Bucket-list road trips: 10 drives you have to take

The US is addicted to automobiles, and highways are lined by conveniences and attractions. America also has a superb national park system but hopeless public transport, making road tripping the way to go. See visittheusa.com.au

GRAND TOUR, SWITZERLAND

The Alps are magnificent but the Swiss have made them even better thanks to geranium-draped chalets, cows clanking with bells, and lakeshore promenades. This road trip hits the alpine highlights but also explores the French-speaking west, where rolling countryside is lushly beautiful and towns are packed with history and culture.

The Grand Tour (1643 kilometres) is a circular itinerary via numerous roads. Zurich or Geneva are the convenient starting points. With some 300 charging points, it’s one of few long road trips you can do in an electric vehicle.

Swiss roads are excellent and the country safe, well signposted and tourist-oriented, making this the easiest of road-tripping destinations – and certainly one of the most scenic. See myswitzerland.com

PACIFIC COAST HIGHWAY, NEW ZEALAND

First there’s the beaches, like Mount Maunganui’s, considered one of New Zealand’s best, or Hot Water Beach for a natural spa treatment. Then there’s the spectacular coastal scenery, mountains, vineyards, whale-haunted bays and canyons glinting with glow worms. You won’t go anywhere fast, as this road doesn’t have an ugly inch – at least beyond airport suburbs.

The 1104-kilometre tourist route wanders the North Island coast between Auckland and Napier. It’s another 410 kilometres back to Auckland direct, or 320 kilometres onwards to Wellington.

New Zealand is hands-down one of the world's most beautiful countries wherever you drive. Roads are good but winding and narrow, so budget more time than you might think. See newzealand.com

ROUTE 1, ICELAND

At times you feel as if you're driving on Mars: for weird scenery, there's no stranger road trip. Expect dark lava fields, misty fjords, volcanoes, glacier-nibbled mountains, thundering waterfalls and the eerie feeling that you're the world's last survivor.

Route 1 (also called the Ring Road) circumnavigates Iceland for 1322 kilometres and, as the main transport artery, can be busy in the south-west. The north is the most scenic but be prepared to wind over mountain passes.

Driving in Iceland is easy as long as you keep an eye on weather, stray sheep and your fuel gauge. You’ll want a car so you can take in the otherworldly scenery at your own pace. See visiticeland.com

SHIKOKU PILGRIM TRAIL, JAPAN

Dedicated pilgrims walk this trail, but that takes six weeks. Instead, meander by car around Shikoku, Japan’s smallest and least-visited main island. You have 88 Buddhist temples and splendid Matsuyama Castle to admire, can relax with forest rambles and hot-spring soaks, and also enjoy the seafood and festivals of lively port cities.

The circular route runs 1200 kilometres around Shikoku and is best begun at Naruto, a two-hour drive via two bridges from Osaka airport. In autumn, you’ll find hillsides splattered in glorious colour.

Japan’s train system is fantastic but won’t get you into country corners. Road conditions are excellent, drivers courteous and signs Romanised. Sat-navs in rental cars have an English-language option. See japan.travel

HIGHWAY 1, CANADA

You get the best of two worlds here: the vertical majesty of the Rocky Mountains with their turquoise lakes, glaciers and passing elk, and the horizontal exhilaration of the prairies, where you’ll come across canyons, old forts and fur-trading towns, dinosaur fossils and kitsch roadside attractions such as the world’s tallest tepee and largest Coke can.

Highway 1 runs from Victoria to Winnipeg, but starts in Vancouver (2300 kilometres). If you’re feeling frisky, it’s part of the Trans-Canada Highway that continues east another 5176 kilometres to the Atlantic Ocean.

Canada is one of the world’s top road-trip destinations, and its highways well organised. Long distances are meditative, and the big, often empty landscapes soul stirring. See canada.travel

ALPINE ROAD, GERMANY

This tourist route along Germany’s southern border isn’t just scenic (think pavlova peaks and gleaming blue lakes) but winds through the most traditional part of Bavaria, where onion-domed churches pop, timbered houses cascade flowers, and lederhosen and drindls aren’t uncommon. Towns are absurdly pretty, abbeys erupt in baroque beauty, and Ludwig II’s castles add fairytale elements.

The 465-kilometre Alpine Road runs between Konigssee and Lindau, with Salzburg or Zurich the best access points, though Munich isn’t that far either.

Road tripping is no problem in Germany, with driving on the right. You won’t find any fabled autobahns on this route, but with mountains, beer gardens and bakeries at every turn, you’ll want to pootle along. See deutsche-alpenstrasse.de

STUART HIGHWAY, AUSTRALIA

You’ll be coated in orange dust, hot, thirsty, sun-blinded and dulled by monotony, but then you come across wonders from termite mounds to cracked gorges, rock art to fiery sunsets and stunning stars. This is the ultimate outback drive north-south right across the continent and into the ancient Aboriginal heartland. It’s a ripper.

The highway (marketed as the Explorer’s Way) runs 2720 kilometres from Darwin to Port Augusta, from which it’s another 310 kilometres to Adelaide. It’s sealed all the way. Consider detours to Kakadu and the Ikara-Flinders Ranges national parks.

Australia is an epic destination for road trips, but this is one of very few true outback routes that can be done without a 4WD vehicle.

See northernterritory.com, southaustralia.com

SOUTHERN HIGHWAY, CHILE

If you ever get into heaven, it’s going to look like this, though hopefully warmer. This route snakes through the sumptuous mountains and whispering forests of Patagonia, skirting fjords and lakes, and sometimes literally splashed by waterfalls. Take your time: you’ll be out of your car to hike, river raft, kayak, wallow in hot springs, glacier gaze and bird watch – you’ll see flamingos and condors.

The Carretera Austral or Route 7 runs 1240 kilometres between Puerto Montt, the bustling tourist centre of Chile’s Lake District, and tiddly Villa O’Higgins deep in the wilderness. It requires several relaxing car ferry crossings, and some sections are gravel.

The Chilean road system is well developed and reliable, and motorists relatively considerate. See chile.travel