Take the Wheel and See the World with Cheapflight.com's Top Road Trip Destinations

Boston, MA – July 27, 2011 – There’s something about hitting the road that makes travel come alive, especially when the drive is through some of the world’s most scenic roadways and locales. To help travelers plan the ultimate road trip, Cheapflights.com, the online leader in publishing travel deals, offers its choice of the best destinations for exploring by car. Our Top Road Trips Worldwide highlights the best of the best for ambling by car - whether it’s stopping to taste wine at vineyards in New Zealand or to pitch a tent in Alberta’s Banff National Park.

Road tripping empowers you as a traveler with the flexibility to route – and re-route – your itinerary at any time. Whether traveling with the family, with a group of friends or with your partner, there’s no better way to discover new cultures, see great sites or navigate an unknown terrain than by car. Below are five of Cheapflights.com’s Top 10 Road Trips Worldwide waiting to be discovered:

Pacific Coast Highway, California, U.S. - There’s no better vantage point for spectacular views of the Pacific than from California’s Pacific Coast Highway. Start your drive in sunny Los Angeles and, after dipping your toes in the waves at Malibu’s highfalutin beaches, point your car due north – well, nearly – to San Francisco. Stop in coastal towns like Santa Barbara and Monterey, or wherever you feel like pulling off. The absolute must-see is Big Sur. Situated roughly 150 miles south of San Francisco, the cluster of seaside national parks offers wonderful options – camping, hiking and surfing – for even the hardest-to-please adventure travelers.

Provence, France - Wine lovers, art lovers, food lovers – heck, even lavender lovers – love Provence. From Paris, take a train to Avignon – there, visit the Papal Palace and grab a chèvre chaud salad al fresco – before renting a car and touring the back roads of a region that astonishingly resembles works by Monet. Drive between Montpellier, Salon-de-Provence and Arles, and stop for exquisite wines (the region produces the best rosé in the world) and light fare. Stock up on satchels full of lavender – wonderful souvenirs for friends back home – and shop for antiques among endless fields of sunflowers, lavender and grapes.

Northwest Passage, Oregon, Washington, U.S. and British Columbia, Canada - For the more urban roadtripper, a week-long drive from Portland, Oregon, to Whistler, British Columbia or vice versa, is as good as it gets. Spend a few days in Oregon’s granola capital – leave the car and make a bike your main mode of transport – then zip north to caffeine-filled Seattle. Grab a latte at the original Starbucks, sit down for a seafood lunch at Pike Place Market, say a quick hello to Bill and Melinda, then cross the border to lovely Vancouver. Once your passport’s been stamped, stretch your legs along the seawall, a five-plus-mile path that surrounds Stanley Park, before shopping in Vancouver’s stellar boutiques. Then it’s back to your car for the final, and arguably most beautiful, leg of your drive to Whistler, a charming vacation spot year-round.

Bohemia and Moravia, Czech Republic - Prague alone offers enough reasons to add the Czech Republic to your lifelong list of countries to see, but it’s the city’s surrounding regions – Bohemia to the west and Moravia to the east – that make a rental car worth the investment. Start in the thriving city of “Praha,” as it’s called by Czechs; stroll down cobblestone streets, admire the gothic Týn Church in Old Town Square, and see an opera at Estates Theatre, where Mozart’s Don Giovanni was first performed. After a taste of Czech city living, drive to lesser-known towns like Cesky Krumlov, Milukov, and Olomuoc, which boast medieval charm and beer halls galore.

Seward Highway, Alaska, U.S. - If snow-capped mountains and magnificent fjords seem of interest to you, then fly to Anchorage today for the drive of a lifetime. Alaska’s Seward Highway links Anchorage to Seward via 127 miles of glorious terrain across the Kenai Peninsula, nestled between the Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound. Leave your lens cap in the backseat as you snap shots of ice caps and glaciers while winding your way through Kenai Fjords National Park. Chances are you’ll grab more than a few frame-worthy photos of the area’s wildlife – whales and migratory birds abound.

Rounding out the list of Cheapflights.com’s Top Road Trips Worldwide are the Florida Keys, U.S.; North Island, New Zealand; the Pan American Highway, Central America; the Amalfi Coast, Italy, and the National Parks of Banff and Jasper, Alberta, Canada.