Italy's little-known Basilicata region lays claim to two coastlines, one on the Tyrrhenian Sea and one on the Ionian. You can drive between the two directly in around two hours, but the area has a knack for making travellers pause, stop, detour and digress.

From weathering unexpected storms to negotiating cliff-hanging hairpins and exploring Roman ruins a road trip along the Turkish Riviera is full of surprises.

The sun’s out and the coast is calling.

Ben Coombs took a Jaguar XJ6 for a chilling trip across the frozen Baltic Sea, and suggests you to do likewise. Why? Well, why not...

Our first fully electric Detour takes Nik Berg on a shore-hugging tour of Norfolk. Will the battery end up as flat as the landscape?

Baja is a wild ride. From adrenaline sports to natural wonders, easy highways and serious off-road excursions, Ruksana Hussain experiences it all.

You might spend almost as much time on ferries as driving but a road trip to the 15 islands in the Outer Hebrides is like nowhere else in the United Kingdom.

What it lacks in length, the road from Rapallo to Portofino makes up for in sheer glitz, according to Simon Heptinstall.

South Africa’s Coastal Garden Route offers 124 miles of driving pleasure from Mossel Bay to the Storms River, the border between the Western and the Eastern Cape. It’s a drive Elsa Dixon knows like the back of her hand.

It’s all about the sea and what you see on this World Heritage Site drive, says Simon Heptinstall.

Avoid the European coastal clichés and head to Croatia for a seashore drive to savour. Simply sit back and enjoy a fantasy made reality– twisting round sea cliffs with a panorama of islands stretching to the horizon and skirting pine forests hanging above glittering sandy beaches. Expect to cross mountains where you’ll rise high for distant views and then drop down to drive along the water’s edge as the Adriatic Highway twists and turns along the whole length of Croatia’s coast.

Mountain passes, coast roads, volcanoes and desert drives. Say hola to five of the best Detours in Spain.

The road to Maratea on the Meditaterranean coast of Italy is a real rollercoaster ride, says Simon Heptinstall.

Never let the wild Atlantic weather put you off. The west coast of Ireland is wonderful in any season, says Gavin Conway.

The meandrous curves on this circular route will lead you through the fairytale-esque surroundings of Lake Vyrnwy, and the lost village of Llanwddyn that lies beneath its shimmering waters, says Charlotte Vowden.

Spain’s Costa Brava hides one short stretch of sensational old-school road. It’s a glorious sequence of hairy corners, dizzy drops and amazing but distracting views of the Mediterranean hundreds of feet below.

At one turn Cape Breton Island will do a very passable impression of a southern California coastline, at another, you’d swear the west of Scotland has cut loose and floated across the Atlantic, reckons Gavin Conway.

PJ O’Rourke wrote that the fastest car in the world is a hire car. Should you happen to holiday in Crete and take the road from Anopolis to Hora Sfakion, you’ll soon see what he meant.

Australia’s Grand Pacific Drive is one of the most Instagram-friendly routes in the world. Honestly, just spend a few minutes on the planet’s most popular photo-sharing platform and you’ll find thousands of shots of this scenic Sydney adventure.

This tropical paradise erupted from the Pacific ocean in an archipelago of 137 islands. Its abundant nature and wild volcanic topography make for some terrific road trips.