The World’s 20 Best Road Trips: Australia Is Tops But Canada Scores Twice

April 21, 2021 Jim Byers

New research has revealed that the Great Ocean Road in Australia is the most beautiful road trip route in the world according to Instagram data, followed by Big Sur in California, and then United Arab Emirates’ Jebel Hafeet. 

With many people still being wary of international travel and staycations continuing to rise in 2021, Pentagon Motor Group was curious to discover the most beautiful bucket list journey’s that travellers can tick off without leaving the comfort of their car. The research involved analyzing more than seven million Instagram hashtags associated with the world’s most popular road trip destinations and calculating how many Instagram pictures are shared per mile of the journey; the country with the most Instagram posts per mile being crowned the most picturesque in the world. 

The results reveal that Australia’s Great Ocean Road is the most beautiful road trip route in the world; covering 157 miles of road in the land down under, The Great Ocean Road has an impressive 1,321,570 hashtagged images of it on Instagram, meaning that nearly 8,418 pictures are taken per mile. Stretching alongside the south-eastern coast of Australia between the cities of Torquay and Allansford, the beautiful route was constructed in 1932 and has continued to be one of the most popular tourist excursions in Australia.

I was there in 2000 and can attest to the majesty of the place. I’d personally move Icefields Parkway in Alberta into the top five and the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia into the top 10, but I’m a little biased. And I know those better than many of these here.

I’ll also vouch for Chapman’s Peak Drive in South Africa. I was there two years ago and was stunned, having never heard of it before. For my money, it’s even more dramatic than Big Sur in California, which is my home state. The Hana Highway on Maui is magnificent, too, as is the Causeway Coastal Route in Northern Ireland.

However you slice it, these all are great road trips to enjoy when the time is right to travel again.

Top 20 Most Beautiful Road Trips:

1. Great Ocean Road, Australia – 8,418 pictures per mile
2. Big Sur, USA – 5,226 pictures per mile
3. Jebel Hafeet, United Arab Emirates – 4,840 pictures per mile
4. Hai Van Pass, Vietnam – 4,298 pictures per mile
5. Chapman’s Peak Drive, South Africa – 3,425 pictures per mile
6. Blue Ridge Parkway, USA – 1,148 pictures per mile
7. Going-To-The-Sun Road, USA – 940 pictures per mile
8. Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland – 853 pictures per mile
9. Olympic Peninsula Loop, USA – 798 pictures per mile
10. Icefields Parkway, Alberta – 781 pictures per mile
11. Route 66, USA – 780 pictures per mile
12. Grossglockner Hochalpenstrasse, Austria – 677 pictures per mile
13. Pacific Highway, Australia – 657 pictures per mile
14. Tioga Pass, USA – 533 pictures per mile
15. Military Road, UK – 483 pictures per mile
16. Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia- 466 pictures per mile
17. Hana Highway, USA – 345 pictures per mile
18. The Atlantic Road, Norway – 294 pictures per mile
19. Causeway Coastal Route, Northern Ireland – 244 pictures per mile
20. North Coast 500, Scotland – 226 pictures per mile

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