From incredible roads traversing across mountain landscape to highways taking you on a scenic way along the coast, the world is home to some stunning routes that'll surely make you want to start up the car and head on out. Offering some of the world's best scenery along the way, it's worth booking a flight to these places just for the spectacular drive alone. If you're looking for the road trip of a lifetime, look no further than these beautiful stretches of highway.
A82, Scotland
The highlands of Scotland have some of the most beautiful scenery in Europe and the roads that snake around the area are no exception. One such road is the A82 which cuts through the stunning Glen Coe Valley and down the shores of Loch Lomond. Although it's long been known as one of the most incredible drives in the country, it was made even more famous after appearing in Skyfall, as James Bond takes the same route to head to his family home.
H-3 Highway, Hawaii
The US is home to countless scenic drives all over the vast reaches of North America, one of the most stunning however is found on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. The highway traverses over jungles and through dramatic mountain scenery that almost looks like an incredible wall of mountains as you head right into it.
Suhua Highway, Taiwan
Epic coastal roads with dramatic mountains rising by the side, driving down Taiwan's east coast is sure to result in a trip to remember. The whole island of Taiwan is famous for its beautiful mountain passes and scenic roads that circle around the coast, so much so that a popular holiday for both locals and foreigners is known as 'huandao' where people either cycle or motorbike the circumference of the island usually over the course of a week or two.
Atlantic Ocean Road, Norway
Linking up tiny island after island off the coast of Norway, this highway takes drivers across the Atlantic Ocean just outside of the country's famous fjord-lands. The stretch of road has been awarded 'Norwegian Construction of the Century' awarded by the country's board of construction in 2005 and is often dubbed as one of the world's greatest road trips.
TransFagarasan, Romania
With some of the most incredible scenery in Europe, Romania really is one of the most underrated countries on the planet. For a taste of some of the amazing views you'll find round here be sure to drive down the TransFagarasan which passes through the dramatic vistas of the Carpathian Mountains.
Tianmen Mountain Road, China
As far as epic mountain passes go, it doesn't get much more incredible than Tianmen Mountain Road that snakes up and around the dramatic peaks around Zhangjiajie. Not for the faint-hearted, this route passes through some dizzying cliff drops to reach Tianmen Cave, a popular attraction in the area which is often known as the 'Gateway to Heaven'.
Sossusvlei, Namibia
The unnamed road that heads through the desert area of Sossusvlei in Namibia offers some of the most unique scenery on earth with its towering orange sand dunes and solitary trees. Along the route there a number of mountain-like dunes that are worth climbing to get an incredible view of the surrounding area along with the Deadvlei, a salt pan known as the dead marsh for its stark landscape and dead trees dotted around there.
Pamir Highway, Tajikistan
It might not be the best quality road in the world, but you'll be too focused on looking out the window upon this incredible scenery to care about the bumpy ride. The Pamir Highway or Asia's M41, traverses through Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan as it passes 1250 kilometers of dramatic mountains and sloping valleys.
While this area of the world is often wrongly associated with terrorism groups and danger, the Pamir Highway is extremely safe, much further from the grips of that side of the world than most people think, after all central Asia is a huge vast stretch of the continent. The people and villagers you'll meet here are extremely friendly and always happy to meet tourists as not many visitors tend to traverse the region.
Ma Pi Leng Pass, Vietnam
It's no secret northern Vietnam has some of the most incredible scenery in South-east Asia with dramatic mountains covered in vibrant, terraced rice fields. The region is a popular spot for motorbike enthusiasts wanting a taste of some of the best views the country has to offer. No visit here is complete without conquering the incredible Ma Pi Leng Pass. The road is an attraction in itself, traversing over mountains and snaking through scenic valleys as it takes you through Hà Giang connecting up the ethnic villages of Vietnam's numerous northern minority tribes.
Route 1, Iceland
If we're talking incredibly scenic drives, it's hard not to include Iceland, almost every road on the island seems to be accompanied by dramatic views either side. Route 1 stretches for 1,332 kilometers as it does a loop around the island, not only will you find some of the most famous scenery along the way, the drive itself is just beautiful at pretty much every stretch of the way.
Conclusion
With these incredible stretches of road, it's not about the destination but the journey itself. For those with a love for both driving and beautiful scenery, these places are an experience you'll never forget.