The Ultimate Road Trip Across Continents

By | August 23, 2025

The Ultimate Road Trip Across Continents – Ask your friends what they think of a great road trip and you’ll get great recommendations. The south of France is in transition in summer. Jeep Safari in Africa. Route 66 from Chicago to Los Angeles.

But you can laugh at their shortcuts by responding with the mother of all road trips – the Pan American Expressway (PAH). Traveling from the top of Alaska to the tip of Tierra del Fuego is a tire-testing, jaw-dropping, gas-stripping journey that will impress all your friends. 

The Ultimate Road Trip Across Continents

In 1889, at the First International Conference of the United States, the United States proposed closer communication with its neighbors on the continent by rail. The idea never caught on, but a few years later, in 1923, at the Fifth International Conference in Chile, the Pan-American Avenue was proposed. This time the idea received a more enthusiastic response from the participating countries, but it was not until the Sixth Conference in Cuba in 1928 that the proposal was approved.

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The proposal was for the highway to start in Mexico and run south of Buenos Aires, and US financial support, even though the US is not an official part of PAH. This is it.

Building the PAH was a slow process, with war, money and a lack of government cooperation always providing significant challenges, but it is now possible to travel (more or less) the length of America by car.

First, there is no way. The original and only section of the highway runs from Laredo in northern Mexico to Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, but there are many branches that allow it to cover the entire Arctic to Antarctic distance, about 30,000 miles / 48,000 km in total.

Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, is the starting point if you head north-south. From here, the PAH continues into Canada and several different routes head south into the United States.

Virtual Road Trips

Since the US federal government has declared all interstate highways to be part of the Pan-American Highway, there is some confusion here. On our map, we’ve selected the best north-south routes connecting the main and official PAHs in Mexico, passing through beautiful landscapes, beautiful small towns and famous cities like Los Angeles, Las Vegas and San Diego along the way.

The original Pan-American Highway runs from Laredo, Mexico, across the border from San Antonio, Texas to Mexico City. A special route runs along the west coast of Mexico before joining the main road in Mexico City.

From Mexico, the PAH passes through the Central American capital, except for Tegucigalpa, Honduras (although it passes 60km/100km south each day), to the only section inaccessible by vehicle – the Darien Gap, an area of ​​approximately 50 miles/80km of mountains between Panama and Colombia. and jungles.

Environmental concerns and local opposition are a constant barrier to any road building in the region, meaning the vehicle can only be covered by air and your vehicle can travel separately in a shipping container. Due to the difficult terrain and the presence of dangerous smuggling gangs, it is not recommended to cross the area by bicycle or on foot.

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The PAH crosses western South America through Ecuador (including the capital Quito) and Peru (including the capital Lima) before continuing south through Chile to Turbo, Colombia. Here a branch leads to Quellona, ​​the main road to Argentina and Buenos Aires.

Another branch then goes to Uruguay and north to Brazil, passing through São Paulo on the way to Rio, while at the southernmost point of the PAH head to Patagonia’s mind-blowing natural beauty and the last point of the route, Ushuaia on the island of Tierra del Fuego. , at the bottom of the planet.

Set off in an RV or camper and experience the true beauty of the continental United States. Here are 10 states you’ll want to add to your itinerary. Do you like road rules? They’ve become an American tradition, and we’ve found a great way to visit the continental US in 1 epic road trip. A great travel idea for those who have a lot of time but want to be closer to home.

Personally, I love road rules and hit the road whenever I can, regardless of aviation research: you can like both, right? The point is to travel and see new places, no matter what.

How To Plan A Trip Around The World

Here are maps and details on 2 routes that will allow you to see the following 48 states at once, depending on your travel preferences.

The US is as big as Europe (it’s bigger than Canada by comparison).

So the US has a lot of diversity in terms of landscape, and even culture (though most outsiders don’t realize that).

If you’re aiming to eventually visit every state, either of these 2 routes is a great way to do almost all at once. After this road trip, your 2 remaining states to visit will be Hawaii and Alaska.

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I’d like to visit all 50 states myself (in addition to visiting every country), and I’m not doing too bad with 47 already.

But let’s just say it would be faster to get to 48 at once by this route instead of making dozens of trips.

It was developed by an American Ph.D. Student Randy Olson has done this blog and route optimization scientifically: each stop represents a national park or point of interest.

That way, you’re not just seeing one state, you’re seeing the sights of each state (unfortunately, that was not the case on a 1,200-mile 2-day road trip across the Midwest in North Dakota).

Route 66 Overview (u.s. National Park Service)

However, the route has been optimized to be as efficient as possible to see all 48 states, so you can be sure you won’t waste time.

You can complete this trail in just 9 days if you stop sleeping, but we recommend at least two weeks to fully explore these areas.

If you’re interested in the US, gas is significantly cheaper. You can start from anywhere, this is a continuous loop and passes through many points near the Canadian border.

You can even take a shortcut through Canada from Michigan to Vermont, because the stop in Cleveland is just to keep passportless Americans from crossing the Great White North.

How To (loosely) Plan A Road Trip

Here’s the full list of all 50 landmarks (48 states + Washington, D.C. + a bonus stop in California):

Many of these are often attractive places. I only seem to have seen 14 of them, so maybe I’ll hit the road again later.

If you’re more of a city buff, the map’s author has created a 2nd version that takes you through beautiful cities instead.

It’s a little short, but very effective: it takes you to the “Best City” in each state, according to TripAdvisor.

Best Road Trips In The U.s

But unlike other areas, not all of the lower 48 states will. That’s because no cities in Vermont, West Virginia or North Dakota made the top 400 for the rankings. So if you want to hit all the states at once with this version of the route, plan on doing a few extra laps.

I’ve improved a bit on this list, 31 have already been visited. You can see that I love cities. How about you?

If you’re looking for an excuse to go on a road trip, here it is. Because we always enjoy giving you more bang for your buck, we think you’ll enjoy 48 states instead of just 1 or 2!

Andrew is the founder. Passionate about traveling the world, but also about the travel industry itself as a former management consultant. She shares her experiences to help you save money on travel. As a budget traveler, he loves finding deals and free travel to help him visit all over the world… (currently: 71/193 Countries, 47/50 US States & 9/10 Canadian Provinces). Free Travel by Simon Calder Email us for expert advice and money-saving discounts. Get Simon Calder’s Travel email

Best Road Trips In The Usa To Take This Year

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Road trips allow travelers to access the best of our neighbors while combining different regions into one trip; and by lack of space