The Journal
Adventures, Guides & Stories
Real guides from real trips — destination breakdowns, packing lists and honest stories from Barbados to Patagonia.
Road Trips
17 posts
road-trips
Driving in New Zealand: Everything You Need to Know
Left-hand drive, one-lane bridges, deceptively long distances between towns — here is everything you need to know before you get behind the wheel in New Zealand.
road-trips
New Zealand Freedom Camping Guide
Freedom camping is one of the best ways to see New Zealand — and one of the most misunderstood by first-time visitors. Here is what it actually means, where it is legal, and how to do it properly.
road-trips
The North Coast 500 and Isle of Skye: A Scotland Road Trip in a Defender
A road trip around Scotland's North Coast 500 and on to the Isle of Skye in a Defender with a rooftop tent — John o' Groats fish and chips, whisky distilleries, Smoo Cave, the Old Man of Storr and Dunvegan Castle.
road-trips
Driving to Torres del Paine — Everything You Need to Know
Most people take the bus to Torres del Paine. We drove — with a three year old, a grandmother and a boot full of camping gear — and the drive itself turned out to be part of the experience.
road-trips
New Zealand South Island Road Trip: Mount Cook to the Catlins
A week through the deep South Island — Milford Sound, Mount Cook, the Nevis Bungy, Dunedin and the wild, largely undiscovered Catlins coastline. The best week of my New Zealand trip.
road-trips
Planning a Trip to Scotland: Scottish Highlands Road Trip
Scotland was a mystery to us until our New Zealand trip fell through and we booked a road trip up to Inverness instead. Here's our full North Coast 500 itinerary, backwards, in a campervan.
road-trips
11 Tips You Must Know Before Driving in Scotland
Ten days, roughly 800 kilometres, a Land Rover Defender with a rooftop tent, and one of the most dramatic road trip routes in the world. Here's everything I learned about driving in Scotland — most of it the hard way.
road-trips
Alaska Highway RV Guide: Whitehorse to Calgary Itinerary
Rugged scenery, freedom camping every day and stunning wildlife at every turn — this is exactly what our Alaska Highway road trip delivered. Here's our full 2-week RV itinerary from Whitehorse to Calgary.
road-trips
First Timer's Guide to RV Rentals: What We Learned in Canada
After our campervan rental in Iceland, we wanted to relive the fun of wild camping in something bigger. This time we rented an RV for the Yukon to Jasper and Banff route — here's everything we learned the hard way.
road-trips
Is Iceland's Blue Lagoon Overrated?
We visited Iceland's Blue Lagoon on the last morning of our 12-day road trip. Spectacular setting, expensive, very busy. Here is our honest verdict — and the alternatives that are genuinely better.
road-trips
From Snæfellsnes to Reykjavik: Iceland's West Coast Road Trip
After the Westfjords we boarded the Ferry Baldur to Snæfellsnes for the final leg of our Iceland road trip — Kirkjufell, Hraunfossar and two days in Reykjavik before the Blue Lagoon and home.
road-trips
Iceland's Westfjords: Hot Spring Hunting
The Westfjords are Iceland's most remote region and the least visited. Not many tourists make it out here — which means extraordinary landscapes, wild hot springs and Dynjandi waterfall almost to yourself.