by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 8:00 AM ET, Tue September 1, 2026
As a traveler, I love to get out and explore a country on my own terms and timeline, which is often easiest to do when I have my own transportation. But deciding whether I want to rent a car and drive myself around another country is always a fraught question.
I get anxious about different driving rules in a new country, as well as navigating unfamiliar roads and (depending on where I’m visiting) having to get used to driving on the opposite side of the road from the United States. In the UK and Ireland, for instance, they drive on the left.
These concerns inspired a recent global analysis by online insurance comparison platform Compare the Market, which created an index ranking 25 countries to identify the best and worst places to drive abroad.
The ranking was developed based on criteria such as car rental costs, traffic congestion levels, road fatality rates (the number of deaths caused by road accidents per 100,000 people), gas costs, road quality and road trip search volumes. Using these factors, each destination was awarded a total score out of 100.
Driving through the Australian outback at sunset. (Photo Credit: Goway Travel/ronnybas/Adobe Stock)
With the data tabulated, Australia emerged as the clear favorite for the best place to drive abroad, earning an overall score of 72 out of 100. While Australia didn’t top the list in any of the individual assessment criteria, it still came out ahead across the board thanks to fairly high scores in most categories. Some of the key details regarding driving a car in Australia include
- Average weekly car rental rate: $347.12
- Road quality score: 5.8 out of 7
- Fuel price: $1.72 per liter (making it the second lowest fuel price of all the countries studied.
- Congestion levels: Average time to drive 10 km is 16.6 minutes, the second lowest in the study.
“From the stunning Legendary Pacific Coast drive between Sydney and Brisbane, or the Red Center Way through the Australian outback, it’s easy to see why this country is ideal for road trips,” says the study.
Here are the additional countries that round out the top 5 places to drive globally, along with their scores.
2. Spain: 68.07
One of the main reasons Spain ranks so highly is that a weekly car rental costs just $ 74 on average. That’s the cheapest of any country studied. Spain also received high marks for safety with a road quality score of 5.63 out of 7. It had only 3.5 road accident deaths per 100,000 people.
3. Sweden: 67.37
A country that routinely ranks among the happiest and offers its citizens a high quality of life, Sweden is also apparently a pleasant place to drive. The country has the second-lowest number of road accidents of all locations studied, with just 2.1 deaths per 100,000 people. It. Also has relatively low traffic congestion: Drivers take an estimated 20 minutes to drive 10 kilometers in the Swedish capital.
“Add on Sweden’s fantastic food and stunning landscapes, it’s no wonder it’s a great destination for your next road trip,” says the report.
4. Portugal: 63.88
Thanks to the fourth-cheapest rental car costs at $18259 and a road quality score of 6.05 out of 7 (the third-highest in the index), Portugal landed in fourth place. Fuel, however, is slightly pricier in Portugal than in other countries, at 3.12 per liter. However, since it’s a fairly compact country, compared to others in the ranking, the over gas tab should be reasonable.
5. Switzerland: 63.20
Legendary for its neutrality in world affairs, Switzerland also stands out with the top score for two factors in the best driving index: best road quality, with a score of 6.36 out of 7, and least traffic congestion, with a 10-kilometer drive in the nation’s capital taking a mere 14.2 minutes.
“Switzerland has excellent road-tripping potential with gorgeous peaks and stunning valleys,” says the report.
The main factor weighing Switzerland down in the rankings is the cost of a rental car, which is a step up at $608. Gas prices are also pricey at $3.26 per liter. Together, those two factors make it the most expensive country to drive in among the countries that landed in the top five.
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