If you like the idea of jumping into a rental car and heading off into the unknown with little more than a fold out map, a cool co-pilot, and buckets full of enthusiasm, then a self-drive holiday might be just the trip you are searching for!

Cost-effective and carefree, a self-drive holiday allows you to explore a foreign country at your own pace, get away from the tourist zones, and head off on the road less travelled in search of your own piece of paradise.

From the US and Australia, to South Africa and Argentina, the possibilities are endless, and now that the Euro Zone has opened its boarders, those wishing to travel around continental Europe can do so with ease.

Despite the ever-increasing fuel prices, self-drive holidays are still an affordable option, and if you take flight, rail, bus and taxi ticket prices into consideration, the overall cost of your trip could possibly work out cheaper than if you travel by different modes of transport.

One of the greatest advantages of a self-drive holiday is that it gives you complete freedom to do as you please. With no fixed plans and no timetables, you get to decide where you spend your precious holiday time, and you may well find hidden treasures dotted throughout the countryside, that one simply would not find on a bus tour.

Our favourite ‘tried and tested’ self-drive holiday routes include Los Angeles to Key West, stretches of Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria, the North and South Islands of New Zealand, and the infamous Garden Route of South Africa – all of which are quite simply breathtaking.

By opting to self-drive you will most definitely see more of the country, meet more locals, and if you are really lucky, you will find one of those tiny village cafe’s filled with home-baked goodies and friendly staff who cannot wait to give you tips and recommendations.

One self-drive route sitting firmly on our bucket list is the Pan American Highway from Alaska to Ushuaia.  A journey stretching some 48,000 Kilometres (29,800 miles) through 23 different countries, this is a trip of a lifetime!

What are your favourite self-drive routes?  We would love to hear from anyone who has travelled the Pan American Highway!