Four American roadtrips

The Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. Photo / Getty Images

"If the United States interests you, stay off the interstates," wrote American journalist Charles Kuralt, " or you'll never see anything or meet anyone." His great tip inspired our list of four top US roadtrips.

1 Pacific Coast Highway, Big Sur

This famous-on-TV winding ocean front road stretches for more than 1000km along the California coast, from the northern town of Leggett to Orange County in the south. Bigger cities worth a stop include San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles, but don't bypass smallertowns and sites on the road, like Hearst Castle at San Simeon.

2 Route 66

Where else would you get your kicks? Created in 1926 as one of America's first numbered highways, Route 66 originally stretched from Chicago to California.

While the road no longer exists in its complete form, it's possible to trace much ofthe classic route including Springfield, Illinois, where – no, not Homer Simpson – but Abe Lincoln started his career, the mighty Mississippi, Great Plains of Oklahoma and Arizona's 50,000-year-old Meteor Crater.

3 Florida Keys

Almost 200km, the route from Miami to Key West skirts the Everglades and takes the Ocean Highway–the Gulf of Mexico on the right and the Atlantic on the left. Only a fewhours' drive, there's time to stop for seafood or sea life, like the Coral Reef State Park, or Dolphin Research Center. In KeyWest, visit ErnestHemingwayHouse, devour Key Lime pie, and dip your toe in thewaters closest to Cuba – albeit 150km away.

4 Blue Ridge Parkway

Deep in the heart of Dixie, this relaxing trip runs from Richmond, Virginia, down to Asheville, North Carolina, along ridgelines and historic towns and straight down the spine of the central Appalachians. Enjoy a slow-paced drive overrolling hills and gentle mountains. Best time for this 760km journey? Nature's paint-palette seasons— summer and autumn.