Sun, sea & scenic routes: top 10 countries perfect for a summer road trip
- Meghan Blumsum
- Jun 20, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 20
Filled with iconic cities, beautiful scenery and opportunities to explore, the world has some of the most perfect destinations for excited travellers looking for a quick getaway.
With a total of 71.4 million #roadtrip posts on social media, Carlease.co.uk were eager to reveal the countries with the best routes for a summer roadtrip.
Key Findings:
The United States is deemed to have the longest average road trip length (583 km) for those looking for a long break this summer.
On average a total American road trip will take just over 10 hours.
There are a total of five routes, with Route 66 taking the most time (31 hours).
Top 10 popular road trips worldwide:
Rank | Country | Number of routes | Average route length (KM) | Average Time of Route (hr) | Number of petrol stations | Sunlight hours (June) | Overall Score (/10) |
1 | United States | 5 | 583 | 10:01:12 | 196,643 | 09:48 | 8.9 |
2 | Spain | 5 | 421 | 09:39:24 | 12,084 | 10:54 | 8.3 |
3 | Italy | 10 | 156 | 05:27:12 | 21,700 | 09:30 | 7.3 |
4 | Germany | 8 | 243 | 06:32:00 | 14,452 | 08:12 | 6.9 |
5 | France | 8 | 252 | 08:56:43 | 11,040 | 07:54 | 6.6 |
6 | Portugal | 1 | 497 | 09:51:00 | 3,216 | 10:36 | 6.5 |
7 | South Africa | 9 | 202 | 05:50:20 | 4,600 | 08:42 | 6.4 |
8 | Australia | 6 | 458 | 09:22:50 | 6,500 | 05:18 | 6.3 |
9 | Canada | 5 | 175 | 04:48:00 | 11,713 | 09:24 | 6.2 |
10 | Denmark | 1 | 476 | 12:18:00 | 2,066 | 09:06 | 5.6 |
Ranking as the best country to experience a road trip is the United States with an overall score of 8.9 out of 10.
With a total of five routes across the country, explorers will get the chance to experience life in different states, as the average route is 583 km. And hosting the highest number of petrol stations (196,643), you are guaranteed to always keep the wheels turning without empty-tank anxiety.
For an average time of 10 hours 1 minute, travellers can make their way across the country with ultimate flexibility and enjoy almost 10 hours of sunlight daily in summertime.
Budding travellers looking for a warm retreat can depend on Spain to give the ultimate summer road trip experience. With nearly eleven hours of sunlight a day, the country famed for tapas ranks as the second best country to drive through.
With a total score of 8.3/10, drivers have a total of five routes to choose from with an average trip length of 421 km.
Italy has the most roadtrips of all countries, 10 in total, placing them as the third best destination with a score of 7.3/10 for a summer filled with calm coastlines.
However, they host the lowest trip length of 156 km meaning explorers can make their way through the routes quickly to soak up the Italian culture from vineyards to ancient cities with the sunlight timeframe of nine and a half hours.
In fourth place with a rating of 6.9/10 is Germany. This country hosts eight different routes spanning an average length of 243 km.
Travellers will have an extra two hours of sunlight (8 hour 12 minutes) to enjoy once finishing their road trip as the average time it takes is six and a half hours.
France has landed as the fifth best country for road tripping this summer with a total of eight routes to choose from, and the average length of each just passing Germany at 252 km.
It has an overall score of 6.6/10, offering just over 11k petrol stations and 7 hours and 54 minutes worth of sunlight, tourists can enjoy the iconic scenery and luxury cities embedded into France.
Travel expert Tom Bourlet commented on how to best prepare for a summer filled with road trips:
“Firstly make sure you have the appropriate permission to drive through the country you’re visiting and research the rules of the road before setting off. Then map out all stops along the way, including any accommodation plans, activity stops, petrol stations and ensure your travelling friends also have a copy of the full road trip itinerary so you can all be aware of the travel plans.
“Get printed copies of any documentation you have, from driving licences to rental agreements. Nowadays a lot of these items can be shown through your phone but in case you’re caught without internet, sometimes going ‘old school’ with a print out can be really useful. Always get the appropriate cover and insurance, the last thing you will want is to get stranded in a foreign country, and always check if your accommodation has room for parking, checking beforehand can help you prepare to protect your vehicle.”
Methodology:
Carlease.co.uk wanted to share the world’s most popular summer road trips.
Utilising the TomTom Route Planner, predetermined road trips could be analysed for the study to ensure data was reliable.
To determine which country is best to visit, a number of factors were analyses to reach a conclusion. These factors are: number of routes per country, average length in kilometres, average time it takes, number of petrol stations and how many sunlight hours travellers will experience.
The analysis then gave an overall score out of 10 to conclude which country is best for summer road trips.
All data was collected August 2024 and is accurate as of then.
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