Winning tip
________________________________________________________________

Road trip
Posted by DemelzaJo

We hired a car in Akureyri in the north of Iceland and headed east, following the coast road back to Reykjavik. Along the way we saw pseudocraters, lava landscapes, boiling mud pots, solfataras, craters filled with turquoise water, canyons, glacier tongues and turf-roofed huts. The variety of waterfalls was breathtaking, from the awesomely powerful Dettifoss to Svartifoss with its distinctive basalt columns. We clambered over the active volcano Krafla, enjoyed the majesty and serenity of the glacier lagoon at Jökulsárlón and walked around the beautiful þingvellier, site of Iceland’s ancient parliament.

Driving through the eastern fjords the sky was different around every corner: rainbows, sunbursts through the clouds, mist curling around mountains. The shifting light and colour of the sky and scenery turned ordinary holiday snaps into something special.

We stayed in cosy guesthouses, eating delicious fish meals and drinking endless coffee. We got used to the potholes in the road, the sound of gravel hitting the car and scrunching under the wheels, and the occasional concern that we had turned down a gravel track that was too much for our little Polo to cope with. By the time we reached the ‘golden circle’ of attractions near Reykjavik, we stood with the hordes of tourists waiting for the impressive Stokkur geysir to erupt, and felt that the most amazing sights were behind us.

We travelled with Discover the World, www.discover-the-world.co.uk
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

Take the Mystical Ruta 40 south through Argentina
Posted by bladeaway

For stunning landscapes of the grandest scale, endless horizons and cobalt skies with racing white clouds, head south through Patagonia on Ruta 40. Cross the vast pampas and steppe staying at occasional welcoming and good value estancias serving succulent Patagonian lamb asado style, and corn free beef, washed down with fine local wine. In the north there are beautiful lakes rivers and forests, even hillsides covered in primeval monkey puzzles, whilst down south are huge creaking glaciers, and vast milky blue lakes. And always just to the west are the snowcapped peaks of the Andes cordillera and its huge icefields. Tread in the footprints of dinosaurs, spot flamingos and condors, hike, boat, ride, fish or climb, and keep heading south to the parks mountains and sea channels of the end of the world and the land of fires.

From Jujuy in the North to the Magellan Straits where it joins Ruta 3 to Ushuaia. El Chalten, and El Calafate in the centre are great bases to explore from, but its the open road thats best.
________________________________________________________________

autodriveaway.com - Car Delivery
Posted by cdouble

A friend and I planned to hire a car to travel from the West to East coast, but were put off by the high cost of hire and the penalties involved when you do not return the car to the same location. We found autodriveaway on the net. They deliver customer's cars across the US. To sign up as a driver takes no time, so long as you're over 23 and have the necessary licences (it took us 30mins to get all paper work sorted at the office - we had called the night before to say we wanted to take one of their cars). Check their website for offices near your starting location, and they list the cars, their destination and when available. You pay a small deposit, and receive the majority of it back on delivery of the car - everything else except fuel is covered. They work out the mileage, then give you an extra 10-15% for excursions, and expect you to travel about 250 miles per day. It does mean some long days at the wheel, but when you consider that we drove from San Francisco to Connecticut (2 hrs by bus from NY) via Las Vegas, Bryce Canyon, Glenwood Springs, Denver, Chicago, Cedar Point and many other fantastic locations in between, for 10 bucks plus fuel... you can't really complain!

www.autodriveaway.com
________________________________________________________________

Road Trip In West Cork
Posted by simonroche

So much less the tourist-clogged path of its neighbouring tour, the Ring of Kerry, the trip from Cork City to Dingle in Kerry, by the south coast road (N25) across the toes of Ireland is an opportunity to dip into unpolished, but majestical Ireland.

Bypassing the standard stops such as Kinsale, pitch up for the night in towns such as Clonakilty (home of Jimi Hendrix's bass player Noel Redding - his guitars hang in De Barra's pub), Rosscarbery (a gem of a town hidden by a causeway and a bypass many years ago) and head past Skibbereen to Cape Clear islands for a day trip.

Along the way gather random information off locals to such places as the most bizarre and hidden archaeological museum in the world near Union Hall, or simply point the car towards to coast and get a little lost.

Continue at your own pace along sheep strewn roads to the Dingle peninsula stopping short for a night or two in tiny Annascaul. There, you can revel in the cosiest bars in the world. Take in the story of the local explorer legend Tom Crean in the South Pole Inn too. Dingle itself then, a gem of Atlantic perfection like a well deserved pint at the end of a journey.

South West of Cork City, right there by the Atlantic ocean.
________________________________________________________________

Dawson City to Tok
Posted by sueleyland

When visiting Canada's Yukon Territory, drive the 111 miles from Dawson City to Tok, Alaska via the wonderfully named Chicken. On this 'Top of the World Highway' as it's called, you will meet maybe 6 or 7 cars an hour. This is an international highway between Canada and the US, yet it's gravel or red sand most of the way, so allow 5 hours or so. The scenery's really top of the world though and at Chicken you'll get free coffee for making it that far!
________________________________________________________________

Check out more of our past readers' tip here and if you want to get involved you can find out more about the competition here