The most scenic route you've ever taken

I've done it twice. I don't know whether the coastal route has since been surfaced, but it wasn't when I did both trips. I wouldn't describe it as scenic though. Sand, sand, more sand and the occasional rig in the Marmul Oil Field area. Adventurous yes, but not scenic.

Without wishing to hijack this thread I‘d agree with you there. We went there three times because we liked the country and the people so much. Scenicwise I‘d stay in the north, though. The Hajar mountain region is breathtaking.

The most memorable trip we ever did with our caravan was to Iceland where we toured once around the island, before the coastal road was completely surfaced. It was a truly amazing holiday that took place soon after an earthquake hit the south. The caravan took a bit of shaking that wrenched the washroom door off its hinges and emptied the contents of a couple of overhead lockers, but we had absolutely fantastic weather which made up for the minor inconveniences. The car needed a respray from all the stone chip damage after our return.

The longest really scenic trip was by motorhome from the most westerly point of Victoria Island in Canada to the most easterly point of Canada near St John's, Newfoundland.

We did it the other way round!  We were lucky enough to spend nearly 8 years in 2 bites in Oman starting in 1997.  Did about 40K kms off road in the first 3 years - so many scenic routes and lots of al fresco camping. However, the route through the Atlas mountains from Fez via Midelt to Todras Gorge in Morocco, which we did in 2018, takes a lot of beating - breathtaking scenery which my photos don't do justice to.

As my OH has done the driving over all these years he complains that he rarely sees the views but tunnels and other driving challenges are quite memorable. 

I would like to throw my parents most recent road trip into this discussion.

Presently they live in Germany and in March of this year, undertook a trip dad has been planning for over a year. A 3 week trip to North Cape (Norwegian: Nordkapp) and back – the furthest north you can travel in Europe.

I would guess quite a few others reading this would love to travel this amazing road trip, but ask ‘where do you start??’ something I've often head when they show their happy snappies.

The only element dad hadn’t really planned for was just how much gas they would get through even when starting with 2 full 11kg gas bottles.

He had expected average temperatures to be much colder – warmest by day -5               by night -19, however they were still able to use their baby BBQ & Cadac, 2 items of the camping world they just can't leave behind.

Their Knaus L!VE I 650 MEG automatic motorhome effortlessly coped with the temperatures, when wild camping every other night they used the gas, when on sites they used their dyson fan - not once did they suffer from the cold, their on board heating system allowed the cold water never to freeze, they always kept a minimum of 3 days food supplies on board - just in case as they say.

Behind the scenes and in keeping with typical German winter driving protocols they had changed their summer alloys for steels and winter tyres, having these inspected when entering Finland by Finnish customs.

Their ‘road trip’ - travelling via northern Germany, took them into Denmark, ferry to Finland, Lapland, Ice hotel, finally up to North Cape (Norwegian: Nordkapp) – then back via Bergen, western fjords, catching the Gothenburg ferry back to North Germany and back home, all in all 7,100km, 20 days away – mission accomplished, as they say.

They say there was no dramas, the further ‘up’ you travelled the less traffic you encountered, except for fellow motorhomes and the odd caravan towed by the 4x4. Driving constantly on compact solid block ice became the normal, which you just forgot about as the days went by. In typical Scandinavian style camping sites were open for business, often having to assist in the digging out of a plot, electrics hanging in the snow was the normal.  Apart from the odd ‘real’ serious snow blizzard, in which you had to stop and on the odd occasion you completely lost the road and had to navigate via the red poles in ‘there really was nothing to it!! 

As they say a serious ‘tick in their bucket list’.

Finally, 'if' there are any fellow crazy travellers for whom this road trip may have wet their appetites and wish for further advice - not a problem, after all driving to sunny places is easy.

I’ve always enjoyed the peacefulness of a gentle drive along the upper Wharfedale river. But unpatriotic though it may be, the journey up to St Guilhem le Desert, leaves Yorkshire in the dust. The prize lying with Saint Guilhem as a destination. Here’s Wiki’s take on it;

Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert is a commune in the Hérault department in the Occitanie region in southern France. Situated in the narrow valley of the Gellone river where it meets the steep-sided gorge of the Hérault River, Saint-Guilhem-le-Désert is essentially a medieval village located on the Chemin de St-Jacques pilgrim route to Santiago de Compostella