Amalfi Coast Road | Italy
[photo: APP]
Romantics the world over have long been captivated by Italy’s Amalfi Coast. Just south of Naples, this narrow coastal road has played a starring role in numerous Hollywood movies. Little wonder, noting matches the breathtaking views of the brilliant blue mediterranean from the cliff-hugging highway as it snakes its way between the picture postcard seaside towns of Amalfi, positano, Ravello and Sorrento.
Ring Road | Iceland
Considered to be one of the most desolate and scenic routes in the world, Iceland’s Ring Road takes in an array of fascinating geological oddities. Alongside black sandy beaches, volcanic mountains and lava outcrops are vast expanses of treeless tundra, giant glaciers, rugged fjords and thundering waterfalls. En route you can take a dip in the sulphurous pools before returning to Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost capital.
Route 62 | South Africa
Often overlooked by motorists who tear up South Africa’s N2, Route 62 is a stunning inland alternative to the much-hyped coastal Garden Route. Showcasing some of the country’s most magnificent scenery, the road, starting just outside Cape Town and running to Port Elizabeth, meanders through scenic spa towns, past vineyards and fruit farms and over breathtaking mountain passes. It’s also reputedly the longest wine route in the world with 69 wine farms dotting its path. We’ll drink to that!
Stelvio Pass | Italy
[photo : Tim Connors]
A road favoured by the Top Gear presenters, this Italian mountain pass was named the best road in the world by Jeremy Clarkson, who eloquently described it as “15 miles of asphalt spaghetti draped on the Alps”.
During World War I fierce battles between Italian and Austro-Hungarian forces used to take place near the pass – it’s a place worth fighting over. Today, the pass is far more peaceful and is sometimes traversed by Giro d’Italia cyclists who use their skills to tackle the hairpin bends.
Atlantic Road | Norway
The Atlantic Road zigzags across 12 low bridges that jut out over the sea, linking the islands between Molde (famous for its annual Jazz festival in July) and Kristiansund in the western Fjords. The Hustadvika is an infamous stretch of ocean and in storm it’s fantastically dramatic. In calmer weather you might spot whales and seals.
La Ruta Cuarenta | Argentina
The Motorcycle Diaries is a fairly good model for a free-spirited road trip, and the trip from north to south down Ruta 40 follows the example of Che Guevara, taking in over 5,000 kilometres of tarmac and dirt, and giving you a keen sense of the country’s bewildering scale. Head south from Salta, following the snowcapped spine of the Andes, and you’ll soon find yourself pretty much alone on the road in the vast steppes and pampas of Patagonia, the world’s third largest desert. Highlights of ‘La Ruta Cuarenta’ include the huge, monster-filled deep blue Lago Nahuel Hapi, ‘Argentina’s Grand Canyon’ in Talampaya National Park, and the dinosaur-fossil strewn wastes of Mendoza. The latter region is also the heart of Argentina’s thriving wine industry. Stop off at pretty much any roadside estanteria on your journey to enjoy a cheap meal of delicious Patagonian lamb or grass-fed beef.
Highway 89 | USA
[photo: Ann Torrence Phtography]
This geological field trip traverses the Sonoran Desert to the Rocky Mountains, passing a volcanic plateau with lava flows and the Great Salt Lake. Take a detour if you want to see the red rocks of Sedona. Open roads rarely come finer.
Davos to Stelvio via Bormio | Switzerland, Italy
Etched precariously through the peaks of the eastern Alps, this dizzying zigzag road built in the early 19th century is a hard-core workout for the very best of drivers and automobiles. The 60 hairpin turns transport you 9,042 feet up the mountains in 90 miles. The heady views are mostly yours alone.
Great Ocean Road | Australia
[photo: dnptravel.com]
Here mountains meet oceans, rainforests meet dramatic cliffs, and lighthouses meet national parks (home to stacks of anteaters, kangaroos, penguins, koalas and multi-colored parrots). At the end of the route you’ll want to U-turn and ride it again.
Indochina Heritage Roads | Loas, Vietnam, Cambodia
There are few regions in the world that can claim as rich a cultural and historic past as Indochina; the countries of Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia are home to some of the oldest temples in existence, the site of great humanitarian tragedy, and also spectacularly beautiful. Starting your trip in Siem Reap to Phnom Penh, Ho Chi Minh through to Da Lat, Hanoi, Halong Bay and finally Luang Prabang.
Radar Tires Journal 