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A road trip is the easiest way to see the countryside of Thailand and Japan: mountain villages, national parks, hot springs and quiet coasts that tours and trains reach slowly or not at all. Each route below starts at an airport or city where you pick up the car, follows a loop through one region and brings you back to where you started.
Road trips in Thailand
Three loops by car, each ending where it starts. More on planning in road trips in Thailand.
The Mae Hong Son Loop by car
The classic road trip of northern Thailand: mountain roads from Chiang Mai to Pai and Mae Hong Son, then south through quiet valleys and over Doi Inthanon, Thailand's highest mountain.
Best time: November to February. Car hire at Chiang Mai Airport from €234 a week.
Andaman coast road trip from Phuket
Beaches, rainforest and limestone islands in one loop: Khao Lak, a night on Cheow Lan Lake in Khao Sok, Ao Nang and Railay near Krabi, and sunrise over Phang Nga Bay.
Best time: November to April. Car hire at Phuket Airport from €234 a week.
Gulf coast road trip with Khao Sok and Koh Samui
Rainforest and islands in one loop: Khao Sok and a night on Cheow Lan Lake, then the car ferry to Koh Samui, the quiet beaches of Khanom and the great temple of Nakhon Si Thammarat.
Best time: January to August. Car hire at Surat Thani Airport from €195 a week.
Road trips in Japan
Five loops by car, each ending where it starts. More on planning in road trips in Japan.
Kyushu road trip from Fukuoka
Volcanoes and hot springs on Japan's southern main island: Nagasaki, the ferry from Shimabara to Kumamoto, the caldera of Mount Aso, the onsen village of Kurokawa and the hot spring towns of Yufuin and Beppu.
Best time: March to May and October to November. Car hire at Fukuoka Airport from €489 a week.
Japanese Alps road trip from Nagoya
Thatched villages, old towns and mountain roads: Gujo Hachiman, Shirakawa-go and Takayama, over the Alps to Matsumoto Castle, and back along the Nakasendo through Narai, Tsumago and Magome.
Best time: April to May and October to November. Car hire in Nagoya from €548 a week.
Hokkaido road trip from New Chitose Airport
Lakes, volcanoes and flower fields in Japan's open north: hot springs at Noboribetsu, Lake Toya and Niseko, the canal of Otaru, the lavender of Furano and Biei, and the gorge of Sounkyo.
Best time: June to September. Car hire at New Chitose Airport from €548 a week.
Fuji, Hakone and Izu road trip from Tokyo
A short loop from Tokyo: the Great Buddha of Kamakura, a night in the hot springs of Hakone, the coast of the Izu Peninsula and the classic view of Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchiko.
Best time: November to April. Car hire at Haneda Airport from €461 a week.
Shimanami Kaido and Shikoku road trip from Hiroshima
Island-hopping by car across the Seto Inland Sea: the old towns of Takehara and Onomichi, the bridges and temples of the Shimanami Kaido, the castle and hot springs of Matsuyama, and the car ferry back to Hiroshima.
Best time: March to May and October to November. Car hire in Hiroshima from €548 a week.
How the road trips work
One region per trip
Each route covers one region, not a whole country. In Thailand you fly between regions; in Japan the shinkansen is the quickest way. Pick up the car where the road trip starts and travel on once you have returned it.
Return the car where you picked it up
Every route is a loop. You collect the car, drive the route and return it at the same place, so no one-way fee applies.
Short days at the wheel
The routes run from 340 to 775 km in four to eight days, between about 70 and 120 km a day on average. That leaves time for viewpoints, temples, hot springs and a swim. Each route page shows the drive for every day.
Thailand or Japan?
The seasons decide a lot. In Thailand, the north and the Andaman coast are best from November, and the Gulf coast with Koh Samui from January to August. Japan is at its best in spring and autumn, Hokkaido in summer, when the lavender is in flower. The best time for each route is on its card above.
Frequently asked questions
Which road trip is the shortest?
Fuji, Hakone and Izu from Tokyo Haneda Airport: four days and about 480 km. In Thailand, the Mae Hong Son Loop and the Gulf coast with Koh Samui each take seven days.
Can I take a hire car on a ferry?
Yes, in Thailand and in Japan the rental conditions permit ferry crossings; you pay the fare at the port. The Gulf coast route uses the car ferry to Koh Samui, the Kyushu route the ferry from Shimabara to Kumamoto and the Shimanami Kaido route the ferry from Matsuyama to Hiroshima.
Which driving licence do I need?
In Thailand, your own licence plus an International Driving Permit. In Japan, your own licence plus an International Driving Permit under the 1949 Geneva Convention, or, for licences from Belgium, France, Germany, Monaco, Switzerland and Taiwan, an official Japanese translation from JAF.
Do the prices include insurance?
Yes. The prices on each route are for the car you pick up and return at the start, fully insured with everything included.