Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World's Most Spectacular Trips

Description

Pack your suitcase, load up the car, and head for the open road! In the tradition of National Geographic Traveler magazine's award-winning annual feature showcasing the world's best auto trips, National Geographic presents Drives of a Lifetime: Where to Go, Why to Go, When to Go. This lavishly illustrated, hardcover travel planner and gift book gives you every bit of information you'll need to navigate 400 amazing driving routes in some of the world's most fascinating locales.
 
This practical travel planner provides specific, in-depth descriptions of the sights each drive offers. A clear, detailed, easy-to-read map of each route. Useful information on the best time to travel. And insider tips to help you get the most out of every fabulous trip. Abundant sidebars call your attention to standout sights along the drive or entertaining background information on the region and its culture.
 
While handy indeed as a planner, Drives of a Lifetime doubles as a full-color gift book with more than 200 dazzling, large-format photos and crisp, evocative text that will enchant armchair travelers. The book immerses you in the unique appeal and beauty of hundreds of inviting locales.
 
Sample entries include the road to the spectacular ancient ruins in and around Angkor Wat in Cambodia; the Natchez Trace Parkway, along an ancient Native American trail through Mississippi; the scenic old coastal route from Dublin to Wexford in Ireland; an off-road dune drive in Dubai; the famous ocean views along the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, Canada; the Winelands Route through South Africa's Western Cape; a drive among the incredible land formations in South Dakota's Badlands; and an archaeological tour through Syria. In addition, you'll find several fun Top Ten lists: skyscraping drives, Mediterranean island roads, African wildlife excursions, and more.
 
Chapters organized by theme include Ultimate Road Trips, featuring famous drives such as Highway One down the California coast; Over Hill and Mountains; By Sea and Shore; The Road Less Traveled, highlighting unpaved and untamed routes and safaris; Village Byways through some of the world's most picturesque hamlets; and Historic Trails, tracing the paths of history's great builders and explorers.
 
Whether you travel these storied routes by car or through the pages of the book–countless wonders await your discovery in
Drives of a Lifetime.

Editorial Review

From Drives of a Lifetime
Click on the images below to open larger versions.

INDIANA | The short drive across northern Indiana’s Amish country features well-groomed farms and quaint villages. An Amish store in Shipshewana sells a colorful array of goods. (Philip Scalia/Alamy, p. 185)	MASSACHUSETTS | The restored 18th-century Hartwell Tavern stands on Battle Road, where the Colonists fought the British. (Brian Jannsen/Alamy, p. 241)	MICHIGAN | At Point Iroquois Lighthouse near Monocle Lake, you can tour the small museum and climb the tower for views of Lake Superior. (Mike Briner/Alamy, p. 67).	IRELAND | The road around Lough Corrib runs some distance from its shore, but takes drivers through dramatic moorland and mountain landscapes. (Art Kowalsky/Alamy, p. 94)

ALASKA | Turnagain Arm, part of Alaska’s Cook Inlet, is surrounded by forested and snowcapped mountains. (Julie Buehler/Shutterstock, p. 124)	ARIZONA | The spires of Cathedral Rock rise high above the desert, glowing red as they catch the sun. (Stockage/Dreamstime.com, p. 128)	JAMAICA | Small fishing boats bring an extra splash of color to an iridescent river near Ocho Rios in Jamaica. (Bill Bachmann/Alamy, p. 255)	VIETNAM | Brilliant flags line the Hien Luong Bridge over the Ben Hai River, a memorial to Vietnamese leader Ho Chi Minh. (David R. Frazier Photolibrary, Inc./Alamy, p. 259)