10 Best Road Trip Movies Of All Time, Ranked

Anyone who has ever embarked on a road trip knows that the journey is rarely smooth. Various complications arise, from a flat tire or a wrong turn to a motel forgetting the reservation or losing your wallet at a roadside diner. No matter how bumpy the road is, you're unlikely to ever forget your time on it. It's for this reason that road trip movies have proven so popular over the years. From the days when Bob Hope and Bing Crosby sang and laughed their way through Singapore, Morocco, and everywhere in between, audiences have flocked to see some of their favorite stars travel to places far away or just a few miles down the road.

Here are the 10 best road trip movies of all time, ranked. When assembling this list, we didn't just rely upon Rotten Tomatoes scores (although we certainly used them to help narrow down the choices). Instead, we looked at each individual film and examined how well it typifies the road trip genre. Some of these film are more comedic in tone, while others are more serious. Some feature cross-country journeys, while others feature much briefer excursions. But no matter how long or short the pilgrimage is, we're looking for movies where the trip has a profound impact on the people behind the wheel. These aren't merely travelogues, but rather stories about the open road changing a person for the better. After all, isn't that the whole point of a road trip to begin with?

Cast: Toni Collette, Abigail Breslin, Paul Dano, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin

Directors: Jonathan Dayton, Valerie Faris

Rating: R

Runtime: 101 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Where to watch: Prime Video, HBO Max, Apple TV

The Hoover family — father Richard (Greg Kinnear), mother Sheryl (Toni Collette), son Dwayne (Paul Dano), daughter Olive (Abigail Breslin), uncle Frank (Steve Carell), and grandpa Edwin (Alan Arkin) — are all dealing with various forms of dysfunction. But they set their issues aside when seven-year-old Olive qualifies for the "Little Miss Sunshine" beauty pageant in Redondo Beach, California. The family loads into a yellow VW bus to make the trek from Albuquerque, New Mexico, stretching their various quirks, feuds, and personal problems to the limit. By the time they make it to the pageant, their lives have profoundly changed, and they've grown closer than ever before.

After premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, "Little Miss Sunshine" was picked up for a hefty sum by Fox Searchlight, which paid off like a slot machine. The $10 million investment Searchlight made turned into a $100 million worldwide gross, as audiences returned to laugh and cry at the misadventures of the Hoover family. Like every great road trip movie, "Little Miss Sunshine" understands that it isn't the destination that's important, but the journey that gets you there, and this is one of the wildest. The film earned four Oscar nominations, including best picture, and won prizes for best supporting actor (Arkin) and best original screenplay (Michael Arndt).

Cast: Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 92 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

Where to watch: Prime Video, Criterion Channel, HBO Max, Kanopy, Apple TV

At 78 years old, retired Professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström) has grown crotchety and stubborn after the death of his wife. Set to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater, Borg travels from his home in Stockholm to Lund, Sweden. He's accompanied by his pregnant daughter-in-law, Marianne (Ingrid Thulin), who's planning to divorce his son, Evald (Gunnar Björnstrand), because he doesn't want her to have the baby. While on the road, Borg encounters a series of hitchhikers who stir memories from his past. He's particularly enchanted by Sara (Bibi Andersson), a beautiful young woman who reminds him of the lost love of his youth.

The films of Ingmar Bergman have been incredibly influential on American cinema, especially "Wild Strawberries" (1957), the fingerprints of which are all over the best Woody Allen movies. Bergman's Oscar-nominated script deftly weaves in and out of the past and present, reality and dreams, comedy and melodrama. The result is a story in which the journey from one place to another becomes an odyssey through one man's life as he reaches the literal (and metaphorical) end. An international breakthrough that cemented Bergman's reputation as one of the greatest directors of all time, "Wild Strawberries" is more serious than your average road trip movie, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable.

Cast: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Harry Dean Stanton, Everett McGill

Director: David Lynch

Rating: G

Runtime: 112 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

Where to watch: Disney+, Prime Video, Apple TV

Elderly WWII veteran Alvin Straight (Richard Farnsworth in an Oscar-nominated turn) has grown increasingly stubborn in his old age. Living with his daughter, Rose (Sissy Spacek), Alvin can no longer see well enough to drive, and has to get around with two canes after suffering a fall. When his estranged brother, Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton), suffers a stroke, Alvin hitches a trailer to the back of his John Deere lawn mower and travels from Iowa to Wisconsin. Along the way, he encounters several local eccentrics, and hints at past wounds that drove a wedge between him and his brother.

Released in 1999, "The Straight Story" is one of the best movies David Lynch ever directed, and the most atypical of his career. Although the G-rated Disney film couldn't appear more different than "Blue Velvet" (1986), "Mulholland Dr." (2001), or "Twin Peaks," it's actually one of Lynch's most personal films, presenting an idealized journey through the Americana he was born and raised in. That idealization of the heartland is born out in the luminous cinematography by Freddie Francis and the twangy, haunting score by Angelo Badalamenti. Lynch makes an Iowa cornfield look just as majestic as the desert landscapes of "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), and turns the crotchety Alvin Straight into one of the great heroes of modern cinema.

Cast: Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman, Randy Quaid

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Rating: PG

Runtime: 102 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

Where to watch: Prime Video, Kanopy, Apple TV

In the 1930s, con man Moses Pray (Ryan O'Neal) travels through the midwest selling expensive bibles to customers who think their deceased loved ones have already purchased them. While in Kansas, he stops by the graveside service of a former girlfriend and agrees to deliver her orphan, Addie Loggins (Tatum O'Neal), to her aunt in Missouri. Suspecting Moses is her father, Addie forces him to take her on as his partner after he tries to dupe her out of $200 she got in the wake of her mothers death. As they travel through the American heartland selling bibles, Moses picks up a burlesque dancer (Madeline Kahn) and runs afoul of a bootlegger (John Hillerman), threatening to tear them apart.

Although it's set during the Great Depression, there's nothing depressing about "Paper Moon" (1973), one of the best films directed by Peter Bogdanovich. It's nothing if not a showcase for the real life father-daughter team Ryan and Tatum O'Neal, the latter of whom became the youngest Oscar winner in history with her best supporting actress victory. Like the best road movies, it's a picaresque about a bond that forms behind the wheel. Shot in luminous black-and-white by cinematographer László Kovács, the film is a meticulous recreation of Depression-era America, adopting the aesthetics of Old Hollywood cinema through a New Hollywood lens. 

Cast: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Toni Basil

Director: Dennis Hopper

Rating: R

Runtime: 96 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

After completing a lucrative drug deal in Los Angeles, hippies Wyatt (Peter Fonda) and Billy (Dennis Hopper) decide to ride their motorcycles across the country to New Orleans. While traveling through Arizona, they make a pit stop at a commune, where they indulge in some free love. After getting arrested in New Mexico, they meet George Hanson (Jack Nicholson in one of his best movie roles), a lawyer who typically spends the night in jail after heavy drinking. George joins Wyatt and Billy on the open road, where they continue their spiritual journey on the way to Mardi Gras. When they make it to New Orleans, Wyatt and Billy take LSD with a pair of prostitutes (Karen Black and Toni Basil) and question whether or not there is a place for them in America.

Released at the tail end of the 1960s, Dennis Hopper's "Easy Rider" (1969) was one of the most important films of New Hollywood. Speaking to an audience that was being awakened by the burgeoning sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll revolution, it used one of Hollywood's oldest genres — the road movie — to examine a rapidly-changing America and the many hostilities the counterculture faced. Shot on a shoestring budget, the film was a massive box office success that earned Oscar nominations for best supporting actor (Nicholson) and best original screenplay.

Cast: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton, Dennis Farina

Director: Martin Brest

Rating: R

Runtime: 126 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

Ex-cop turned bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) is enlisted by bail bondsman Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano) to do a "midnight run" — an easy job that should only take a day. The assignment: travel to New York, pick up mob accountant Jonathan Mardukas (Charles Grodin), and bring him back to Los Angeles. Mardukas, aka "the Duke," embezzled $15 million from Chicago mob boss Jimmy Serrano (Dennis Farina) and donated it to charity before jumping the bond Eddie put up for him, making him a hot commodity for both Serrano and FBI agent Alonzo Mosely (Yaphet Kotto). With rival bounty hunter Marvin Dorfler (John Ashton) also on his tail, Jack tries to get the Duke across the country in time to collect his reward ... but the Duke proves to be more crafty than he lets on.

Directed by Martin Brest, "Midnight Run" (1988) just might be Robert De Niro's best movie, and that's really saying something. What makes it so special is its ability to blend many different genres — buddy comedy, action adventure, road trip odyssey — into a film that's funny, exciting, and surprisingly moving. Jack and the Duke are as mismatched a pair as you can get, yet by the end of their journey, they've found a mutual respect and friendship that makes them both better men.

Cast: Susan Sarandon, Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Brad Pitt

Director: Ridley Scott

Rating: R

Runtime: 129 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

Thelma Dickerson (Geena Davis) is so scared of upsetting her controlling husband, Darryl (Christopher McDonald), that she doesn't tell him she's going on a fishing trip with her best friend, Louise Sawyer (Susan Sarandon). Instead, she heads off with Louise in her '66 Ford Thunderbird convertible without telling him. While at a roadhouse bar, Louise kills a man who tries to sexually assault Thelma, and their road trip turns into a race from the law. Their desperation grows after Thelma gets fleeced by a sexy young thief, J.D. (Brad Pitt in his movie debut), while compassionate detective Hal Slocumb (Harvey Keitel) tries to get them to turn themselves in before it's too late.

The brilliant masterstroke of Ridley Scott's "Thelma & Louise" (1991) is that it somehow manages to turn a story about rape and murder into a fun-filled journey of female empowerment on the open road. Its secret weapon is Callie Khouri's Oscar-winning script, which creates two fully-realized female characters who find love and companionship with each other when every man they know has let them down. A feminist rallying cry that attacks male chauvinism in all its forms, "Thelma & Louise" doesn't sacrifice excitement even when it's making provocative points.

Cast: Paul Giamatti, Thomas Haden Church, Virginia Madsen, Sandra Oh

Director: Alexander Payne

Rating: R

Runtime: 127 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

Where to watch: Prime Video, Apple TV

Divorced school teacher Miles Raymond (Paul Giamatti) has been struggling to finish his novel for years, and distracts himself with an enthusiasm for wine. He's excited for a trip to wine country with his best friend, Jack Cole (Thomas Haden Church), a sitcom actor who's getting married after they return home. While Miles wants to spend the week tasting wine and golfing, Jack's looking for one last fling before tying the knot. He gets his wish when he meets Stephanie (Sandra Oh), whose best friend Maya (Virginia Madsen) takes a liking to Miles when they discover a shared love of wine. Before long, Miles and Jack are growing close with Maya and Stephanie, which jeopardizes not just the upcoming nuptials, but their friendship as well.

Directed by Alexander Payne, "Sideways" (2004) has become comfort viewing for many people, even if they can't tell the difference between a Merlot or a Cabernet Sauvignon. Like the best buddy road trip comedies, it derives a lot of laughs from the odd couple pairing of its two leads. But there's also a great deal of pathos in Payne and Jim Taylor's Oscar-winning screenplay, which functions as an erudite, adult romantic comedy. Best of all, the film is a rich and sunny travelogue, showing off the beauty and serenity of Northern California wine country.

Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly, Roscoe Karns, Alan Hale

Director: Frank Capra

Rating: Approved

Runtime: 105 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

Where to watch: Prime Video, Tubi, Apple TV

Spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews (Claudette Colbert) has eloped with dashing pilot King Westley (Jameson Thomas), much to the chagrin of her wealthy father (Walter Connolly). Desperate to get the marriage annulled, Mr. Andrews sequesters his daughter aboard their yacht in Florida, but Ellie manages to escape and hops onto a Greyhound bus. Her father puts out a $10,000 reward for her return, which catches the eye of mischievous newspaper reporter Peter Warne (Clark Gable). Sniffing out a good story, Peter agrees to deliver Ellie back to her father, and along the way, the two opposites attract.

Among the 10 highest-rated best picture Oscar winners on Rotten Tomatoes, "It Happened One Night" (1934) was the first film to sweep the top five major categories: picture, director (Frank Capra), actor (Clark Gable), actress (Claudette Colbert), and screenplay (Robert Riskin). Released mere months before the implementation of the restrictive Hays Code, it tip-toes right up to the edge of being risqué, showing the growing flirtation between Ellie and Peter in scenes like "the wall of Jericho," in which they divide a motel room with a bed sheet. The films comedic and sexual highlight comes when Peter tries to hitchhike with his thumb, while Ellie lifts up her skirt to show off her leg ... take a guess as to who wins!

Cast: Steve Martin, John Candy, Laila Robins, Michael McKean, Dylan Baker, Kevin Bacon

Director: John Hughes

Rating: R

Runtime: 92 minutes

Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

Where to watch: Prime Video, Kanopy, Apple TV

Uptight advertising executive Neal Page (Steve Martin) is on his way from New York to Chicago to spend Thanksgiving with his family. What was supposed to be a cushy flight home gets delayed by a snowstorm, grounding all planes. Luckily for Neal, shower curtain ring salesman Del Griffith (John Candy) has come to the rescue. Del's well-meaning but obnoxious behavior grates on Neal's nerves as they journey via train, bus, and rental car, with disastrous results. Neal and Del encounter one difficulty after another, but along the way, they form a friendship that epitomizes the holiday spirit.

There are a handful of films that have become required viewing during the holidays, from "It's a Wonderful Life" (1946) to "Die Hard" (1988), and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987) does for Thanksgiving what those movies do for Christmas. Not only is it one of the best movies to watch on Thanksgiving, it's perhaps the best road trip comedy since the glory days of Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. Written and directed by John Hughes, it features big laughs ("Those aren't pillows!") and an even bigger heart. At the end of the day, it's a story of how we're all deserving of a place to call home during the holidays, no matter how bumpy the road to get there is.