Smart Traveller

Today, we’re looking back at some of the best driving holiday posts on Smart Traveller. If you’re planning a car hire holiday to the U.S.A. for 2010, these should give you some ideas about great places to go.

USA Car Hire Holidays

• Route 66 - find out more about this legendary American highway.
• California Highway 1 - learn about one of America’s most scenic roads.
• The Florida Keys - explore U.S Highway 1 on a trip from Miami to Key West.
• The Blue Ridge Parkway - learn more about one of the most beautiful drives in the U.S.A.
• The Seward Highway - find out more about this National Scenic Byway in Alaska.

You can also read about Florida’s famous A1A Scenic and Historic Coastal Byway and the adjoining Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail in our in-depth series of posts:

• Florida’s A1A - Orlando to Ponte Vedra Beach
• Florida’s A1A - St. Augustine
• Florida’s A1A - St. Augustine to Flagler Beach
• Florida’s A1A - Flagler Beach
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail - Part 1
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail - Part 2
• Ormond Scenic Loop and Trail - Part 3

Cosmetics company Estee Lauder has launched a competition in which you could win a a holiday for two to Alaska. The competition marks the UK launch of “The Proposal“, a new romantic comedy starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds, which is set in Alaska.

You can enter the competition via the Estee Lauder UK website. Entrants must be aged 18 or older and entries must be received by 3 August 2009.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Alaska’s Seward Highway is a designated National Scenic Byway and All-American Road, which stretches for 127 miles between Anchorage and Seward, and is a great route to explore on a USA car hire holiday.

You can fly to Anchorage and pick up your rental car at the airport, but it’s worth spending a few days exploring the city before embarking upon your roadtrip. Anchorage is full of attractions, such as The Alaska Zoo, the Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage Museum, the Alaska Botanical Garden and the Imaginarium Science Discovery Center. It also has some great restaurants, shops, art galleries and bars, and you’ll find plenty of hotels, motels, inns and B&Bs to choose from.

Once you’ve explored Anchorage, jump in your hire car and head through the downtown area of Anchorage in order to get onto the Seward Highway. The highway runs to the south, providing some beautiful views of the Kenai Mountains. It will take you about three hours to reach Seward, but there are a number of attractions along the way, so you may want to take a day or two to explore the route properly.

Attractions en route include the Indian Valley Mine National Historic Site, where you can pan for gold and learn about the history of the mine in the site’s museum, and the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Center, where you can see black bears, brown bears, grizzly bears, caribou, deer and other animals, all of which have been rescued by the centre.

You can also take a slight detour to stop off at Seavey’s Ididaride Dog Sled Tours, where you can take a tour of the kennels and enjoy a dog sled ride. You’ll need to reserve your place in advance, so visit the company’s website for more details.

Once you’ve completed your journey to Seward, take some time to enjoy a walking tour of the town or visit some of its art galleries, coffee shops or stores. Seward’s attractions include the Alaska Sealife Center, where you can see puffins, seals, sea lions and many other marine species from the Gulf of Alaska, and the Chucagh Museum and Institute of History and Art.

You can then either explore more of Alaska or drive back to Anchorage and return your car to the airport car hire office before flying home.

Image by: Dave LaForest. Sourced from America’s Byways