With 71.4 million #roadtrip social media posts, travellers are more motivated than ever to embark on a self-drive sun-drenched road trip. But which summer road trip destinations offer the ideal combo of scenic routes, handy refuelling options and optimal drive time?
Carlease.co.uk used the TomTom Route Planner to crunch the data on several factors that can make or break the road trip experience.
This included the number of routes per country, average length and time of routes, available petrol stations and average sunlight hours in June.
The USA hit the sweet spot for self-drive getaways, ranking number one out of the best summer road trip destinations. The US was found to have five popular road trip routes with plentiful pit stops for refuelling both gas and snacks.
Need some US road trip inspo? The classic Route 66 celebrates its centennial in 2026 and travellers can expect anniversary events dotted along the historic highways and byways from Chicago, Illinois to Santa Monica, California.
Brand USA has also collated 34 RoadTrips USA itineraries for advisors to share with clients, which include themed routes, such as music, cinema, and nature, plus popular self-drive destinations and multi-state journeys.
Euro trips rounded out the top six summer road trip destinations with Spain (2), Italy (3), Germany (4), France (5) and Portugal (6) bringing the sun, sangria and sand.
Italy had the most scenic route options at 10, while Spain boasted an average of 11 sunlight hours per day for optimal sightseeing and road-tripping.
Unfairly, Australia was ranked the eighth-best summer road trip destination with six scenic routes listed (we know there’s more – there’s three from Perth alone!), scoring lower for the number of petrol stations and sunlight hours in June (c’mon, it’s winter Down Under!).
This placed Australia behind South Africa at number seven on the list with nine road trip routes noted, including the world-famous Garden Route in the Western Cape Province.
Canada and Denmark also made the cut of the world’s best summer road trip destinations at ninth and 10th place respectively.
For those who like less time on the road, Canada’s road trip routes averaged less drive time, clocking in at under five hours.
Check out some of Destination Canada’s epic self-drive itineraries here, including all the ways to get from the Rainforest to the Rockies in BC.
While it didn’t make this list, we’d be remiss not to mention New Zealand with 14 self-drive itineraries – find your NZ road trip inspo here.
