The Best Long-Distance Driving Holidays from the UK

When you love driving, there are few things better than a driving holiday – long drives through stunning scenery, with the occasional stop in beautiful hotels. Depending on whether you like to drive alone or not, they’re a perfect opportunity to unwind and get plenty of chatting time with a travel partner!

But where are the best places to drive to and through from the UK? In the Americas, you’re constantly drenched in breathtaking scenery – you can go from the tip to the bottom if you really want a long distance drive – but getting across the Atlantic is quite a journey.

Let’s look at some of the best long-distance driving holidays you can take from the UK itself.

A staycation?

This may seem like an obvious suggestion, but it’s worth mentioning that you can actually spend a lot of time driving around stunning locations all within the UK. From the Downs in Kent & East Sussex to Scotland’s Highlands – if you can’t be bothered to deal with visas and ferries then you can often meet all of your exploration needs right at home.

If you’re a camping lover, then towing an affordable second hand caravan between destinations can also be a really cost-effective way of exploring without breaking the bank.

The Alps

The heights of the Alps and the areas all around the mountain range can actually be reached in a few days’ easy driving from the UK (though you can do it in a single 13-hour drive from central London if you’re brave enough!). The range stretches through France, northern Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Austria – so you can either really go sightseeing or pick destinations for what particularly attracts you.

Germany’s Black Forest

Adjacent to the Alps, the Black Forest is a gorgeous wooded region that captures the beauty of the lower Alps and covers it in the mystique of dense woodland. All the folklore you can imagine of mysterious German woodlands is likely backdropped by the Black Forest – but this isn’t to say that you’ll be surrounded by evil elves and goblins at all. Most likely, you can ease into long drives on winding roads – with plenty of time for picture-taking.

Tuscany

If you take a route to Tuscany through the Alps, you get to see the mountain’s beauty and end up in the vistas of middle Italy. Many Tuscan cities still feature distinctly Italian buildings, narrow streets, and great food – and the Tuscan landscapes are iconic: rolling vineyards and calm fields.

Greece

For a longer trip into Europe, you can drive through Italy and catch a ferry to Greece. It’s much easier to do this than drive the entire way by land because Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania aren’t in the Schengen zone – so you’d have to organise visas. For a really long distance drive, you could actually go via Austria & Hungary through Romania & Bulgaria!

Ancient things are two a penny in Greece – you can’t go 5 miles without driving past another ancient temple, market, or monument. It’s a great place for history lovers, and you can chart a course for a seaside town during the summer as a relaxation stay.

Make sure your car’s checked

As much as long distance drives are huge fun, they’re immediately spoiled by breakdowns and breakdown assistance miles from home (in a country whose language you don’t speak). So, before any long distance trip, be sure to book your car into your local Kwik Fit centre for a full service.