The Burrow
Jul 29, 2024
If your preferred type of holiday is being on the move, then a road trip is a great way to see and experience all the nooks and crannies of a new country. However, driving overseas can have its own set of challenges, such as different rules, dangerous roads and even having to drive on the other side than you’re used to.
According to WHO, an average 1.19 million people lose their lives on roads every year, with another 20 to 50 million being injured.1
Compare the Market’s car insurance comparison experts have created an index ranking 25 different countries to see the best and worst places for driving abroad. The ranking looked at safety, costs and search interest across six different factors – cost of car hire, congestion levels, road fatality rates, petrol costs, road quality and road trip search volumes.
Ready to start planning your next road trip? Let’s see which countries come out on top.
Before taking off on your next road trip, let’s take a look at what countries come out on top of our driving abroad index.
At the top of the ranking for best countries for driving abroad is Australia.
Australia isn’t at the top for any of the individual ranking factors but still had fairly high scores across the board. It had the sixth highest search volume for road trips per month at 1,300, and a high road quality of 5.87/7.
The cost of a one-week car hire was AU$347.12. On top of that, Australia also had the second lowest average fuel price at AU$1.72 per litre, and the second lowest congestion levels, with the average time to drive 10km in the capital city 16.6 minutes. From the stunning Legendary Pacific Coast drive between Sydney and Brisbane, or the Red Centre Way through the Australian outback, it’s easy to see why this country is ideal for road trips.
Placing second on the best places to drive abroad index is Spain.
What makes this Mediterranean country stand out is the cost of car hire, costing only AU$74.03 for a week, which is the cheapest of any country on the list. Spain also proved itself to be a safe country to road trip, with a road quality score of 5.63/7 and having only 3.5 road accident deaths per 100,000 people.
Sweden ranks as the third best country for driving abroad in. The safety of Swedish roads helped it land a spot in the top three, having the second lowest number of road accidents at 2.1 deaths per 100,000 people, and the fifth best congestion levels, with drivers taking an estimated 20.8 minutes to drive 10km in the Swedish capital.
Add on Sweden’s fantastic food and stunning landscapes, it’s no wonder it’s a great destination for your next road trip.
Portugal is the fourth best country for taking a road trip abroad, according to our study.
With the fourth cheapest rental car costs, at AU$182.59, a road quality score of 6.05/7 (the third highest in the index), and high interest with an average 1,100 searches for “Portugal road trip” a month, it’s no surprise Portugal lands so high on the list.
Fuel costs a little more in this country, at AU$3.12 per litre. Luckily, it’s a little more compact than some other countries on our list, so don’t let that stop you from exploring the stunning beaches in the Western Algarve region or venturing inland for wine tastings in Douro Valley.
Switzerland rounds out the top five of the best countries to drive abroad on holiday.
This European country stands out as having the top score for two factors on our index; they have the best road quality at 6.36/7 and the best congestion levels with 14.2 minutes to drive 10km in the capital.
While Switzerland has excellent road-tripping potential with gorgeous peaks and stunning valleys, it’s the cost of travel that keeps it from ranking higher. Renting a car for a week will set you back AU$608.65, combined with having the fifth highest petrol prices at AU$3.26 per litre, making it the most expensive for driving in our top five.
Canada narrowly misses out on the top five with petrol prices of AU$1.91 per litre and an average road trip search volume of 1,700 searches for ‘Canada road trip’ per month, one of the highest in the ranking.
The USA had the cheapest fuel at AU$1.58/L, but the worst score for rental car costs, with drivers paying a steep AU$737.02 for a week’s rental, and the highest rate of road accident fatalities at14.2 deaths per 100,000 people.
Norway was in eighth place with the lowest road deaths at 1.5 per 100,000 and Croatia placed ninth with a relatively low cost of a car rental (AU$241.84) but low search road trip volume with only 700 searches a month. The Republic of Ireland lands in tenth place, with the highest search volume – an average of 2,800 searches a month, but the highest congestion levels, with a 10km route taking an estimated 34.5 minutes.
While it’s always important to drive carefully on the roads, here are the countries at the bottom of our ranking that may require a little extra care.
According to Compare the Market’s study, the worst place to drive abroad in is Hungary. The country draws in the lowest interest in road tripping, with only 60 searches on average per month. It also has the third lowest road quality in the ranking, scoring 3.89/7, and the third highest costs for renting a car at AU$654.79.
Despite being low in the rankings, destinations like Lake Balaton, the Egerszalok thermal baths and the baroque architecture of the cities make this country still well worth visiting.
Belgium ties with Romania for the spot of second worst country for driving overseas, according to our index.
Belgium has the third worst congestion levels (the highest in the worst five), taking a shocking 32.4 minutes to drive 10km in the capital, making it less than ideal for road trips. Though their road fatality rates were fairly mild at 4.6 deaths per 100,000 people, the road quality score had room for improvement coming in at 4.39/7.
On the other hand, Romania is the fifth cheapest country for hiring a rental car, with a week’s rental only costing AU$192.49. However, this is offset by having the lowest road quality score at only 2.96/7, making this road trip a little riskier than some other destinations in our ranking. But for those who do make the trip, medieval castles, old-fashioned villages and awe-inspiring mountain passes await you.
Coming in as the fourth worst place to drive abroad is Greece. The country didn’t rank the worst for any individual factor but scored fairly lowly across the board.
Greece has a relatively low road quality at 4.73/7, a higher-than-average death toll from road accidents at 7.3 deaths per 100,000 people, and the fourth highest congestion levels at 31.6 minutes, showing Greece has room to grow in its overall road safety.
Despite this, it remains a popular holiday destination for thousands of tourists each year.
Finland places fifth from the bottom on the driving abroad index.
Finland has the third most expensive petrol prices, costing drivers an estimated AU$3.54 per litre, and a relatively low search interest with an average of 250 searches per month.
However, it’s the safest country in the bottom five to drive in, with a road quality score of 5.26/7, and a road fatality average of 4.2 per 100,000 people.
In 13th place, the United Kingdom holds the title for the highest congestion levels at 36.4 minutes per 10km.
Denmark also stands out for having the highest petrol prices per litre at AUD$3.75, making filling up your rental car a costly experience.
| Rank | Country | Cost of Car Hire (AUD) | Congestion Levels (Avg minutes to drive 10 km) | Road Accidents (Deaths per 100k) | Petrol Prices (AUD per Litre) | Road Trip Search Volume (monthly) | Road Quality | Index Score |
| 1 | Australia | $347.12 | 16.6 | 4.5 | $1.72 | 1,300 | 4.77 | 72.23 |
| 2 | Spain | $74.03 | 30.0 | 3.5 | $2.51 | 700 | 5.63 | 68.07 |
| 3 | Sweden | $603.72 | 20.8 | 2.1 | $2.20 | 400 | 5.57 | 67.37 |
| 4 | Portugal | $182.59 | 24.4 | 7.2 | $3.12 | 1,100 | 6.05 | 63.88 |
| 5 | Switzerland | $608.65 | 14.2 | 2.4 | $3.26 | 700 | 6.36 | 63.20 |
| 6 | Canada | $511.63 | 28.6 | 4.7 | $1.91 | 1,700 | 5.21 | 59.05 |
| 7 | United States | $737.02 | 19.3 | 14.2 | $1.58 | 1,400 | 5.87 | 59.02 |
| 8 | Norway | $677.75 | 19.6 | 1.5 | $3.07 | 1,700 | 4.55 | 58.33 |
| 9 | Croatia | $241.84 | 27.0 | 8.1 | $2.65 | 700 | 5.49 | 54.88 |
| 10 | Republic of Ireland | $264.86 | 34.5 | 2.8 | $2.89 | 2,800 | 4.48 | 54.18 |
| 11 | Netherlands | $362.57 | 26.4 | 3.4 | $3.63 | 300 | 6.18 | 53.48 |
| 12 | Poland | $133.26 | 24.4 | 6.5 | $2.28 | 150 | 4.14 | 53.48 |
| 13 | United Kingdom | $361.92 | 36.4 | 2.4 | $2.88 | 900 | 5.17 | 52.08 |
| 14 | Austria | $472.12 | 30.6 | 4.6 | $2.78 | 450 | 5.89 | 50.00 |
| 15 | Denmark | $447.49 | 27.5 | 2.3 | $3.75 | 300 | 5.55 | 47.22 |
| 16 | Czech Republic | $236.90 | 24.6 | 5.2 | $2.63 | 60 | 3.95 | 44.47 |
| 17 | France | $651.47 | 30.0 | 4.7 | $3.07 | 700 | 5.96 | 43.77 |
| 18 | Italy | $440.86 | 30.8 | 5 | $3.04 | 1,600 | 4.39 | 41.68 |
| 19 | Germany | $610.34 | 29.0 | 3.3 | $3.31 | 450 | 5.46 | 41.67 |
| 20 | Serbia | $179.32 | 27.0 | 7.4 | $2.73 | 70 | 3.43 | 40.97 |
| 21 | Finland | $491.91 | 29.0 | 4.2 | $3.54 | 250 | 5.26 | 36.12 |
| 22 | Greece | $233.62 | 31.6 | 7.3 | $3.16 | 250 | 4.73 | 32.67 |
| 23 | Belgium | $429.40 | 32.8 | 4.6 | $2.92 | 100 | 4.39 | 31.27 |
| 24 | Romania | $192.49 | 32.4 | 9.6 | $2.75 | 300 | 2.96 | 31.27 |
| 25 | Hungary | $654.79 | 28.4 | 7.4 | $2.66 | 60 | 3.89 | 25.02 |
Sorting out your rental car before your big trip is one thing, but what about your car left back home?
Even if it’s not being driven, it’s still important to maintain a car insurance policy, notes Chief Executive of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor.
“Car insurance does more than just protect your car on the road. Even parked, having cover can be important in case of fire, theft or potential damage (particularly if you park your car on the road instead of in a garage).
“If you’re travelling for a while and looking to reduce your premium, options such as a low kilometre policies, or switching from Comprehensive cover to Third Party Fire and Theft could be worth considering.”
Read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to understand what is and isn’t included in your policy, and the Target Market Determination (TMD) to ensure your policy is right for you.
This dataset ranks 25 different countries, based on how good they are for driving in. This was done by compiling the data for 6 factors. Once collected, the data was normalised to provide each factor with a score between 0 and 1. If data was not available, an average score based on the available data from the other countries was given. The normalised values were then summed, to give each destination a total score out of 100. The locations were then ranked from highest to lowest, based on their total scores.
The factors used are as follows:
Sources:
All data is correct as of 13/07/26. The ranking data shown is a compilation of multiple data sources and may not be representative of real life. All data is accurate with regards to the sources provided. Exchange rate used: 1.00 EUR = 1.65 AUD.
Additional sources:
Interested in the previous version of this data? Read here.