By Chris Leadbeater
There's no better way to see the amazing scenery of the USA than at the wheel of an automobile. Here are our five favourite great American road trips.
Romantic Coasting
Who can do it? Anyone who loves fabulous scenery.
Let's go! Honeymooners in particular will love the romance of California's
Highway 1 as it weaves precariously along the lip of the continent. The
entire section of road between San Francisco and Los Angeles is picture-perfect
– but make sure to stop for lunch in the charming village of Big Sur, 50 miles
south of Monterey.
Top tips: Get up early. Progress can be slow on Highway 1 – because every corner offers another astonishing must-be-photographed view.
Natural New England
Who can do it? Nature lovers.
Let’s go! Travel through New
England in September and October, and you get to witness autumn arriving
in a blaze of gold across the trees of Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont. Take
time to investigate a notorious chapter in American history by rolling into
Salem, the small Massachusetts' city made forever infamous by its gruesome witch
trials of 1692.
Top tip: Don’t fail to try the fantastic local seafood. New England has mile on mile of stunning coastline, and its many fish restaurants are legendary.
Cajun Capers
Who can do it? Music fans
Let's go! The
Deep South is America’s musical heartland, whether it be in the form of
old-school country in Nashville, blues (and Elvis) in Memphis or jazz in New
Orleans. A drive through Tennessee cannot possibly be complete without a day
at Graceland, the onetime home of Elvis Presley – now a museum to his life.
Uh-huh-huh!
Top tips: Hear the music in the flesh. Listen to country in the honky-tonk bars of Downtown Nashville, get the blues on Memphis’s Beale Street, enjoy all that jazz in New Orleans’s French Quarter.
Get your kicks on Route 66
Who can do it? American nostalgia fans.
Let’s go! Is this the way to Amarillo? Why, yes. It may no longer be an official US Highway, but Route 66
is an icon of Stateside travel, slicing across the country from Chicago to Santa
Monica and cutting through the Texas city of karaoke singalong fame, as well
as Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona and California.
Top tip: Don’t set off too quickly. The most incredible city on Route 66 may be the one at its start, Chicago – as great an American metropolis as New York. Oh, and don’t lose your shirt in Las Vegas.
Florida’s Jewels
Who can do it? Beach bunnies with a restless streak.
Let's go: A drive up through the Florida
Keys along the glorious Overseas Highway, is ideal for those who want to
explore the Sunshine State. Soak up the sensational sight of Seven Mile Bridge,
which links Knight’s Key to Little Duck Key, keeping low to the water as it
goes. You may want to drive this stretch several times!
Top tip: Don’t
leave Key West without posing at the monument that marks the southernmost point
of continental America. And, as with New England, eat your fill of fresh local
seafayre
If hitting the road in the US sounds like the perfect holiday for you check out the latest VHOT
FLY DRIVE TOURS to the USA.
Chris Leadbeater is a freelance travel journalist. He writes regularly for the Daily Mail. His favourite destinations are Cuba, the USA and Paris.