital and Karakul. This eight-day minimum preserves the normal western overnights and a high-plateau buffer.4WD onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendaryShimanami KaidōSix islands linked by six bridges across the Seto Inland Sea, Japan's most celebrated drive arcs from Onomichi in Hiroshima to Imabari in Ehime, past lemon groves, castle ruins, and views so perfect they feel composed rather than found.EV-friendly
LegendaryG318 Sichuan-Tibet HighwayChina's most legendary road climbs from Chengdu's basin through 14 mountain passes above 4,000 m, across four mighty rivers, and into the thin air of Lhasa, the world's highest capital. Called "the most beautiful road on Earth" by Chinese drivers.Permit required
LegendaryMongolia: Classic Gobi CircuitThe complete clockwise Gobi circuit from Ulaanbaatar through Baga Gazriin Chuluu, Tsagaan Suvarga, Yolyn Am, Khongoryn Els, Bayanzag, and Ongi, returning through Kharkhorin to the capital. Twelve days give the desert's headline landscapes enough time, keep camel riding at the dunes, and explicitly account for the long overland return and vehicle hand-back.4WD onlyOff-road sectionsLoop / circuit
LegendaryKarakoram Highway: Gilgit to KashgarA measured seven-day crossing of the Karakoram from Gilgit through Hunza and Passu, with Sost used for border staging before Khunjerab, Tashkurgan and Kashgar.SUV onlyPermit required
LegendaryLeh–Manali HighwayThe classic high road from Leh to Manali, slowed to three daylight stages through More Plains, Gata Loops, Sarchu and Jispa before the reliable Atal Tunnel alignment.SUV onlyOff-road sections
LegendaryHa Giang LoopThe official four-day rhythm: Ha Giang–Yen Minh; Yen Minh–Dong Van via Lung Cu; Dong Van–Meo Vac–Du Gia; and Du Gia–Ha Giang.SUV onlyPermit requiredLoop / circuit
LegendaryMae Hong Son LoopThe full classic clockwise loop through Pai, Pang Mapha, Mae Hong Son, Khun Yuam and Mae Sariang before returning to Chiang Mai.Loop / circuit
LegendaryJordan’s King’s HighwayThe classic King’s Highway sequence runs Amman–Madaba–Karak–Dana–Shobak–Petra. This five-day plan protects a full Petra day and treats Wadi Rum and Aqaba as a clearly marked southern extension.
LegendaryBariloche Extension to the Route of the Seven LakesThe most beautiful short drive in South America, Ruta Nacional 40 and Ruta Provincial 234 through the Andes foothills between Bariloche and San Martín de los Andes, threading through seven glacier-fed Andean lakes of extraordinary blue-green clarity: Nahuel Huapi, Espejo, Correntoso, Escondido, Villarino, Falkner, and Machónico. The Swiss Alps transplanted to Patagonia.Permit required
LegendaryBorneo Sabah LoopEight days give Tun Sakaran a full protected-area day, Tawau Hills its own mainland day and a final Tawau flight rather than treating both as a single Semporna transfer.Permit requiredLoop / circuit
LegendaryCentral Kamchatka Volcano Road: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky to KlyuchiA one-way journey up Kamchatka’s central public-road spine, paired with a permitted operator expedition from Kozyrevsk into the Tolbachik volcanic field. City, bay, and foothill days lead into Milkovo, Esso, and the Klyuchevskaya group, with transit settlements treated as transit and two real operational buffers built around volatile weather, ash, river crossings, and remote logistics.4WD onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendaryClassic Rajasthan: Delhi to UdaipurTwelve days along Rajasthan’s classic fort-and-palace arc, balancing full Jaipur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer and Udaipur days with one purposeful Pushkar night and one transfer-only desert-to-Ranakpur stage.
LegendaryDempster HighwayCanada's loneliest highway branches off the Klondike near Dawson City and swings north through pristine wilderness to Inuvik, past the Arctic Circle, over two river ferries, through permafrost tundra, and finally to the shores of the Mackenzie Delta. Bring two spare tyres and emergency supplies; there is no phone reception.SUV onlyOff-road sections
LegendaryFrench and Italian RivierasA six-day Nice-to-Cinque Terre route with Hanbury before Sanremo, separate Genoa, Portofino/Tigullio and train-based Cinque Terre days.EV-friendly
LegendaryG219 Kashgar–Lhatse Managed ExpeditionA transparent 19-day managed journey: a clearly separated three-day Pamir acclimatization loop returns to Kashgar, then the classic G219 sequence runs through Yecheng, operator-set high-road stages, Bangong Tso, Shiquanhe, Zanda's earth forest and Guge–Tholing heritage, Mount Kailash viewpoints, Lake Manasarovar, Saga, Lhatse, and a final Sakya Monastery extension. It removes the hidden Karakul detour, filler airport stops, generic remote restaurants, and any implied Kailash kora.4WD onlyPermit required
LegendaryIsle of Skye CircuitA four-day Inverness circuit through Eilean Donan and across the Skye Bridge, with dedicated time for Trotternish, Dunvegan and Neist Point, then the Fairy Pools, Cuillin and Talisker before returning to Inverness. The island’s single-track roads and exposed walks reward deliberately short daily lists.EV-friendlyLoop / circuit
LegendaryJava Volcano RouteA paced Yogyakarta–Prambanan–Madiun–Bromo–Bondowoso–Ijen–Banyuwangi route. Ijen is one continuous pre-dawn excursion; Baluran is an optional eighth day after Banyuwangi.Permit required
LegendaryLake Baikal West and East Shore JourneyA source-honest Baikal itinerary linking the best accessible west and east shore experiences without drawing a road across missing shoreline links. It gives Listvyanka one museum visit, Olkhon two operator-supported days, Ulan-Ude meaningful cultural time and Zabaikalsky National Park two protected days before returning to Ulan-Ude.SUV onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendaryLençóis MaranhensesThe "Maranhão Bedsheets", 1500km² of white sand dunes rising from a flat coastal plain, filled between July and September with hundreds of turquoise and emerald rainwater lagoons. One of the most surreal landscapes on Earth, reached from São Luís via the Preguiças River delta.4WD onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendaryLuzon Cordillera RouteAn eight-day highland sequence with Baguio, Atok/Bontoc, two Sagada days, Banaue, Batad, Mayoyao/Kiangan and a complete onward transfer.SUV onlyPermit required
LegendaryMagadan to Yakutsk via Current R-504The canonical direct Road of Bones on today’s R-504, sequenced from Magadan through Palatka, Susuman, Kadykchan, Ust-Nera, Kyubeme, Khandyga, Churapcha and Nizhny Bestyakh before the seasonal Lena crossing to Yakutsk. Ten days preserve two buffers and keep Yakutsk sightseeing separate from the final transport day.4WD onlyOff-road sections
LegendaryNorwegian West CoastNorway's National Tourist Routes string together the most dramatic fjord scenery on Earth, hairpin switchbacks over Trollstigen, the Geiranger serpentine road above a UNESCO fjord, Atlantic Ocean Road's storm-bathed bridges, and Flåm.EV-friendly
LegendaryNovosibirsk to Kosh-Agach via the Chuya TraktA deliberately paced five-day journey from Novosibirsk to Kosh-Agach along the most celebrated section of R-256. It covers the classic museum, pass, river-confluence, petroglyph, North Chuya and high-steppe experiences without pretending that remote side valleys fit into the paved-road itinerary.
LegendaryRN7 Antananarivo to ToliaraMadagascar’s RN7 is the country’s classic overland journey, linking the highland capital to the southwest coast through rice terraces, red-earth villages, and dramatic sandstone massifs. The route passes Antsirabe, Ambositra, Ranomafana, Fianarantsoa, and Isalo before descending to the dry thorny plains around Toliara.SUV onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendaryRoad of Bones with Oymyakon DetourA conservative Magadan-to-Yakutsk expedition that follows the present R-504, adds Oymyakon only as a there-and-back detour at Kyubeme, and reserves two days for weather, repairs and river crossings. The route foregrounds Kolyma history and the corridor’s few meaningful museums instead of padding remote travel days with generic activities.4WD onlyOff-road sections
LegendarySan Juan SkywayColorado's Million Dollar Highway, the San Juan Skyway loops through Ouray's "Switzerland of America" canyon town, the 3,358m Red Mountain Pass above collapsed mine workings, Silverton's Victorian mining town, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, and Mesa Verde's Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings. The most dramatic mountain circuit in the Rocky Mountains.EV-friendlyPermit requiredLoop / circuit
LegendarySrinagar–Leh–Manali HighwayThe complete 907 km trans-Himalayan drive, broken into Srinagar–Sonamarg, Sonamarg–Kargil, Kargil–Leh, a full Leh rest day, Leh–Sarchu and Sarchu–Manali.SUV onlyOff-road sections
LegendarySulawesi Highlands: Tana Toraja to BunakenA 16-day expedition with two real Toraja days, light transit towns, the Pagimana–Gorontalo vehicle ferry, a dedicated guided Tangkoko overnight and two Bunaken/Manado days.SUV onlyPermit required
LegendaryWakhan Corridor RouteA correctly ordered Tajik Wakhan journey from Khorog through Ishkashim, Kaahka, Yamchun, Yamg and Vrang to Langar, with no fictional international crossing or westward backtrack.4WD onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendaryGeiranger–TrollstigenNorwegian National Tourist Route 63, one of the world's greatest drives and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Steep inclines averaging 9%, slam-on-the-brakes-and-grab-the-camera hairpin bends, and views of Geirangerfjord's sheer 1,400 m walls make for terrific slow touring. The Trollstigen (Troll's Path) bombards you with mountains named Kongen (the King) and Dronnigen (the Queen), waterfalls spilling down sheer cliff faces, and fjords of the bluest blue.EV-friendly
LegendaryNorth Yungas Road Guided Cycling DayBolivia’s North Yungas Road drops from the high Andes near La Paz into the humid Yungas valleys on a dramatic, tightly winding descent. Expect cliffside curves, changing weather, and sweeping mountain-to-jungle scenery on a historic route once notorious for its extreme exposure.SUV onlyOff-road sectionsPermit required
LegendarySani Pass and Roof of AfricaClimb from the Himeville area up the legendary Sani Pass into Lesotho, following one of southern Africa’s most dramatic mountain roads. The gravel switchbacks rise to the high plateau and the iconic Sani Mountain Lodge, with sweeping views over the Drakensberg and a true sense of reaching the Roof of Africa.4WD onlyOff-road sectionsPermit requiredLoop / circuit
LegendaryFaroe Islands Weather-Flex DriveA five-day Tórshavn-and-Vágar itinerary with Kirkjubøur restored, separate Sørvágsvatn and guided Drangarnir days, and a movable weather reserve.EV-friendly
LegendaryKaikoura CoastSH1 north of Christchurch is one of the world's great coastal drives, the Seaward Kaikoura Range falls sheer into the Pacific, sperm whales feed in the canyon just offshore, and New Zealand fur seals laze on every rock shelf.EV-friendly
LegendaryLake Tahoe to Death Valley via US 395Follow the classic Eastern Sierra road from Lake Tahoe past Mono Lake, Mammoth Lakes, Bishop, Manzanar, and the Alabama Hills before descending into Death Valley. Yosemite is deliberately excluded from the core line so seasonal Tioga closures do not create a major backtrack.
LegendaryTbilisi, Kazbegi and KakhetiA four-day Georgia route with Tbilisi/Mtskheta, an overnight in Stepantsminda, a return day and a separate Kakheti wine-country day.
LegendarySusten–Grimsel–Furka LoopThe most concentrated Alpine pass loop on Earth, three legendary roads in a single circuit. The Susten crosses a granite wilderness, the Grimsel skirts black glacial reservoirs, and the Furka passes the Rhône Glacier, where Bond once drove an Aston Martin.EV-friendlyLoop / circuit