South Africa

South Africa's Western Cape holds a cluster of mountain passes rarely mentioned in the same breath as the Alps, but deserving of the comparison. Chapman's Peak Drive above Cape Town is one of the world's great short coastal drives, cut into a cliff face with the Atlantic directly below, while the Franschhoek Pass climbs out of the winelands through a landscape of vineyards and jagged peaks.

Further along the Garden Route, the Swartberg Pass remains a genuine unsealed mountain crossing, an engineering feat from the 1880s that has barely changed since, and the Panorama Route above the Lowveld adds waterfalls and canyon views to the mix.

Roads are generally in good condition and traffic outside Cape Town itself is light, making this one of the more relaxed countries on this list to plan a self driven trip around.