FURTHER AFIELD

The most memorable road trips in long-haul destinations embrace the unknown and are full of surprises, so be flexible – even if it means adapting your route on the hop. Here are some ways to hang loose but still remain safe:

Pack a map, but be prepared to get a little lost. Don’t take the most direct route but seek out smaller, often more enchanting, minor or unclassified roads; you never know what you might discover.

Avoid motorways and busy A roads. Jot down a list of villages in your direction of travel, then take pot luck by following signposts en route; restaurants, villages, spectacular views and winding roads are often discovered by chance.

Pack a compass or use one on your smartphone to check you are heading in the “right” direction as you explore.

If you really do get lost, revert to your satnav or smartphone, typing your next waypoint into the search bar. throbbing, flamboyant Rio, your first sight of the favelas clinging to the hills, followed by the city’s famous beaches, including legendary Copacabana itself.

MORE AT visitbrasil.com

9 ST LAWRENCE

RIVER

WILDERNESS, CANADA

SUMMARY Turbulent tides and mountains are the backdrop to this wild, 650-mile trip through Quebec’s forests and glacial valleys.

HOW TO DO IT Leave Montreal’s striking skyline on route 138 and count the islands in the St Lawrence as you skirt the shores of the largest – Ile Dupas – heading north inland to Saint-Alexis-des-Monts through lake-studded, rolling plateaux.

Overnight at secluded Sacacomie Lodge, surrounded by dense forests, bordering Mastigouche wildlife reserve. Head east – maybe overnighting in a rented cabin at Jacques Cartier National Park – while soaking up dramatic mountain views.

Enter black bear territory in the vast woodlands of Station Duchesnay and see Quebec before meandering through Charlevoix – home to the vast Charlevoix meteorite crater. Explore quaint La Malbaie and Tadoussac village, before returning south to Montreal.

MORE AT quebecoriginal.com/en-gb

10 GREAT OCEAN ROAD, AUSTRALIA

SUMMARY Against the backdrop of the rainforest-covered Otway Ranges, near-deserted, sandy beaches and striking rock formations, this is one of the world’s finest coastal road trips.

HOW TO DO IT This varied, sunny route begins at Torquay, Victoria’s surf and beach-worship capital, then carries you through 150 miles of jaw-dropping scenery along the B100 towards the “finish” at Warrnambool. En route, enjoy the winding, 25-mile section to Apollo Bay, the 1,417ft rainforest-rich Otway Ranges, a short diversion via dirt track to the Cape Otway Lighthouse, a beacon on these shores since 1848, and Melba Gully State Park, known for its dense rainforest. The most sensational coastal stretch of all is at Port Campbell National Park, where magnificent rock pillars up to

200ft high – the Twelve Apostles (reduced to eight by natural erosion) – line the coast.

MORE AT australia.com/en/places/ melbourne-and-surrounds/guide-tothe-great-ocean-road.html