Slovenia is in top 10 Europe’s most road trip friendly destinations
With hopes of travel back on the horizon, KAYAK, the world’s leading travel search engine, has launched its inaugural European Road Trip Index, with Slovenia being among top 10 Europe’s most travel friendly road trip destinations. It also takes 3rd place in the car hire category that considers countries where car hire prices are the lowest and car rental companies have the highest ratings. Last but not least, it earned good scores for attractiveness of the country’s nature and the number of Heritage Sites which are important factors for travellers considering driving vacation.
Making it easier than ever for those hoping to hit the road this summer, KAYAK has analysed 31 countries in Europe and ranked them across six categories: weather, safety and infrastructure, pricing, traffic and sustainability, car hire, and nature and landmarks, to develop the index. Within each category, a total of 17 factors were defined to reach a comprehensive overview of aspects that travellers care about when deciding on a destination for a road trip.
The best countries in Europe for road trips
Portugal landed the coveted No. 1 spot as the best country in Europe for a road trip, scoring well on road quality, abundance of attractive nature and landmarks, and the pricing of car hire. It also scored well in the amount of sunshine per year, and has very little air pollution or road congestion. Spain came in at No.2 for scoring highly in similar categories. While Luxembourg didn’t score as highly on weather, it came in No. 3 due to its amazing nature and landmarks. Reasonable car hire, accommodation and petrol prices plus toll-free roads also make it less expensive to explore.
Slovenia landed in the top 10, among some of the most popular destinations in Europe. It secured its position thanks to good scores across several ranking factors related to pricing and landmarks. Low fuel, parking and car rental prices combined with high rating of natural assets and density of landmarks in relation to the land area, make Slovenia an attractive and yet affordable destination for a car vacation. Last but not least, travellers don’t need to worry too much about being stuck in traffic jams as congestion level in major Slovenian cities is on a low end.
Top 10 list for overall best destinations for road trips are:
- Portugal
- Spain
- Luxembourg
- Germany
- Sweden
- Slovenia
- Finland
- Denmark
- Italy
- Iceland
KAYAK’s Road Trip Index also provides a deep-dive look at which countries came out on top for the individual category rankings. Highlights include:
Car Hire: Slovakia
This category ranks countries based not only on how much it costs to hire a car but also car hire company ratings. Slovakia came in first with a winning combination of the second-cheapest car hire prices coupled with excellent car hire company ratings, followed by Latvia, Slovenia, Romania and Poland.
Nature & landmarks: Switzerland
Comprising two factors that often come to mind when considering a road trip: the attractiveness of the country’s nature and the number of Heritage Sites. Switzerland takes the prize here with its majestic mountains, lakes and forests, but it also has the third-most Heritage Sites in Europe in relation to its land mass. Luxembourg takes the second spot, followed by Austria, Portugal and Slovenia.
Best Weather: Spain
Low precipitation and many hours of sunshine makes Spain the No.1 country for a sunny road trip. Greece comes in at the No.2, followed by Portugal and Turkey.
Best for Safety & infrastructure: Switzerland
The countries that scored well in this category have fewer car accidents and good road conditions. Switzerland took first place, with other top ranking countries in the category including the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, and Sweden.
Best Pricing: Ukraine
This category ranks the countries based on petrol, accommodation and parking prices and its road toll policies. Ukraine came in first place with Lithuania, Russia, Poland and Romania rounding up the top five.
Best for Traffic & sustainability: Netherlands
This category encompasses factors that affect traffic conditions like air pollution, congestion and number of cars per 1,000 inhabitants. It also takes into account the number of EV charging stations for those hiring an eco-friendly car. The Netherlands ranked number one, with Norway coming in at No.2, followed by Finland, Iceland, and Sweden.
To view the Road Trip index and full breakdown of rankings, visit kayak.co.uk/c/road-trip-index
KAYAK also offers a range of tools to help travellers search for their next holiday hassle and worry-free, including flexible search filters and our travel restrictions map that provides real time updates on Covid restrictions and entry requirements of individual countries around the world.
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*All sources have been accessed and data retrieved between 22 February – 10 March 2021. The numbers collected are based on the latest available data. For full details on the Road Trip Index, please view Methodology.
ABOUT KAYAK
KAYAK, part of Booking Holdings (NASDAQ: BKNG), is the world’s leading travel search engine. With billions of queries across our platforms, we help people find their perfect flight, stay, rental car, cruise, or vacation package. We’re also transforming the in-travel experience with our app and new accommodation software. For more information, visit www.KAYAK.co.uk.
