Expensive flight tickets, chaos at the airports, cancelled flights, delayed departures: flying is not very attractive this year. Against this background, many European travellers now prefer to travel by car – whether their vehicle or a rental car.

These are Europe’s top recommended road trip routes, compiled by Lonely Planet. This Australian publisher of guide books will publish the new guide of 150 European driving routes, including 50 first-hand accounts and a further 100 recommendations, next week.

Southern Europe

• Mountains of Mallorca, from the hedonist southeast to the solitude of the north.
• Emilia-Romagna culinary circuit, across northern Italy from Parma to Brisighella
• Underappreciated Albania, up the Adriatic coast from Konispol to Theth
• Coastal Camino, along the Northern Way across green Spain

Western Europe

• Route Napoleon, from coastal Golfe-Juan in the south of France to Grenoble.
• From Glasgow to Loch Lomond, UK
• Wild Atlantic Way, Ireland, from Inishowen to Kinsale
• Vale de Ewyas, finding solitude in Wales from Skirrid to Hay-on-the-Wye
• Further UK recommended routes: Torridon to Diabaig, Shetland and Ullapool to Dunnet in Scotland; Snake Pass and Hardknott to Wrynose Pass in England; Coastal Way, Wales.

Northern Europe

• West coast of Jutland, from Romo to Skagen, Denmark
• Norway's Lofoten islands
• Magic Circle around Iceland from Reykjavik
• Scandinavia's Arctic north, from Arvidsjaur to Inari

Eastern Europe

• Slovakia's Route 59 from Banska Bystrica to Oravsky Podzamok
• Roving from Baltic Estonia to Lithuania
• Transylvania tour of Romania
• Coast & Canyons of Montenegro

New guide

The new guide from Lonely Planet is on sale from Aug 11 (UK price: £24.99; hardback; ISBN 9781838695095). It features fact boxes for each route, vehicle hire information, tips and illustrated maps; this might be a good accompaniment for travellers wanting to delve into the details and plan their next road trip. The guide also includes local advice on everything including where to sample delicious regional food and drink.

The guidebook publisher Lonely Planet was founded in 1973; it is now owned by the American media company Red Ventures.