European road trip: Croatia and Poland

Road trips are normally associated with the great open roads of the USA, but travellers are also realising Europe also has plenty of amazing drives to offer.

Spectacular coastal scenery, mountain views, untouched 16th century towns and shipwrecks await the adventurous drivers willing to dig out some Europe's best driving routes.

With this in mind, the experts at car hire specialist CarDelMar have come up with their pick of eastern Europe's top driving trips.

Pula to Dalmatia, Croatia

As far as long, winding roads with sea views go, Croatia's Adriatic coastline is easily among the best on the continent as well as having lots of places to stop and swim in the sea.

You can start your road trip from Pula, which is one of the more glamorous locations in Croatia, attracting yachting crowds, hosting the Croatian Film Festival and boasting several Roman sights, including an amphitheatre dating to the first century.

The Croatia active holiday experience can be had with a sailing trip from the one of the city's four sailing clubs, or holidaymakers keen to dive can get their underwater fix by visiting one of the four diving centres.

From here holidaymakers can head eastwards, to the Dalmatia coast, where some of the best beaches can be found by stopping off and heading for the nearest ferry terminal, serving the many islands off the coast.

For more information on visiting www.croatia.hr

Rzeszów to Zamosc, Poland

A road trip zigzagging your way to the historic towns and cities in south-eastern Poland is a great way of getting to see a side of Poland most visitors will miss.

Starting from Rzeszów - a transport hub that links Poland with Germany and the Ukraine - holidaymakers can make their way to Zamosc, around 100 miles away.

Though Zamosc has more historic sights to see, Rzeszów's ornate summer palaces and theatres make it good for a spot of sight-seeing before moving on.

On the way to Zamosc you can stop at the small town of Lezajsk, which is best known for the beer of the same name, which has been brewed there for centuries.