Best road trip ideas for couples in the UK

Romantic road trips – what could be better? Having your journey mapped out for you in advance, getting to explore hidden gems along the way and sleeping under the stars at each stopover! Add # vanlife date nights to your bucket list and read on for our best road trip ideas for couples in Britain.

Wherever you want to go on your getaway for two, we’ve got you covered – our destinations for couples cover almost all the UK. Even better, we’ve connected all our trips geographically, so you can be on the open road for months if you want! Start with a two-berthcampervan hire and get ready to hit the road with our top picks.

Best UK road trip ideas for couples: 9 unmissable journeys

1. London to Edinburgh

Let’s start with a cross-country couples road trip! Organisecampervan hire in London then drive from London to Edinburgh on a spectacular journey passing awesome sights like the Cotswolds, the Peak District and Northumberland National Park. As with all our trips for couples, we’ve crammed as much as possible into this one, so you can see the maximum amount of gorgeous scenery along the way. Or see ourEngland to Scotland road trip guide if you want even more adventure!

Our journey fromLondon to Edinburgh is 514 miles, with a recommended trip time of one week. Drive west then northwest from London to Oxford then the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). From there, the journey meanders north to the Peak District National Park, Leeds, York and the North Pennines AONB. Arrive in Edinburgh via Hexham in the Northumberland National Park.

2. North Coast 500

Take advantage of time in Scotland to join one of the newest but already among the best-known road trips in all the UK. The North Coast 500 or NC500 is a stunningly beautiful journey covering – you guessed it – around 500 miles of Scotland’s north coast. It runs to and from Inverness Castle, with highlights including Ullapool, John O’Groats, Gairloch and the Applecross Peninsula and Bealach na Bà mountain pass.

Starting from Edinburgh rather than London? Ourcampervan hire in Edinburgh and campervan hire in Scotland listings have all you need!

Once you’re on the road,Edinburgh to Inverness is 156 miles; from Inverness, drive north to the seaside town of Dornoch, then further north to Wick and John O’Groats. From there, it’s west to Durness and Smoo Cave, then south to Ullapool, Gairloch and the Applecross Peninsula and Lochcarron. Further details are on this[North Coast 500 map](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Coast_500# /media/File:North_Coast_500,_Scotland.svg) and ourNorth Coast 500 road trip guide.

Got some extra time? Bolt a trip to Ireland onto your NC500 road trip! Drive fromLochcarron to Cairnryan via Oban and Glasgow (303 miles), then take the ferry to Belfast. OurIreland and Scotland road trip guide has heaps of inspiration.

1. Causeway Coastal Route

If you’re now in Northern Ireland, the country’s absolute must-do is theCauseway Coastal Route, along the coastline and glens of the north Antrim coast. Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Bushmills Distillery and the beaches of Portrush, Portstewart and Ballycastle are all on the route.

Arrive on the ferry in your van, or arrangecampervan hire in Northern Ireland to find a rental once there. Then plan a journey fromBelfast to Portrush (92 miles) to see the best of the coast.

Drive north from Belfast along the eastern part of the Northern Ireland coast, passing Whitehead and Carrickfergus. Drive west onto the Antrim coast to Carnlough, Cushendun and Ballycastle, and from there to Portrush via the Giant’s Causeway, Dunluce Castle, Bushmills and the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge.

4. Northern England – Lake District, Peak District and the Yorkshire Dales

Back to mainland UK now to explore three of Britain’s most beautiful national parks. This trip through the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Peak District starts in Keswick, one of the main towns in the Lake District National Park. Look forcampervan hire in Lancashire and the North West if starting your journey here, or check ourManchester road trip ideas for more inspo.

OurLake District destinations are the Castlerigg Stone Circle, the Aira Force Waterfall, Ullswater, Windermere, Bowness-on-Windermere and Kendal. Then it’s south to the Yorkshire Dales National Park for Ingleton, Hawes, Aysgarth Falls and the Nidderdale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. After that, drive south to the Peak District National Park to arrive at its centre of Castleton in the Hope Valley. The full journey fromKeswick to Castleton is 210 miles.

If coming from Northern Ireland, the journey fromBelfast to the Lake District is 205 miles, including the ferry. Or go south from Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland, and take the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead on the Isle of Anglesey (Belfast to Dublin: 105 miles). Either option makes it easy to join our North Wales then South Wales road trips, coming next!

5. North Wales

Start your North Wales road trip at the seaside town of Rhyl, a popular destination for North Wales holidays from northern England and elsewhere. Other starting point options are Prestatyn, four miles from Rhyl, for hikes on Offa's Dyke Path, the North Wales Path or the Clwydian Way; or the county town of Denbigh, 11 miles from Rhyl.

From Rhyl, drive to Colwyn Bay then onwards to magnificent Conwy Castle. The National Trust’s Bodnant Garden is next, before a stop at Llandudno, the Victorian resort that’s one of the most visited seaside towns in Wales. Go to the Isle of Anglesey from there, then inland to Snowdonia National Park, where our recommended first stop is the visitor centre at Betws-y-Coed. Be sure to visit the former slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog too, for the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns.

Rhyl to Blaenau Ffestiniog via our stops is a total journey of 140 miles. If you’re coming from Castleton, thePeak District to Rhyl is 86 miles.

We have more info on planning aNorth Wales road trip, plus a guide to thebest campervan pitches in North Wales. Start by browsing our full listings forcampervan hire in Wales.

6. South Wales

You can’t visit the north part of Wales without seeing the south – both make for a romantic holiday! A South Wales road trip can take in highlights like the Brecon Beacons National Park, the south coast and Gower Peninsula, and parts of the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park, the only coastal national park in all of Britain. And Cardiff, of course, where our South Wales road trip begins! It’s 234 miles fromCardiff to Milford Haven, the final stop on this trip.

To kick off your road trip, arrange campervan hire in Cardiff and then stay in a campsite nearby. Then head north to the Brecon Beacons National Park, where our top highlights are Pen y Fan, the highest mountain south of Snowdonia; the book town of Hay-on-Wye; and the National Showcaves Centre for Wales. Next, drive south to Swansea, Swansea Bay and the Gower Peninsula, Britain’s first designated AONB, to see Rhossili Bay.

From Rhossili, drive west to Pembroke and Pembroke Castle, then on to the old port town of Milford Haven. Want to go on further from there? Our ultimateWest Wales road trip guide can take you from Fishguard all the way up to the Isle of Anglesey.

7. South West England

Time now for one of the most beautiful and best-known trips in Britain – the region of South West England.

Organisecampervan hire in Bristol orcampervan hire in South West England, then pass the Mendip Hills and Quantock Hills AONBs to arrive in North Devon at Ilfracombe, via Exmoor National Park. Then continue south along the Devon coast, to arrive in Cornwall via Bude, Tintagel and the surfing haven of Newquay. This route is guaranteed to deliver breathtaking backdrops and stunning stops throughout!

Falmouth is next, before crossing back into Devon for sightseeing at Plymouth (with an optional stop at Dartmoor National Park). Finally, make for Swanage, driving via the English Riviera at Torquay, to explore the Jurassic Coast.

Bristol to Swanage on this route is 461 miles, with an additional 142 miles fromMilford Haven to Bristol if you’re coming from the South Wales coast.

Another option is oursouthwest England road trip from London taking in Bournemouth, Stonehenge and Glastonbury (704 miles).

8. England – south coast

Don’t finish your trip at Swanage – continue on to explore our expert south coast of England road trip! Or if you’re only doing this one trip, make your way to Devon and start at Torquay to ensure you get to experience as much as possible of the Jurassic Coast.

From Torquay, drive north to Exmouth and Exeter, then east to Weymouth, Bournemouth and Portsmouth with an optional detour to ancient Dorchester or inland to the New Forest National Park. Brighton is the next stop – head inland for the South Downs National Park if you like – then Eastbourne and Hastings, and finally into Kent to Folkestone, Dover and Margate.

Oursouth coast England road trip is 338 miles. Check outcampervan hire in Cornwall,campervan hire in Devon orcampervan hire in Dorset to start – or do the trip the other way round withcampervan hire in Kent.

9. England – east coast

Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and all the way up to North Yorkshire… England’s east coast is one of our favourite regions for a road trip. We’ve started this one from Margate so you can continue onto it after your south coast trip; the full route fromMargate to Whitby is 458 miles.

This trip includes the Essex coast at Mersea Island, passes Colchester into Suffolk’s Aldeburgh and Lowestoft, then arrives in Norfolk for Cromer, Hunstanton and Great Yarmouth. Drive to North Yorkshire after that, to Scarborough and Whitby.

If you’d like to see the Lincolnshire coast as well (we’ve opted for an inland route from Hunstanton to Whitby via the Lincolnshire Wolds AONB), detour to Skegness from Hunstanton;this route is 479 miles. And here are our listings forcampervan hire in the East of England region.

Organise your couples’ road trip with Camplify

Whichever trip – or trips – you and your partner opt for from our list, you’ll find a van to suit your adventure on Camplify. We’ve added regional links for campervan hire to all the trips above, and you can also check out our complete listings for campervan hire in the UK.

And if you feel the need to go yet further? We have aroad trip from England to Italy too!

Why Camplify?

We are proud to be the UK's fastest-growing private caravan, campervan and motorhome sharing community. When you hire a van through our platform, it comes with lots of advantages:

• Comprehensive hire insurance

• 24/7 RAC nationwide breakdown cover

• Dedicated customer support

• All members are verified

By hiring with Camplify, you are also helping local families who share their van on our platform and supporting many local companies across the UK in addition to ours. So we are very grateful to you.

Sign up if you want to join our beloved community of van life lovers and receive our most recent news and offers.