About 30 kilometers east of El Calafate, northbound RN 40 covers 596 kilometers of rugged gravel road—scheduled to be completely paved within four years or so—in the Andes’ arid eastern foothills, before arriving at the cow town of Perito Moreno near Lago Buenos Aires, the oasis of Los Antiguos, and the Chilean border town of Chile Chico.

For Patagonia travelers, arrow-straight RN 3 is the quickest ticket south, but visitors with their own wheels—whether two or four—should explore coastal Chubut’s dusty back roads.

The road may be paved now and fuel much easier to come by than in the early days of peninsular travel, but Baja California remains a classic route for travelers who enjoy the thrill of a long road trip. All you need is ample time, a reliable vehicle, and an ability to cope with unpredictable situations.

This itinerary follows Mexico 1 from the border crossing in Tecate to the Los Cabos tourist corridor at the southern tip of the peninsula, 1,600 kilometers away, with a few options for side trips and off-highway scenic drives along the way.

Travelers with a week or more can experience the many dimensions of the lower Baja Peninsula by making a circular route around the region via paved highways Mexico 1 and Mexico 19. Extending a total distance of approximately 564 kilometers, this route takes visitors along the lower slopes of the Sierra de la Laguna, through the sierra’s former mining towns, across the plains of La Paz, and along the coastlines of the East and West Capes as well as the Corridor between San José del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas.

Above Alajuela, the scenic drive up Poás Volcano takes you through quintessential coffee country, with rows of shiny dark-green bushes creating artistic patterns on the slopes. Further up, coffee gives way to fern gardens and fields of strawberries grown under black shade netting, then dairy pastures separated by forests of cedar and pine.

There are three routes to Poás Volcano National Park, via Carrizal, San Isidro, or San Pedro. All lead via Poasito, the uppermost village on the mountain and a popular way station for hungry sightseers.

South of San José lies a little-touristed region of hidden valleys perfect for a full-day drive along the scenic Route of the Saints, so called because most of the villages are named after saints.

These saintly villages can also be accessed by driving south from Cartago along the Pan-American Highway (Highway 2) and turning west at Enpalme or Cañón. The region was badly affected by torrential rains in November 2010, when many roads were washed out.

This spectacular 61-kilometer road drops nearly 1,000 meters in elevation along the Pastaza Valley to the edge of the Oriente. There are nearly a dozen waterfalls along the newly christened Ruta de las Cascadas, which has developed into a major tourist attraction with several tarabitas (cable-cars) across the valley as well as a range of adventure sports.

There are three ways to see this route: You can hop on a Baños–Puyo bus and stop off at the waterfalls, take a guided tour, or the best option is to hire a bicycle and take in the scenery at your leisure and see how far you get toward Puyo. If you feel too tired to cycle back uphill, you can always take a bus back and stow your bike on top.

A day trip on the road between Bucerías and Punta Mita takes you past white-sand beaches, fishing villages, and waterfront palapa restaurants. A few miles north of Bucerías the Punta Mita highway splits left (west) and passes over Highway 200. Drivers, mark your mileage (or reset your odometer).

Within a mile (2 km), look downhill on the left and you’ll see the formerly drowsy, now developing, little town of Cruz de Huanacaxtle above a small fishing harbor. Although the town has stores, a good café, a few lodgings, and a protected boat and yacht anchorage, it lacks a decent beach.

If you’re driving to Barra de Navidad, note your odometer mileage (or reset your tripometer to 0) as you pass the Pemex gas station at Km 214 on Highway 200 at the south edge of Puerto Vallarta. In the open southern country, mileage and roadside kilometer markers are a useful way to remember where your little paradise is hidden.

The trip to Barra de Navidad can take as little as three hours if you drive straight through on Highway 200, or as long as you wish depending on the stops and side trips you choose to make. Either way, it's a scenic road trip.

There is a lot to see and do around Mérida: Maya ruins, colonial churches, cenotes, caves, bird-watching, mountain biking, snorkeling, and repelling, and more. Guided tours are a practical way—and in a few cases, the only way—to see and do it all. But don’t feel bound by set trips—small tour companies often customize outings to fit travelers’ particular interests and stamina.