Everyone should be able to get these road trips on their bucket lists!

And as a photographer I highly recommend you do them… before you die!

From the guy that can actualy find Waldo:
http://www.randalolson.com/2015/02/03/heres-waldo-computing-the-optimal-search-strategy-for-finding-waldo/

Here we go:

Europe:
http://www.randalolson.com/2015/03/10/computing-the-optimal-road-trip-across-europe/

The Interactive Map:
http://rhiever.github.io/optimal-roadtrip-usa/europe-trip.html

What you will see:

In total, the trip covers 16,287 miles (26,211 km) and 14 days of driving, so expect to dedicate at least 3 months if you’re going to take on this road trip. You may notice that eastern Europe is somewhat underrepresented in this road trip, so if you want the full taste of Europe, it’ll be worthwhile to add some stops between Poland and Estonia.

Here’s the full list of stops in order:

Innsbruck, Austria
Munich, Germany
Pag, Croatia
Venice, Italy
Tuscany, Italy
Florence, Italy
Rome, Italy
Vatican City
Amalfi, Italy
Gozo, Malta
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Santorini, Thira, Greece
Rila Monastery, Rilski manastir, Bulgaria
Istanbul, Turkey
Sighisoara, Mures County, Romania
Budapest, Hungary
Vienna, Austria
Prague, Czech Republic
Krakow, Poland
Jägala Waterfall, 74205 Harjumaa, Estonia
Lapland, Finland
ICEBAR, Marknadsvägen, Jukkasjärvi, Sweden
Bergen, Norway
Copenhagen, Denmark
Berlin, Germany
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Keukenhof, Stationsweg, Lisse, Netherlands
Edinburgh, United Kingdom
Inverness, United Kingdom
Ballybunion, Ireland
Cliffs of Moher, Clare, Ireland
Cornwall, England
Stonehenge, Amesbury, United Kingdom
London, United Kingdom
Brussels, Belgium
Paris, France
Pamplona, Spain
Lagos, Portugal
Granada, Spain
Ibiza, Spain
Barcelona, Spain
Luberone, Bonnieux, France
Nice, France
Monte Carlo, Monaco
Interlaken, Switzerland

The USA Via National Landmarks

How it was done:
http://www.randalolson.com/2015/03/08/computing-the-optimal-road-trip-across-the-u-s/

Interactive Map:
http://rhiever.github.io/optimal-roadtrip-usa/major-landmarks.html

Road trip stopping at major U.S. landmarks

After less than a minute, the genetic algorithm reached a near-perfect solution that makes a complete trip around the U.S. in only 13,699 miles (22,046 km) of driving. I’ve mapped that route below.

Note: There’s an extra stop in Cleveland to force the route between Vermont and Michigan to stay in the U.S. rather than go through Canada. If you’re able to drive through Canada without issue, then take the direct route through Canada instead.

best-road-trip-major-landmarks

Click here for the interactive version
Assuming no traffic, this road trip will take about 224 hours (9.33 days) of driving in total, so it’s truly an epic undertaking that will take at least 2-3 months to complete. The best part is that this road trip is designed so that you can start anywhere on the route as long as you follow it from then on. You’ll hit every major area in the U.S. on this trip, and as an added bonus, you won’t spend too long driving through the endless corn fields of Nebraska.

Here’s the full list of landmarks in order:

Grand Canyon, AZ
Bryce Canyon National Park, UT
Craters of the Moon National Monument, ID
Yellowstone National Park, WY
Pikes Peak, CO
Carlsbad Caverns National Park, NM
The Alamo, TX
The Platt Historic District, OK
Toltec Mounds, AR
Elvis Presley’s Graceland, TN
Vicksburg National Military Park, MS
French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
USS Alabama, AL
Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, FL
Okefenokee Swamp Park, GA
Fort Sumter National Monument, SC
Lost World Caverns, WV
Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center, NC
Mount Vernon, VA
White House, Washington, DC
Colonial Annapolis Historic District, MD
New Castle Historic District, Delaware
Cape May Historic District, NJ
Liberty Bell, PA
Statue of Liberty, NY
The Mark Twain House & Museum, CT
The Breakers, RI
USS Constitution, MA
Acadia National Park, ME
Mount Washington Hotel, NH
Shelburne Farms, VT
Fox Theater, Detroit, MI
Spring Grove Cemetery, OH
Mammoth Cave National Park, KY
West Baden Springs Hotel, IN
Abraham Lincoln’s Home, IL
Gateway Arch, MO
C. W. Parker Carousel Museum, KS
Terrace Hill Governor’s Mansion, IA
Taliesin, WI
Fort Snelling, MN
Ashfall Fossil Bed, NE
Mount Rushmore, SD
Fort Union Trading Post, ND
Glacier National Park, MT
Hanford Site, WA
Columbia River Highway, OR
San Francisco Cable Cars, CA
San Andreas Fault, CA
Hoover Dam, NV

The USA via every popular major city

How it was done:
http://rhiever.github.io/optimal-roadtrip-usa/popular-cities.html

If you’re more of a city slicker, the road trip above may not look very appealing to you because it involves spending a lot of time outdoors. But worry not, for I created a second road trip just for you! The road trip below stops at the TripAdvisor-rated Best City to Visit in every contiguous U.S. state.

Note: Again, there’s an extra stop in Cleveland to force the route between New Hampshire and Michigan to stay in the U.S. rather than go through Canada. If you’re able to drive through Canada without issue, then take the direct route through Canada instead. But really, Cleveland is a nice city to stop in (ranked #53 on TripAdvisor).

This road trip will more-or-less follow the same path as the major U.S. landmarks trip, covering a slightly shorter 12,290 mile (19,780 km) route around the U.S. Some larger states — like California and Texas — may have multiple cities you’d like to visit, so it’s probably worthwhile to stop at other larger cities along the route.

You may note that cities from North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia are missing. Out of the top 400 recommended cities to visit on TripAdvisor, none were from North Dakota, Vermont, nor West Virginia. This is especially interesting because TripAdvisor reviewers recommend cities like Flint, MI — the 7th most crime-ridden city in the U.S. — over any city in North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia. I’ll leave the interpretation of that fact to the reader.

Here’s the full list of cities in order:

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Wichita, Kansas
Denver, Colorado
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Phoenix, Arizona
Las Vegas, Nevada
San Francisco, California
Portland, Oregon
Seattle, Washington
Boise, Idaho
Park City, Utah
Jackson, Wyoming
Billings, Montana
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Omaha, Nebraska
Des Moines, Iowa
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Chicago, Illinois
Indianapolis, Indiana
Louisville, Kentucky
Columbus, Ohio
Detroit, Michigan
Cleveland, Ohio
Manchester, New Hampshire
Portland, Maine
Boston, Massachusetts
Providence, Rhode Island
New Haven, Connecticut
New York City, New York
Ocean City, New Jersey
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wilmington, Delaware
Baltimore, Maryland
Washington, D.C.
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Orlando, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Nashville, Tennessee
Birmingham, Alabama
Jackson, Mississippi
New Orleans, Louisiana
Houston, Texas
Little Rock, Arkansas
Branson, Missouri

Or if you know Python you can build your own trips:

http://nbviewer.ipython.org/github/rhiever/Data-Analysis-and-Machine-Learning-Projects/blob/master/optimal-road-trip/Computing%20the%20optimal%20road%20trip%20across%20the%20U.S..ipynb

Visit his site: http://www.randalolson.com/