Growing up as the daughter of an airline pilot during the heyday of standby travel, road trips were a special treat for me. While our family usually crossed continents by plane—connecting between European hubs or flying to Asian and African destinations—we reserved car travel for journeys within the United States. Those American drives, with blankets, snacks and music, felt magical: we’d pull over for roadside fruit, inhale the odd scents of liminal places, and mark time by family jokes and sing-alongs with the windows down.
That early love of the open road stayed with me. After I moved overseas and got an International Driver’s License, I embraced driving across Europe and beyond. The freedom of a road trip allowed me to slow down and experience landscapes and local life in a way flying never did. I’ve spent hours behind flocks of sheep in the Caucasus, haggled for homemade jams in the winding roads of the Carpathians, boarded ferries to remote Estonian islands and returned home with the occasional speeding ticket after zipping through France’s Champagne region. Rather than focusing on faster arrivals, I began to treasure the detours—lunches near UNESCO sites, spontaneous stops at small vineyards to buy directly from owners, and hidden cultural landmarks.
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On one solo trip in Lithuania, I detoured to Kryžių Kalnas, a hill covered with more than 200,000 wooden crosses. The small fee and extra hour it added to my schedule were a bargain for the chance to discover such an unexpected, powerful place—one I likely would have missed if I’d stuck to a strict timetable.
Most of my international drives were in rental cars, where I encountered Citroëns, Peugeots and Euro-spec Audis—and sometimes bemused reactions when I requested a manual transmission. I learned quickly that driving abroad brings its own practical lessons: don’t assume a sandy beach is safe for a low-clearance rental, and be ready to communicate with helpful strangers when a car needs pushing. Two key takeaways: know how to say “help” and “thank you” in several languages, and consider upgrading the rental for peace of mind. Those misadventures became the core memories of travel—moments that made each destination feel more real and present.
International car rentals can be more complicated than domestic ones, but new mobility options help. Rideshare services and peer-to-peer car platforms make it easier to navigate when traditional rental inventories are low, offering an alternative for travelers who prefer not to rely solely on conventional agencies.
POPULAR ROAD TRIPS
Recent years brought renewed interest in road travel for good reasons: safe distancing, flexibility and the simple pleasure of time on the road. As international restrictions relax, many Americans are taking road trips abroad to soak up unfamiliar scenery and cultures. Popular long routes include the Trans-Canada Highway, which stretches roughly 4,860 miles between Victoria, British Columbia, and St. John’s, Labrador, and the roughly 925-mile route from Buenos Aires to Salta in Argentina, known for its wine regions and dramatic vistas.
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Classic European drives remain popular: Ireland’s Ring of Kerry and Italy’s Amalfi Coast draw countless day-trippers, while longer alpine routes are gaining momentum. In France, La Route des Grandes Alpes crosses national parks and mountain passes, offering spectacular alpine vistas in a compact stretch. In Germany, the Black Forest High Road (B500) winds between Freudenstadt and Baden-Baden past dense forests and traditional clockmakers, and when combined with longer loops like the Fairy Tale Route, it showcases some of Germany’s most scenic and storied landscapes.
PLAN YOUR ROUTE
“Taking a road trip is as much about the destination as it is the journey,” says Ellen Edmonds, public relations manager at AAA. International driving requires extra planning and paperwork: laws, signage, road conditions and fuel availability vary widely, so preparation matters.
Travel agents can help design a route, but independent research is also effective. Check official country information resources to learn about road rules, signage and conditions, and consider obtaining an International Driving Permit (IDP). An IDP translates a U.S. driver’s license into multiple languages and is accepted in more than 150 countries. In many places, authorities won’t accept a U.S. license alone, and driving without an appropriate permit and insurance can lead to fines or denied rentals.
Getting an IDP is straightforward: you’ll typically need two passport photos and a valid U.S. license to complete the application through authorized outlets. Once you have your permit, plan your route and accommodations, and download reliable navigation tools and offline maps so you can navigate without constant connectivity.
Finally, review your auto insurance before you go. U.S. policies often don’t cover international driving, and rental companies abroad may offer varying levels of temporary coverage. Know what your policy includes and consider purchasing supplemental protection if needed, so your international road trip is both memorable and secure.