California State Route 1 twists and turns dramatically — sometimes seeming to teeter right at cliff’s edge — especially between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Drivers have their choice of views: on one side, the sparkling Pacific and peaceful beaches; on the other, redwood forests and fantastic homes and mansions.



The Overseas Highway (U.S. 1) is aptly named: It hopscotches 150 miles from mainland Florida near Miami through the Florida Keys (a chain of 1,700 islands) until it reaches Key West. South of Marathon, drivers can cruise over historic Seven Mile Bridge, one of the world’s longest bridges, which cuts between the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.

No matter your choice among the three parallel highways rising from the French Riviera, you will be rewarded with vibrant views. These are corniches ( a French word meaning “a road built along a coast and especially along the face of a cliff”), where forest green gives way to golden limestone, which bows to the blue of the sea and sky.

The Old Harbor U.S. Life Saving Station, circa 1897, in Provincetown is but one special attraction on the Cape Cod Scenic Drive in Massachusetts. The peninsula boasts 585 miles of shoreline — 310 miles of it sandy beaches. Every drive is as different as the fleeting sculptures in the sand dunes that are formed by the wind and the ocean.

Who could resist driving to the Cape of Good Hope, near where the Atlantic and Indian oceans meet off the coast of South Africa? The drive to Cape Point, about 30 miles south of Cape Town, offers the eye-popping turmoil of crashing waves that led early explorers to call this rocky headland the “Cape of Storms.” A funicular leads to the old lighthouse, set 780 feet above sea level.

Prince Edward Island, the smallest of Canada’s provinces, is big enough for three major coastal roads and compact enough to drive all of them in a leisurely few days. You’ll wind past old sandstone cliffs, lovely sand beaches, golf courses and lighthouses, all of which will give you a grand overview of life in the Maritimes.

The scenes of life Down East await drivers on the Acadia Byway, which rambles along the coast of southeastern Maine and through Acadia National Park. You could emerge from the mist to see lobster boats coming and going and sailboats harnessing the wind, and you might spot moose. Along the way, enjoy the charm of a quintessential Maine town.

Tasmania’s Eastern Trundle runs from Launceston past Australian fishing towns and historic homesteads to Hobart. You’ll treasure the sights of the rugged coast and enjoy the muscle of the fishing boats and the grace of the yachts at sea. Just before reaching Hobart, visit the Richmond Gaol, built in 1825, and ponder the lives of the convicts sent here by the English.