Which countries are best for road trips? See the top 5 in the world

The highly transmissible omicron Covid-19 variant has some travelers thinking twice about air travel again.

While travel bookings are surging this year, some people are sticking with one of the biggest trends to have emerged from the pandemic: the road trip.

“With driving you can significantly lower your risk of exposure when interacting with large groups … making it a safer option,” said Anja Benson, public relations and marketing manager at the vacation home rental website Holidu.

Road trips also give travelers the chance to “clear their minds — something that many will be keen to do after almost two years of being cooped up inside,” she added.

Holidu is behind a new list to inspire travelers to buckle up and hit the road. Its “Cross-Country Road Trip Index” published in December analyzed factors such as road quality, gas prices and landscape variety in 118 countries.

It also took into account the number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in a given country and the number of cities in the top 100 world ranking, as determined by the website BestCities.org.

These factors, plus others, were weighted equally in the ranking. When countries tied, the country with the best road infrastructure was given the edge because “having decent roads to drive on is something that every ‘road tripper’ will deem important,” said Benson.

Here are the top five countries on that list, along with famous routes in each destination.

Home to 29 of the 100 best-ranked cities in the world, the United States offers road warriors a range of landscapes, from mountains and deserts to glaciers and forests.

The country also ranked eighth in the world for road quality.

U.S. Route 66

• Popular route: Chicago, Illinois to the Santa Monica Pier in California
• Distance: about 2,450 miles

The old U.S. Route 66 stretched across three time zones and eight states — Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California.

Known as the country’s “Mother Road,” Route 66 was decommissioned in 1985, when American transportation officials decertified it and voted to remove its highway signs. Drivers can still trace much of the old route, though the highways have new names now.

Those who do can see St. Louis’ Gateway Arch; half-buried cars at the Cadillac Ranch outside of Amarillo, Texas; and Route 66 relics along walking tours in Flagstaff, Arizona.

Along the way, there are small towns with old-school diners and vintage barbershops with remnants of the 20th-century Americana that made the route famous.

Pacific Coast Highway

• Popular route: San Diego, California to Olympic National Park in Washington
• Distance: about 1,250 miles

Pacific Coast Highway — called “the 101,” “Highway 1” or “PCH,” depending on the location — extends much of the length of the U.S. West Coast, providing breathtaking views of the coastlines of the Pacific Ocean.

The route passes national parks, beaches and picturesque coastal towns as well as cities like Los Angeles, Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Oregon’s Portland.

Travelers can soak in the sun at famous beaches like Long Beach and Huntington Beach, or enjoy the giant trees at Redwood National Park.

For a shorter trip, drivers can begin at San Juan Capistrano in Southern California and end at Leggett, north of San Francisco. It’s about half the distance, but still takes drivers along the majority of the Californian coastline.

Drivers can choose their own path, but common routes include a stop to see the Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza — designated one of the “New 7 Wonders of the World” in 2017 — and other UNESCO World Heritage Sites, including…