A good fly and drive trip gives you structure without taking away freedom. You land, collect the car and follow a route that has been thought through properly, but your days still feel open. Stop when a viewpoint catches your eye, detour into a small town for lunch, or linger somewhere longer because it simply feels right. In the right country, the driving becomes part of the story.
Start in Vancouver, where glass towers sit between mountains and ocean. After a night or two to settle in, drive the Sea to Sky Highway towards Whistler, a route lined with waterfalls and wide coastal views.
From there, head inland towards Jasper and Banff National Parks. The Icefields Parkway between them is often the standout stretch, with glaciers visible from the road, bright turquoise lakes like Lake Louise and Moraine Lake, and regular wildlife sightings. Elk graze near the roadside, and it’s not unusual to spot bears from a safe distance.
You’ll stay in mountain towns where evenings are spent walking to dinner, while days are filled with lake walks, gondola rides and scenic drives that genuinely live up to the photographs.
Begin in San Francisco, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge before joining Highway 1. The road hugs the coastline, with cliffs dropping into the Pacific and long empty stretches where it’s just you and the ocean.
Overnight in places like Monterey or Carmel, where fishing boats line the harbour and seafood restaurants look out over the water. Drive through Big Sur, stopping at coastal viewpoints and redwood groves, then continue south towards Santa Barbara and Los Angeles.
If you want to add a dramatic change of landscape, detour inland to Yosemite National Park, where granite cliffs, waterfalls and giant sequoias feel a world away from the coast.
Fly into northern Italy and begin around Lake Como or Lake Garda. Here, pastel coloured towns sit against still water, backed by mountains. Spend your days walking lakeside promenades, taking short boat trips and enjoying long lunches in small piazzas.
Drive south into Tuscany, where vineyards, olive groves and medieval hilltop towns define the landscape. Places like Siena and San Gimignano are compact enough to explore on foot, with cafés spilling onto stone squares and views stretching across the countryside.
Finish along the Amalfi Coast, where the road curves high above the sea. Towns such as Positano and Amalfi feel almost stacked on top of one another, with steps leading down to the water and restaurants built into the cliffs.
Collect your car in Reykjavik and follow the Ring Road through landscapes that shift hour by hour. In the south, waterfalls such as Seljalandsfoss and Skogafoss crash down beside the road, and black sand beaches stretch out near Vik.
Drive past glaciers in Vatnajökull National Park, where ice fields sit just beyond the roadside, then continue towards geothermal areas where steam rises from the ground and hot springs dot the countryside.
In the north, fjords cut into the coastline and small fishing towns appear between wide open stretches of road. The distances are manageable, but the scenery is constantly dramatic.
Experience the wonders of China and Japan on this 18-night journey combining guided exploration and a luxurious cruise. From the imperial treasures of Beijing to the Terracotta Warriors of Xian, the pandas of Chengdu and the skyline of Shanghai, you’ll uncover China’s rich past and vibrant present before sailing aboard Royal Caribbean’s Spectrum of the Seas to discover the highlights of Japan.
Explore two Mediterranean islands at your own pace across twelve nights with one car to get you there. This fly and drive takes two people from the seaside town of Marsascala through the walled capital Valletta and the north of Malta before crossing by ferry to Gozo for four nights at the Kempinski.
This fifteen night small group tour is built for travellers who want to see Peru properly. Travelling with Intrepid, with a local leader throughout, the route takes in Lima, Paracas, the Nazca Lines, Arequipa, Lake Titicaca, Cusco, the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, with enough time at each stop to actually take it in.
