Wildlife & Safari Drives
Big-five safaris, migration routes, and wilderness highways through Africa, Asia, and the Americas. 28 curated drives with mapped stops, distance, duration, and route notes — including Grand Teton to Yellowstone, Alaska Highway, Seward Highway.
These 28 routes range from 90 to 2400 km and from 1 to 14 days, across 19 countries. Top picks: Grand Teton to Yellowstone, Alaska Highway, Seward Highway.
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.
IconicAlaska HighwayThe ALCAN, built in eight months in 1942 to connect Alaska to the Lower 48, is the last great North American frontier road. 2400km of boreal wilderness, glacial rivers, the Yukon's vast silence, and more wildlife per kilometre than almost anywhere on Earth.
IconicSeward HighwayThis classic Alaska drive runs from downtown Anchorage south to Seward, following Turnagain Arm past tidal mudflats, glacier-capped peaks, and roadside viewpoints. It’s a straightforward paved route, but the scenery demands frequent stops for hikes, wildlife viewing, and overlooks along Kenai Peninsula’s dramatic coast.
IconicTranspantaneiraThe only road into the Northern Pantanal, 147km of raised dirt track on 122 wooden bridges through the world's largest tropical wetland. In the dry season, caimans line every bridge, capybaras graze the shoulders, and the Cuiabá River banks are the best place on Earth to see a wild jaguar.
IconicPan-American Highway, PeruPeru's stretch of the Pan-American Highway takes in everything from pre-Inca history to world-renowned wineries, the road winds through coastal desert, tiny fishing villages, the Islas Ballestas wildlife islands, the mysterious Nazca Lines, colonial-era towns, and the Atacama at Tacna. Drive only during daylight hours; fuel up wherever you can.
IconicCosta Rica: Parks & WildlifeThe world's greatest concentration of biodiversity per square kilometre in a country the size of West Virginia, from San José through the cloud forests of Monteverde, the active Arenal Volcano's lava fields and hot springs, down to Manuel Antonio's rainforest beaches where sloths hang in the canopy above white sand. 5% of the world's species in one small, peaceful country.
NotableAtlantic Sahara Coast and Banc d'ArguinThis Atlantic coast drive follows Mauritania’s desert edge from Nouadhibou to the Banc d’Arguin region, where dunes, tidal flats, and empty beaches meet the sea. Expect a stark, wind-shaped landscape, fishing villages, and exceptional birdlife in one of West Africa’s most distinctive coastal parks.
Hidden GemAzuero Peninsula LoopThis relaxed loop traces Panama’s sun-baked Azuero Peninsula from inland Chitré to the Pacific coast and back through traditional towns, beaches, and artisanal villages. Expect smooth paved highways, small-town detours, wildlife-rich estuaries, and a strong sense of rural Panamanian culture far from the canal corridor.
IconicBonito and Bodoquena Pantanal SulThis classic Mato Grosso do Sul road trip links Bonito’s clear rivers and sinkholes with the limestone hills of Bodoquena and the wildlife flats of the southern Pantanal. Expect good paved highways, short gravel detours, birdlife everywhere, and memorable stops for swimming, cave views, and ranch stays.
IconicBorneo Sabah LoopThis Sabah circuit links Kota Kinabalu with Kinabalu Park, Sandakan, the Kinabatangan wetlands, and the east-coast beaches before looping back through interior highways. Expect lush rainforest, limestone hills, mountain views, and some of Borneo’s best chances to see orangutans, pygmy elephants, and proboscis monkeys.
Hidden GemCape Ann, MassachusettsThe North Shore route from Newburyport south along Cape Ann, clam shacks on Route 1A, the Parker River Wildlife Refuge's 800 species of birds and plants, Crane Beach (one of the longest and sandiest in New England), maritime Essex, and the working fishing port of Gloucester. A short drive dense with seafood and Atlantic atmosphere.
NotableCaprivi Strip and Zambezi RegionThis northern Namibia road trip follows the lush Zambezi Region from Rundu east to Katima Mulilo, with detours to river lodges, floodplain viewpoints and wildlife-rich parks. Expect easygoing distances, changing landscapes, frequent birdlife and a strong sense of remoteness along the Kavango and Zambezi rivers.
NotableCardamom MountainsThis loop runs from Phnom Penh to the forested edge of the Cardamom Mountains, weaving through Koh Kong, Tatai, and the wild waterways near Chi Phat before returning via Kampot and Takeo. Expect dense jungle scenery, river crossings, and a rare look at one of Southeast Asia’s last great lowland rainforests.
IconicDenali HighwayThe Denali Highway runs between Paxson and Cantwell across a vast sweep of tundra, alpine lakes, and glacier-carved ridges with constant views of the Alaska Range. Long gravel stretches and frequent wildlife sightings make it a classic remote drive, best enjoyed slowly in clear summer weather.
IconicEtosha Pan CircuitA vast white salt pan, 120km across, visible from space, ringed by waterholes where lions, elephants, and black rhinos gather in the dry season. The Etosha circuit is Africa's most accessible concentrated wildlife driving, all on good gravel roads.
NotableGreat East RoadDrive the Great East Road from Lusaka through the Luangwa Valley to South Luangwa National Park, one of Africa's finest wildlife sanctuaries and the birthplace of the walking safari.
NotableIbera Wetlands and EsterosThis gentle Corrientes road trip links the provincial capital with Argentina’s vast Iberá Wetlands, trading city streets for quiet estero country, bird-filled marshes, and ranchland horizons. Base yourself in Colonia Carlos Pellegrini for lagoon boat trips, capybara and caiman sightings, and long sunset drives on sandy access roads.
NotableKalahari Desert DriveCross the world's largest sand system from Gaborone west to the Central Kalahari, red dunes, black-maned lions, meerkats at sunrise, and skies so dark the Milky Way casts shadows on the sand.
NotableMakgadikgadi PansThe remnant of an ancient mega-lake larger than Switzerland, two vast salt pans at the Kalahari's heart. In the dry season: meerkats and brown hyena. In January: a quarter-million zebra on the world's second-largest migration.
IconicPeninsula Valdes and Atlantic PatagoniaThis Atlantic Patagonia drive links Puerto Madryn with Península Valdés, Punta Tombo, and the long empty coast toward Rawson and Comodoro Rivadavia. Expect whale cliffs, sea lion colonies, penguin rookeries, and big-sky steppe scenery on paved roads with long, rewarding detours.
IconicSierra Nevada de Santa Marta and TayronaThis Caribbean-road trip links Santa Marta’s laid-back waterfront with the jungle-cloaked foothills of the Sierra Nevada and the palm-fringed coast of Tayrona National Natural Park. Drive through banana country, stop at Minca’s cool mountain cafés, then finish with turquoise bays, white sand, and dramatic granite headlands.
IconicTanzania Northern Safari CircuitThis classic northern Tanzania circuit links the country’s best-known wildlife country on a practical overland loop from Arusha through Tarangire, Lake Manyara, the Ngorongoro highlands, and the Serengeti, then back via Mto wa Mbu or Karatu. Expect dramatic crater rim views, big herds, and long game-drive days.
NotableTanzania Southern Circuit Ruaha and SelousThis southern Tanzania safari drive links Dar es Salaam with the country’s quieter wildlife strongholds, from Mikumi’s open plains to the baobab-studded baobab woodlands of Ruaha and the river-and-lake landscapes around Nyerere, formerly Selous. It is a long, rewarding circuit of game drives, bush camps, and remote park roads.
NotableThe Great Outdoors, SpainStarting high in the Sierra Nevada, this Andalucian itinerary swings west and south through Las Alpujarras' whitewashed villages, the bizarre El Torcal rock formations, the wildlife wilderness of Doñana, Costa de la Luz beaches, and finally Tarifa, southernmost Europe, Moroccan coast in view.
IconicTierra del Fuego and Ushuaia LoopThis southernmost Argentina loop traces the paved and gravel roads around Ushuaia, the Beagle Channel, and Tierra del Fuego National Park, with alpine bays, peat bogs, lenga forests, and big-open steppe. It’s a compact road trip with classic end-of-the-world scenery and frequent wildlife stops.
NotableTrincomalee to Arugam Bay East CoastThis east-coast drive links Trincomalee’s sheltered harbors and long beaches with the surf town of Arugam Bay, following Sri Lanka’s quieter shoreline past lagoons, fishing villages, and wildlife-rich wetlands. It’s an easy, low-stress road trip with frequent ocean views and relaxed stopovers.
NotableUganda Fort Portal to BwindiThis western Uganda drive links Fort Portal’s crater lakes and tea country with Bwindi Impenetrable Forest’s gorilla valleys. The route passes through rolling highlands, busy market towns, and Rift Valley edges before climbing into misty forest. It is a rewarding overland approach to one of Africa’s premier wildlife destinations.
IconicVildmarksvägen Wilderness RoadSweden’s Vildmarksvägen is a classic northern loop through Lapland, linking forests, lakes, and high-country fells between Strömsund, Gäddede, and Vilhelmina. The drive mixes salmon rivers, Sami landscapes, and wide-open mountain views, with easy access to hikes, waterfalls, and summer wildlife.