Best of
The sea does the scenery, the road still has to deliver. These are the coast roads that manage both.
A coastal drive lives or dies on the corners as much as the view, since a straight road beside a beautiful coastline is still a straight road. This list favours routes with genuine driving character, from Amalfi's stacked hairpins to Antrim's cliff edge single track.
Several of these are also full drive guides on Drivers Atlas with hotel picks and a recommended direction of travel, which matters more on a narrow coast road than almost anywhere else.
The ranking
Italy · Driving score 9.7 / 10
A cliffside ribbon of hairpins clinging above turquoise water and pastel towns, and the coastal drive every other one gets compared with.
United Kingdom · Driving score 9.1 / 10
One of the world's great coast roads, hugging Antrim's cliffs beneath nine dramatic glens.
Spain · Driving score 9.5 / 10
Mallorca's spine road strings together sea cliffs, terraces and mountain villages for seventy five uninterrupted kilometres.
United Kingdom · Driving score 9.4 / 10
A lochside single track in Wester Ross with views straight across to Skye and the Cuillins.
Norway · Driving score 9.3 / 10
A low bridge skips between Norwegian skerries with the open sea breaking either side of the car.
United Kingdom · Driving score 9.1 / 10
A hair raising cliff edge single track on the Antrim coast with views across to the Mull of Kintyre.
Spain · Driving score 9.1 / 10
Whitewashed Andalusian villages and vulture cliffs frame this twisting run above the Costa del Sol.
United States · 145 km · Driving score 8.6 / 10
The Pacific at its most theatrical, cliff curves above the open ocean between Carmel and San Simeon.
Methodology
Coastal roads are scored on the same Drivers Atlas driving score as every other route, so a scenic corniche with tight, technical corners ranks above a wide road with a view but little to do behind the wheel.
FAQ
What is the best coastal drive in Europe?
The Amalfi Coast Road between Sorrento and Vietri sul Mare combines the highest scenery score in our library with a genuinely demanding, hairpin heavy drive.
Is the Amalfi Coast Road difficult to drive?
It is narrow, busy and constantly interrupted by traffic and coaches, so the reward is in precision rather than pace. Driving early or late in the day helps considerably.
Which European coastal drive has the least traffic?
The Causeway Coastal Route in Northern Ireland and the Applecross Coast Road in Scotland both stay quiet outside the height of summer, unlike the more crowded Mediterranean coast roads.