While drivers focus on navigating hairpin turns and monitoring oncoming traffic, passengers enjoy the luxury of full immersion in the surrounding landscape. Certain routes offer such spectacular vistas and ongoing visual drama that they deserve to be experienced from the passenger seat, where uninterrupted gazing becomes possible.
Here is a list of 16 journeys across the globe where riding shotgun provides distinct advantages—routes where being freed from driving responsibilities allows for the full absorption of world-class scenery.
Going-to-the-Sun Road, Montana
Traversing Glacier National Park’s most dramatic terrain, this engineering marvel requires such driver attention that passengers clearly get a better experience. The road clings to mountainsides where sheer drop-offs occur just inches from the pavement, creating views that passengers can safely admire while drivers must maintain an unwavering focus on the narrow lanes.
The western ascent provides particularly dramatic moments where the road seems carved directly into vertical rock faces, with waterfalls occasionally spilling across the pavement during spring thaws. Wildlife sightings—including mountain goats and the occasional bear—typically occur on the passenger side, where meadows meet forests along higher elevations.
Chapman’s Peak Drive, South Africa
Hugging the cliffs between Noordhoek and Hout Bay near Cape Town, this toll road delivers 114 curves along its relatively short 9-kilometer length. Passengers enjoy uninterrupted views of the Atlantic Ocean crashing against rocks hundreds of feet below while drivers navigate hairpin turns with limited guardrail protection.
The road’s western orientation makes late afternoon drives particularly rewarding for passengers, as golden hour light transforms the sandstone cliffs into glowing orange backdrops against the deep blue ocean. The frequent pullouts intended for photo opportunities often remain unused by drivers who—once committed to the challenging route—prefer maintaining momentum rather than attempting difficult parking maneuvers on the cliff edge.
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Amalfi Coast Road, Italy
This legendary coastal route between Sorrento and Salerno demands constant vigilance from drivers navigating narrow lanes often shared with buses and scooters around blind corners. Passengers, meanwhile, enjoy continuous views of Mediterranean blues meeting vertical limestone cliffs where improbable villages cling to mountainsides.
The elevation changes provide constantly shifting perspectives, with bird’s-eye views into fishing harbors alternating with passages through lemon groves and historic town centers. The passenger-side windows frame perfect vignettes of pastel buildings, ancient watchtowers, and terraced vineyards that seem impossibly constructed on such challenging terrain.
Pacific Coast Highway at Big Sur, California
The most dramatic section of California’s coastal route features engineering marvels like the Bixby Bridge spanning deep canyons where mountains meet the ocean with almost no transitional flatland. Drivers must maintain constant awareness of the winding route, often without shoulders or guardrails, despite significant drop-offs to rock-strewn beaches below.
Passengers enjoy unimpeded views of crashing surf, migrating whales (in season), and the abrupt meeting of maritime and mountain ecosystems. The passenger perspective proves particularly valuable when passing through frequent fog banks that can transform visibility conditions from clear to limited within seconds, creating atmospheric effects that enhance rather than diminish the visual experience for those not responsible for navigation.
Trollstigen Mountain Road, Norway
Meaning “Troll’s Ladder,” this vertiginous route delivers eleven hairpin turns climbing a 10% grade through western Norway’s most dramatic mountain terrain. While drivers focus on negotiating switchbacks often slick with waterfall mist, passengers enjoy unobstructed views of the Stigfossen waterfall dropping 320 meters alongside the roadway.
The passenger-side windows frame perfectly composed scenes of emerald valleys dotted with traditional red farm buildings that provide scale to the massive surrounding peaks. The road’s design specifically incorporated viewing platforms at the summit for drivers to finally enjoy the panorama, tacitly acknowledging how the passenger experience surpasses the driver’s throughout the actual journey.
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Overseas Highway, Florida Keys
Stretching 113 miles across open water and tiny coral islands, this engineering marvel offers passengers continuous maritime vistas that drivers can only glimpse briefly. The Seven Mile Bridge section creates the sensation of flying just above turquoise waters, where dolphins, rays, and sea turtles often appear visible from passenger windows.
The highway’s east-west orientation makes early morning drives particularly rewarding for passengers on the north side of the vehicle, as golden light illuminates the shallow sandbars and seagrass beds that create the Keys’ distinctive blue-green palette. The occasional passing storms create dramatic lighting conditions that passengers can fully appreciate while drivers maintain focus on potentially slick conditions.
Milford Road, New Zealand
The approach to Milford Sound traverses Fiordland National Park’s most spectacular terrain, including passages through hand-hewn mountain tunnels and alongside mirror lakes reflecting perfect mountain symmetry. Drivers must navigate frequently changing conditions—from sunny straightaways to foggy mountain passes to the steep descent toward the sound itself.
Passengers meanwhile enjoy uninhibited views of alpine meadows, hanging valleys, and temperate rainforests where waterfalls appear around nearly every turn after rainfall. The road’s most dramatic section passes beneath avalanche paths where massive snow sheds protect vehicles—structures that passengers can appreciate fully while drivers concentrate on the narrow passages they create.
Icefields Parkway, Canada
Connecting Banff and Jasper National Parks, this 144-mile route passes through the heart of the Canadian Rockies with views of over 100 glaciers, turquoise lakes, and frequent wildlife. Drivers must maintain vigilance for both animal crossings and the often distracted tourists who stop unpredictably for photographs.
Passengers enjoy the luxury of continuous observation—watching mountain goats navigate seemingly vertical terrain or tracking the movement of glacial ice from valley to valley. The route’s elevation changes create distinct ecosystem transitions visible through passenger windows, from dense pine forests to alpine meadows to stark rocky terrain above the treeline.
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Great Ocean Road, Australia
Constructed by returning soldiers after World War I, this coastal route along Victoria’s dramatic shoreline combines heritage significance with spectacular natural features, including the famous Twelve Apostles limestone formations. Drivers must navigate curves cut directly into cliffs where ocean spray sometimes reaches the roadway during storms.
The passenger-side windows consistently frame the meeting of powerful Southern Ocean waves against the limestone coast, with constantly changing light conditions transforming the scene throughout the day. The road’s direction—when traveled west to east—puts passengers on the ocean side, creating unobstructed views of both coastal features and the occasional southern right whale migrating offshore.
Cabot Trail, Nova Scotia
Looping around the northern portion of Cape Breton Island, this 185-mile circuit combines coastal splendor with highland plateaus reminiscent of Scottish landscapes. The frequent elevation changes and tight curves require driver attention, particularly on sections where the roadway clings to oceanside cliffs with minimal protection barriers.
Passengers enjoy panoramic views across the Gulf of St. Lawrence with opportunities to spot pilot whales and bald eagles that often appear suddenly. The western section—when traveled counterclockwise—positions passengers directly adjacent to oceanside cliffs where the road seems impossibly carved into the rising headlands.
Hana Highway, Maui
The famous “Road to Hana” features over 600 curves and 59 bridges—most single-lane—along just 52 miles of eastern Maui coastline. While drivers navigate constant blind turns and negotiate right-of-way with oncoming traffic on narrow bridges, passengers enjoy uninterrupted views of cascading waterfalls, bamboo forests, and dramatic black-sand beaches.
The passenger experience includes the ability to spot hidden trailheads and swimming pools that drivers often miss while focusing on demanding road conditions. The journey’s length—typically taking three to four hours one-way despite the short distance—creates a moving meditation experience for passengers able to absorb the changing ecosystems without navigational responsibilities.
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Grossglockner High Alpine Road, Austria
Crossing the heart of the Austrian Alps near the country’s highest peak, this toll road combines spectacular mountain scenery with perfectly engineered curves designed to showcase specific vistas. Drivers must navigate 36 challenging switchbacks while managing significant elevation changes that can affect vehicle performance.
Passengers enjoy unobstructed views of snow-capped peaks, alpine meadows filled with wildflowers during summer months, and marmots that frequently appear alongside the roadway. The highway’s design includes specific viewing platforms positioned to frame the most dramatic landscapes—a tacit acknowledgment that even drivers should occasionally stop to enjoy perspectives that passengers experience continuously.
Transfăgărășan Highway, Romania
Made famous globally by Top Gear, this remarkable road traverses the southern Carpathian Mountains through a series of tunnels, viaducts, and switchbacks that represent a triumph of engineering over extremely challenging terrain. Drivers must maintain constant vigilance as the road surface quality varies significantly, with occasional rockfall adding unpredictable hazards.
Passengers enjoy uninterrupted views of deep forests giving way to alpine meadows and, ultimately, the stark rocky landscape surrounding Balea Lake near the summit. The northern descent provides particularly dramatic perspectives where the road appears to zigzag endlessly down the mountainside—a vista best appreciated from the passenger seat rather than through glances from behind the wheel.
Atlantic Ocean Road, Norway
Though just 5.2 miles long, this engineering marvel connects several small islands via eight distinctive bridges that seem to dance across the often-turbulent Norwegian Sea. Drivers must focus on navigating the undulating roadway, particularly during storms when waves occasionally wash across the surface.
Passengers enjoy the constantly changing perspective as the route alternates between island hopping and bridging open water sections where the full force of the North Atlantic creates dramatic wave action against the supporting columns. The road’s rollercoaster-like quality—with bridges deliberately designed to create changing elevations—provides a dynamic visual experience best appreciated without driving responsibilities.
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North Yungas Road, Bolivia
Infamously known as “Death Road,” this route between La Paz and Coroico descends almost 11,800 feet through the Amazon rainforest along a narrow dirt track with vertical drops of up to 2,000 feet—often without guardrails. While the construction of a modern alternative has reduced traffic, the original road remains popular with adventure travelers. Drivers must maintain constant focus on the narrow passage where meeting oncoming vehicles requires careful negotiation of passing space.
Passengers, meanwhile, experience unobstructed views of the dramatic elevation change as cloud forest transitions to tropical jungle, with waterfalls occasionally cascading directly onto the roadway. The passenger perspective provides the full impact of the vertiginous drop-offs that earned the route its ominous nickname.
Wild Atlantic Way’s Slieve League Section, Ireland
Part of Ireland’s 1,600-mile coastal touring route, the approach to Slieve League—home to some of Europe’s highest sea cliffs—creates a particularly dramatic passenger experience. The single-track road clings to the mountainside with passing places requiring careful driver negotiation when encountering oncoming traffic.
Passengers enjoy continuous views of the Atlantic crashing against the base of cliffs nearly 2,000 feet below, with constantly changing light conditions transforming the scene throughout the day. Traditional sheep farming continues on seemingly impossible gradients visible through passenger windows, with free-ranging animals occasionally creating additional navigation challenges that further focus driver attention on the road rather than the surrounding landscape.
The Passenger Advantage
These routes remind us that sometimes the journey truly matters more than the destination—and that the fullest appreciation often comes from the passenger seat, where the uninterrupted visual connection with the landscape becomes possible. The shared experience creates natural roles where drivers derive satisfaction from skillfully navigating challenging terrain while passengers absorb and interpret the visual feast unfolding beyond the windows.
Perhaps that explains why these roads frequently appear on travel bucket lists as experiences to be shared rather than conquered alone—they represent perfect symbiosis between driver capability and passenger appreciation, creating memories that neither could fully form independently.
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