BA - The Club - Going in circles: Five epic island drives

Iceland Route 1

There is a brutal beauty to Iceland that is quite unlike anywhere else on earth. On your next trip, bypass the tourist-trickled Golden Circle and explore the wider highlights on a hot lap of Þjóðvegur 1 (National Route 1). For 821 miles the smooth two-lane ring road passes thermal springs, steaming geysers, active volcanoes and eerie, moss-capped lava fields. Iceland has very few trees so driving counter-clockwise out of Reykjavik offers uninterrupted views of black sand beaches, sheer-sided fjords and the wild North Atlantic. While you could drive around its entirety in 24 hours, a minimum of seven days is recommended, allowing you time to pause and appreciate the otherworldly landscapes of this amazing island.
Time: At least a week to do it justice (ten days would be better)
Distance: 821 miles

Discover Jersey Loop

Jersey measures just 45.6 miles square, but an unhurried cruise around its coastline makes it feel much bigger. Part of this illusion is the island’s laidback pace of life. And, as you will discover, it’s hard to get anywhere quickly on the narrow, walled lanes where the national speed limit is just 40mph. Starting from St Helier, Jersey’s handsome capital, embark on a clockwise circuit heading west around the bay towards the pretty fishing harbour of St Aubin. Along the west coast, the spectacular Five Mile Road runs alongside the golden sands of St Ouen’s Bay before winding back home past towering castles, picturesque villages and fascinating relics of WWII.
Time: An easy day’s touring
Distance: 42 miles

Jamaica’s Pirate Route

Nestled in the heart of the Spanish Main, Jamaica was once home to the buccaneer fleets that ravaged the Caribbean. Beginning in Port Royal, a place once described as the “wickedest city in Christendom”, this pirate-themed road trip first heads west to the capital, Kingston. After the resort of Negril and its Bloody Bay, we arrive at the white sand beaches of Montego Bay, protected from pirate invasion by the cannons of Round Hill Fort. The scenic drive along the north coast passes Saint Ann’s Bay and Ocho Rios, near where Captain Henry Morgan once directed his attacks upon passing ships, before coming full circle via the green savanna and sugarcane fields of the island’s eastern reaches.
Time: Two days, with an overnight stop in Montego Bay
Distance: 380 miles

Tenerife’s Forgotten Road

This volcanic island has always been popular with British sun-seekers who flock to its south coast resorts. However, few realise that a few miles inland lie some of the world’s greatest driving roads, just waiting to be explored. Along the southern flanks of Mount Teide, Tenerife’s volcanic epicentre, The Forgotten Road (TF-28) runs from Granadilla de Abona through terraced fields and whitewashed villages to San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a Unesco Heritage Site. The return leg runs parallel, but at a higher level, along the spectacular Carrera de la Esperanza, through forests of Canary Island pine and the lava fields of El Tiede National Park, before the relentless hairpins of TF-21 wind you back to the coast.
Time: ‘Spirited’ drivers will complete this in a day
Distance: 110 miles

Hawaii’s Belt Road

Drive around the Big Island and you’ll experience landscapes as you’ve never seen them before. From the tourist town of Kona, the Hawaii Belt Road takes you across the clifftops to the southernmost tip and the mysterious green sands of Papakōlea Beach. An hour’s drive east is Hawaii Volcanoes National Park with breath-taking views over the world’s most active volcanoes, Kīlauea and Mauna Loa. After a leisurely lunch in the Polynesian restaurants of Hilo, a return along the Hāmākua Heritage Corridor brings you to Waipio Valley Lookout and the 442ft-high Akaka Falls, before your final stop in the little town of Hawi – the perfect place to grab a Mai Tai and watch the sun go down.
Time: Start at dawn, finish at sunset
Distance: 280 miles