Road trips / Beyond the Pin
Eight roads.
Different stories.
Desert roads, island loops, city stops—and a journey that turns into a river. Follow our original maps and look beyond the next pin.
01 / 2016
West Coast USA
Desert to Pacific

Las Vegas → Death Valley → Yosemite → San Francisco → Big Sur → Los Angeles → Las Vegas
Desert, Sierra Nevada and the Pacific Coast. A loop through landscapes that change completely along the way.
Mathis’s verdict
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Not rated02 / 2017
Great West Loop USA
Parks, mountains & the open road

Las Vegas → Grand Canyon → Moab → Denver → Custer → Yellowstone → Jackson → Bryce Canyon → Las Vegas
A big loop through canyon country, mountains and national parks, with a 15-person van and camping equipment.
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Not rated03 / 2018
Southwest USA
Red rock country

Las Vegas → Valley of Fire → Zion → Lower Antelope Canyon → Navajo Bridge → Las Vegas
Desert roads and sandstone canyons, with Las Vegas at both ends of the route.
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Not rated04 / 2019
Florida
From space to the Everglades

Tampa / St. Petersburg → Orlando → Cape Canaveral → Sarasota → Fort Myers → Everglades → Miami
Theme parks, NASA, the Gulf Coast and wetlands. This route brings several very different sides of Florida into one trip.
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Not rated05 / 2022–2023
Hawai‘i
Four islands. Four different worlds.

Big Island · Maui · O‘ahu · Kaua‘i
Separate island drives across two summers. We used Shaka Guide GPS audio tours throughout the four islands, making the road part of the experience.
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Not rated06 / Mexico · From the family archive
Yucatán Peninsula · Mexico
From the Caribbean to Maya country

Playa del Carmen → Puerto Aventuras → Valladolid → Mérida → Cancún
Reefs and Caribbean coast first, then cenotes, Maya sites and cities inland. The roadbook leaves room for detours and slower days.
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Not rated07 / 2026
Puerto Rico
One island, many worlds

San Juan → Luquillo / Fajardo → Ponce → La Parguera / Cabo Rojo → Arecibo → Bayamón → Vieques → San Juan
Rainforest, reefs, mangroves, caves and bioluminescent bays. Six bases give each part of the island time of its own.
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Not rated08 / 2012
Southern Vietnam / Mekong
Saigon to the Mekong

Ho Chi Minh City → Tây Ninh → Củ Chi → Saigon → Cái Bè → Trà Ôn → Cần Thơ → Saigon
An earlier family journey where the road becomes water: city visits, a private overland route and an overnight Mekong cruise.
Mathis’s verdict
Too young to rate
Lucas’s verdict
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Beyond the Pin