Best and worst places to drive

We asked those of you who have rented cars and driven in various countries to tell us which cities/countries you have found to be the worst in which to drive. (ITN prints no information about destinations in North America or the Caribbean.) We asked you to explain why you chose that city or country, if there are certain times/days/months in which driving is best avoided there, when (month/year) you were there and if you had any helpful tips for others.

We then asked which cities/countries were an absolute joy in which to drive.

We got a passel of responses, some of which appear below. More will be printed in an upcoming issue. If you have something to add, write to Best & Worst Places to Drive, c/o ITN, 2116 28th St., Sacramento, CA 95818, or e-mail editor@intltravelnews.com (please include the surface-mail address where you receive ITN).

I have driven in just nine European countries, but the winner by far for the best roads, clearest directions, etc., was Sweden. I was last there in July-August ’01 and had previously visited and driven there on a couple other occasions.

Picking up a rental car at Arlanda Airport, Stockholm, was quick and efficient; the rental companies were all together in a building near the main terminal.

All the roads were well maintained, even the country lanes we often took. Most main highways were 2-lane; however, each side had a very wide paved shoulder that could be used as an “extra” lane. It is understood that a slower driver will move over into the shoulder lane to allow a following car to pass.

Headlights are kept on at all times, which makes it easy for a car approaching from the opposite direction to see that a passing situation exists up ahead, and often that driver will just move over into his shoulder lane to give everyone plenty of space.

Drivers were courteous and patient; I did not hear a horn blown in anger during our trip.

In 2001 there were no large SUVs or other van-type vehicles on the road to impair vision.

Gas was not widely available on Sundays. Look for the automated, unattended stations that take bills for a certain amount of fuel. A young couple helped us maneuver this procedure on a Sunday.

We did manage to get hopelessly lost in Malmö trying to find my cousin’s home, but a lady overheard my questioning a postal worker and volunteered to take me to a nearby map store for help!

GRETA SANDBERG
San Diego CA

The best place to drive is Sweden! The roads are excellent and the drivers extremely courteous. On my last trip to Sweden, in 2004, they had converted many of the roads so that there were passing lanes, not just on hills but on flat areas. They did this by erecting simple dividers of tubes and ropes. Everyone then gets a turn at passing — an excellent safety arrangement.

On many roads that are basically two lanes with breakdown lanes, one is expected to pull over and let the car in back pass you. Also, if an oncoming car is passing, you are supposed to pull over so that he or she has plenty of room. My niece commented on our first trip to Sweden that one has to cooperate to drive in that country!

Sweden is never crowded. Rush hour in Stockholm is a piece of cake.

There are good things and bad things about driving in England. The mini-roundabouts really move the traffic along, much better than stop signs. The entrance roads to the motorways are superb; they feed the traffic in two streams. But the motorways do not allow cruising in the middle lane, so there is constant passing in both lanes.

The large roundabouts are also very efficient, once you learn that when you are on the roundabout you own it. Enter only when there is no traffic on your left; do not just “merge in” as we would do.

The worst places to drive are Turkey and India. I think it has something to do with different understandings of common space. I didn’t even cross a road in India without help.

I have also driven in France and Italy. The French seem to feel that they should not pull out to pass until they are about two feet in back of you, and they pull in again about as quickly. The Italians are pretty good except for rush hour in a large city, which can be mayhem.

LOIS SUNDEEN
Bedford, NH

One would think England — that bastion of gentility — would be the easiest, safest and most courteous of all places in which to drive. Let me dispel that myth immediately. Apparently, the Brits have not heard of, nor have they embraced, good old-fashioned traffic lights. Instead, they have a mystifying system called roundabouts.

In and of itself, driving on the left is not a major problem, but when you are introduced to the roundabout in addition to the “wrong side” driving, mayhem ensues!

Just entering the “roundies” is heart-stopping. It’s a continuous stream of autos changing lanes indiscriminately and circling from inside to outside and outside to inside in three lanes from which there is, at times, no reasonable escape or entry!

And, so, the move is to try the outside lane. Oh, no! As you circle, attempting to determine your exit, someone else turns hard in front of you to exit because you have moved into the outer lane too soon for your intended exit. Exactly when you are supposed to be there is a deep dark mystery!

The roundabouts are the English version of the “Whirling Dervish” dance. Reliving this brings beads of perspiration to my forehead along with flashbacks of circling, circling, circling.

CAL PARKER
Upland, CA

I’ve had good experiences driving in Ireland (trips each year for the last three), even though the Irish drive on the left.

The highways are well marked, and if you avoid the “B” roads, you generally have adequate driving lanes. Most “B” roads are adequate, but some are quite narrow.

The roundabouts move traffic along well. When approaching a roundabout, look at the sign that will tell how many exits off the roundabout you’ll pass before reaching the one you want. Yield to traffic already in the roundabout, then proceed into it (staying left, of course). Signal for a left turn as you enter the roundabout only if you’re exiting the first exit, and signal left as you approach your own exit.

Watch the other cars — how they handle entering and exiting and signaling — and you’ll be on to the local custom quickly.

I adjust my side-view mirrors so I can see both edges of my driving lane; this helps me gauge how well I’m doing in staying centered in the lane.

KENT SHAMBLIN
Afton, MN

Two or three years ago we visited Ireland, picking up our rental car at Dublin airport and immediately driving south on the “Ring of Kerry” route. The narrow roads caused us all sorts of hair-raising moments when we encountered buses and trucks.

The main problem was that the roads are virtually enclosed by deceptively soft-looking, green, velvety walls. Alas, those velvety looking mosses and ferns are barely “skin” deep. Get a little too close to the left edge of the road and you lose the left side mirror to the rock wall; a bit too close to the center of the road and your right side mirror becomes a fender ornament on an oncoming truck. One sees quite a few rental cars with a side mirror dangling by a thread.

The truly worst driving experience, however, would be in downtown Dublin. After a brief encounter with Dublin city traffic toward the end of our stay, we made a beeline for the airport, got rid of the car (with both side mirrors intact) and took a taxi back to town for the 4-day remainder of our stay. You could not pay me enough to drive a car in Dublin town! Other than that, Dublin was fantastic; in fact, so was our entire Ireland experience.

At the opposite end of the spectrum of my driving experiences would be New Zealand. Even though traffic there is (as in Ireland) on the “wrong side of the road,” cities like Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch have only moderate traffic density (by California standards) and are easy to negotiate.

Once you’re outside the urban areas, you’re home free. Traffic is light and one only has to look out for the occasional herd of sheep sharing the road with cars.

Oh, yes, there is something else: the Kiwis are, by and large, very considerate drivers, and when you occasionally meet another vehicle on a South Island country road, you always wave greetings to one another.

PETER KLATT
Berkeley, CA

If you can adjust to driving on the left, New Zealand is one of the best countries in the world for an auto trip. The reason? Outside of the cities there are relatively few vehicles on the road.

The scenery on the two main islands is magnificent and is viewed best by car. The native drivers are very courteous, for the most part. For example, during a month’s visit that my wife, Jacqueline, and I made in February ’04, we were tailgated only a few times. And horns are silent by law in the cities.

We did not drive in Auckland, since public transportation is excellent and the street layout is somewhat difficult to fathom. We did drive in Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin with no problems.

We also found Australia to be an enjoyable country for driving, especially outside the cities. Perth, Adelaide and Darwin were no problem. Brisbane was busy and Sydney very difficult for driving.

There are vast areas in the south and west that are great driving experiences, for example the Great Ocean Road between Adelaide and Melbourne.

Driving in the Red Centre around Ayers Rock and in Kakadu National Park in the north was very enjoyable. Just watch out for the road trains (trucks hauling three trailers) on the open road. Some of these drivers are a little aggressive.

On the whole, we like driving in both of these countries very much.

N. DEAN EVANS
Media, PA

Best place to drive: Yangon, Burma (Myanmar). There are so few cars that it is easy to drive.

Worst place to drive: Number 1 is Bangkok! Bangkok! Bangkok! The traffic is horrendous, and one can often walk as fast as a car can go.

Number 2 is Nairobi — maniacal drivers.

NORBERT BROCKMAN
San Antonio, TX

Best place to drive: Morocco. The roads are as good as or better than those in the U.S. in areas of comparable population density. We were there in March ’05.

Worst place to drive: Kenya. The large, deep potholes (seemingly everywhere) are devastating. Combined with insane driving by Kenyans and heavy pollution from vehicles, driving was a negative experience, at best (November ’01).

WILLIAM BREUNINGER
Yarrow Point, WA

Here’s a diary entry from my book “A Year of Sundays” (see ITN May ’05, pg. 2):

“09/23/97. Driving from the Pelion Peninsula, Greece, through Athens to Galatas to take the ferry to the island of Poros. . .

“I’m fighting my inbred seriousness and the judging part of me. After witnessing Greek drivers, it’s clear we Americans are too concerned with etiquette. Obviously, people can break all the rules of traffic law, not to mention civility, and live to drive another day. Why bother with regulations?

“Letting go of standards, I begin to feel the Greek temperament — the rhythm of meandering through life between randomly spaced hazards, the ability to blot out fear and outrage and soar. I sometimes park like the locals, blocking the sidewalk, hanging off into a ditch or a traffic lane or whatever; it’s the only way. But I swear on my oath as a cat father, I will never stoop to double-parking. Rats! There I go getting rigid again. I must surrender to Greek custom to gain an authentic experience.

“A few notes on highways — if the map shows a main highway/freeway, don’t believe it. The ‘Greek National Road?’ Yes, O.K., it is a road. Sometimes it’s even a divided highway. Sometimes it’s a conventional two-lane road — one in each direction — with shoulders. Often it’s under construction, and anything goes then. You needn’t slow down in spite of the posted — and ridiculous — 60-km-per-hour (37-mph) limit.

“Through Athens, the ‘Greek National Road’ picks up and loses lanes, then merges into surface streets. The ‘Greek National Road’ may unexpectedly take a right turn at a signal, with the only warning a sign hidden behind a truck. The sign might be in Roman letters or Greek, capitals or lower case. It’s good to know the name of your destination in all these forms. I combed my brain for remnants of the Greek alphabet from my fraternity days.

“On Greek two-lane roads of sufficient width, it’s customary to drive half in the shoulder and half in your lane. That way, passing cars fit nicely between you and the opposing traffic, as long as the cars coming the other way pull halfway off the road, too, and provided no one is passing on the other side, and provided you don’t come to a bridge or other impediment. I managed a good rate of speed doing as the locals did.

“Some drivers are so accustomed to this technique that they continue to drive with the painted stripe centered under the car even on multilane highways. Is it a machismo thing to hold supremacy over two lanes of concrete? Could they be half blind, squinting at the lines intently like the comic character Mr. McGoo? Whatever reason, it feels damned dangerous watching in the rear-view mirror as a car zooms close. I decided early on that half of my lane is not an unreasonable demand here. I yield it willingly so each maniac can continue his chosen path. . .

“P.S. Marguerite seems happier with my new driving attitude. I’m not so tense and irritable.”

EDWARD D. WEBSTER
Ojai, CA

Wow! In winter 2004 I was in Costa Rica driving up to the Arenal Volcano and it was the worst paved road ever. I was constantly steering left, right and back and forth trying not to lose my car down the next pothole. And this was at night, but I guess the good thing was that made it easier to see oncoming traffic.

DAVID SMITH
Ottawa, Canada

I live in Panama City, Republic of Panama. This is a very colorful, fascinating and modern city with many tourist attractions, but if you rent a car, be aware that the local drivers are very aggressive and the streets are poorly marked. There is a shortage of traffic signals.

Streets are often changed from 2-way to one-way overnight without any signs to notify drivers of the change. It’s very dangerous to turn into what you thought was a 2-way street and see SUVs and 18-wheeler trucks heading straight at you.

There are few pedestrian crossings. When you do encounter one, if you stop to let people cross you may be rear-ended, as it is not a practice to give way to pedestrians here. Pedestrians offer a special hazard as they meander across the streets, weaving in and out of the lines of cars, mixed in with street vendors who walk among the cars selling all sorts of goods.

Asking directions often gets you a puzzled look — and not just because Spanish is the language of Panama but because, often, buildings don’t have numbers and streets don’t have names.

Watch out for traffic bumps (each called a “dead policeman”), even in parking lots; they are used everywhere with the hope of convincing drivers to slow down. Also watch out for missing manhole covers in the middle of some of the main streets.

With more and more cars being imported, traffic congestion is getting worse all the time. If you decide to drive, avoid the morning and evening rush hours, especially from 8 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m.

The streets are poorly lighted for night driving.

There are some new toll roads that you should take whenever possible, particularly when going to and from the airport.

Taxis, which cost $2 or less to go just about anywhere in the city, offer the easiest way to get around. They don’t have meters, so settle the price before entering the taxi.

Best place to drive — I lived in Copenhagen for three years in the ’60s and visit friends there almost every year, last seeing them in 2004. The streets and highways there are well maintained, with excellent lighting for night driving. Buildings, streets and highways have excellent signage.

Drivers were courteous and adhered to traffic regulations, and I found they were very helpful to visitors, providing directions or other assistance. English is spoken everywhere.

When turning, be aware of the bicycle paths parallel to the sidewalks and streets.

Since Denmark is a very expensive place for visitors, renting a car can be expensive. Nevertheless, I consider the whole country of Denmark one of the safest and best places for driving in the world.

WILLIE FRIAR
Balboa-Ancon, Rep. of Panama