The 7 Best Winter Road Trips Around the World

Picture this: scenic snowy mountain passes, deep green evergreen forests, quaint Christmas markets, gorgeous snow-capped hilltops and everything wintery you can think of. All from the comfort of a warm and spacious car. Road tripping does not have to be restricted to the summer – as the temperatures plummet and the snow begins to fall, there are some places which are transformed into winter paradises – and the best way to see them is by car. Here are the 7 best winter road trips around the world.

Why Take a Road Trip This Winter?

1. The Romantic Road – Germany

Found in southern Germany, this 300km route is one of the best winter road trips in the world.

If you’re all about fairytale castles, deep, snowy forests, beautiful mountainous passes and more, then you’ll want to drive along the Romantic Road for sure.

Starting in Würzburg, the route takes you through countless Alpine-style and Bavarian villages, before ending in the small town of Füssen, on the Germany-Switzerland border.

Throughout the trip, you’ll have a chance to stop off in these traditional Alpine villages, with medieval-style taverns dusted in snow serving up traditional German food and beer and a warm welcome to any visitors.

Before your road trip ends, you’ll be greeted with a stunning view of Zugspitze, which is Germany’s highest mountain, before culminating in Füssen, with views of the gloriously magnificent Swiss Alps as your backdrop. This truly feels like you’re in a winter wonderland.

2. Lake Michigan – USA

This 1,500km route around Lake Michigan is not for the faint-hearted, but it is easily one of the most rewarding winter road trips on Earth.

Encompassing four states – Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin – this road trip takes you around the perimeter of Lake Michigan, the largest lake located entirely in the United States.

Starting on the eight-kilometre-long Mackinac Bridge, which connects the Northern Michigan Peninsula to the Southern Peninsula, you will follow the lake all the way around, passing through major cities including Chicago and Milwaukee, as well as smaller towns and villages, before ending back at the Mackinac Bridge.

There are plenty of hotels and eateries along the route, but the most important sight is the mighty Lake Michigan, which will be in view throughout your entire journey.

Snowy towns and cities will welcome you at night time (even better when they’re all lit up for Christmas), while peaceful stretches of lakeside roads make for the perfect place to stop and grab something to eat and take some stunning photos.

This is the perfect road trip for keen drivers, as well as those who like to experience nature, but still be close enough to a town or city where you can book a hotel room for a night.

3. The Ring Road – Iceland

This 1,300km route encompasses the majority of the country, making it the perfect road on which to explore all of Iceland’s major and lesser-known attractions.

The route will take approximately a week, and a Four Wheel Drive vehicle is essential for this road trip, due to the tricky conditions that you will experience along the way.

The majority of the route is a paved two-lane highway, but there are several stretches which require you to navigate your way through gravel tracks, which can be especially precarious when covered with a thin layer of sheet ice.

The sights you will see on this road trip make the tricky driving all worth it, though: everything from icy-blue glaciers, natural hot springs, volcanoes, incredible geological rock formations, black sand beaches and more – this is truly a nature lover’s paradise.

Despite being Iceland’s main road system, the majority of he route will be quiet – there are only around 360,000 people who live in the country, and most tourists stick to Reykjavik, so you can expect a largely peaceful and quiet road trip, especially in the winter months.

4. Icefields Parkway – Canada

Found between Lake Louise and Jasper, Alberta, this 227km route takes drivers through some of Canada’s most scenic mountain passes – making it perfect for a winter road trip.

This route takes you along Canada’s Highway 93 through the heart of the Canadian Rockies, so despite being a mountainous road trip in Canada in winter, the roads are famous for being kept open year-round thanks to constant maintenance and huge snowploughs keeping them free of heavy snow.

The journey will make you feel like you’ve stepped right into a Bob Ross painting, with snow-capped mountain peaks on one side and gorgeous blue lakes on the other, all the while, deep, green pine forests are dotted all around below you.

Before you arrive at Lake Louise, take the opportunity to stop off at some other areas of incredible natural beauty, such as Sunwapta Falls, Parker Ridge and the Saskatchewan River Crossing for photo opportunities and just to sit there and take in the incredible beauty that Canada has to offer the world.

Snowy conditions make this journey even more enjoyable, and you really get the feeling that you’re in a winter wonderland. 

5. Transylvania – Romania

Transylvania, in central Romania, is the perfect place for a winter road trip. Start your journey in the Fagaras Mountains, and follow the pass south. The route is only 136km, but you can easily make a couple of days of it, because the snow on the roads will naturally slow you down.

While passing through Fagaras, make sure to stop at Cascada Balea, a beautiful natural waterfall, before carrying on to Poiana Brasov ski resort. This is a great place to stop if you’re an avid skier, or simply just to soak up the atmosphere and stay in a cosy ski lodge in rural Romania.

You will also pass Peles Castle on the way – the 160-room palace, which was once the residential home of the Kings of Romania – before ending your route at the famous Bran’s Castle.

This castle is sometimes known as ‘Dracula’s Castle’, and it’s easy to see why – it is also thought to have been home to the infamous Romanian ruler, Vlad III – better known as Vlad the Impaler. Brave a tour of this castle if you dare!

This is one of the best ways to see the natural beauty of rural Romania and appreciate the terrain that you’re driving on.

6. Issyk-Kul Lake – Kyrgyzstan

Found in the remote grassy steppes of Central Asia, Kyrgyzstan is a country filled with natural beauty that often gets overlooked for visiting, largely due to its remote location.

For the ultimate winter road trip, a visit to the Issyk-Kul Lake is a must, and a road trip around the perimeter of the lake is a truly wonderful winter experience.

The route is around 600km in length, but you’re rewarded with some of the most incredible scenery in one of the few largely untouched areas of the planet.

Interestingly, while temperatures are known to drop as low as -15℃, the lake is a saline lake, so it rarely freezes over.

The beautiful views of the lake will accompany you throughout your journey, while you’ll also pass the Tian Shan Mountain range when you reach the northern shores of the lake, which provide a natural border between Kyrgyzstan and China to the east and Kazakhstan to the north, and these mountains are home to one of the rarest and most elusive big cats on Earth – the snow leopard.

While your chance of seeing a snow leopard is very slim, it’s a great chance to stop along the route and bring your binoculars with you, as you might just get lucky.

You can end your route at one of the lakeside towns where you started, or you can carry on an extra 200km to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, where you can incorporate a city break into your road trip adventure.

7. Chamonix to Montreux – France and Switzerland

Despite being just 86km in length, this road trip is great for those who want to tick off two countries in one trip: France and Switzerland.

Starting in the French Alpine town of Chamonix, at the base of Mont Blanc – Europe’s highest mountain – the trip takes you across the Swiss border and past Geneva, and onto Montreux, once the home of the legendary Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury.

This route showcases the very best of the Alps – snow-covered mountains, small Alpine villages, winding mountain passes and, best of all, the stunning Lake Geneva, which will be on your right-hand side for the majority of the trip.

Stopping in Geneva is a good idea to explore the city, and the drive from Geneva to Montreux – especially in the winter – is one of the most scenic anywhere on the planet.

This is a fantastic trip for snow enthusiasts during the winter months, as the snowy peaks of the Swiss Alps, once over the border, provide the ultimate backdrop, but it’s Christmas time when this road trip really comes alive.

Montreux Christmas Markets are known to be some of the best in the world, and with the shores of Lake Geneva metres away from the market stalls and the snow-capped Alps in the background, what’s not to love about this road trip?

This is easily one of the most scenic and best winter road trips anywhere in the world.