Every bend counted
The most car-sick roads, ranked by measured bends
We measured 26 famous road trips from OpenStreetMap data, counting every bend a passenger would feel, every hairpin, and the busiest 10 km on each.
The twistiest road trip we measured is the Amalfi Coast drive, with 6.6 bends per km, ahead of the Road to Hana (4.08) and the Stelvio Pass (3.84). Highway trips such as Los Angeles to Las Vegas measure close to zero. Counts are ours, from OpenStreetMap data measured on September 26, 2026.
The ranking
| Rank | Road trip | Bends per km | Bends | Hairpins | Busiest 10 km | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amalfi Coast drive | 6.6 | 383 | 35 | 87 bends | 58 km |
| 2 | Road to Hana | 4.08 | 336 | 43 | 89 bends | 82.3 km |
| 3 | Stelvio Pass | 3.84 | 179 | 81 | 50 bends | 46.6 km |
| 4 | Serra do Rio do Rastro | 3.76 | 132 | 23 | 74 bends | 35.1 km |
| 5 | Hai Van Pass | 3.75 | 94 | 8 | 52 bends | 25.1 km |
| 6 | Grossglockner High Alpine Road | 3.27 | 158 | 40 | 48 bends | 48.3 km |
| 7 | Transfagarasan | 3.25 | 358 | 62 | 58 bends | 110.1 km |
| 8 | Irohazaka | 2.98 | 51 | 23 | 50 bends | 17.1 km |
| 9 | Leh Manali Highway | 2.46 | 1,045 | 150 | 67 bends | 424.8 km |
| 10 | Tizi n'Tichka | 1.54 | 300 | 20 | 43 bends | 195.3 km |
| 11 | Trollstigen | 1.46 | 80 | 11 | 28 bends | 54.7 km |
| 12 | Crown Range Road | 1.3 | 89 | 11 | 35 bends | 68.5 km |
| 13 | Great Ocean Road | 1.29 | 312 | 7 | 43 bends | 241 km |
| 14 | Milford Road | 0.99 | 116 | 6 | 32 bends | 117.3 km |
| 15 | Going-to-the-Sun Road | 0.97 | 78 | 4 | 36 bends | 80 km |
| 16 | Los Caracoles | 0.57 | 157 | 28 | 39 bends | 273.3 km |
| 17 | San Francisco to Los Angeles on the PCH | 0.36 | 250 | 12 | 44 bends | 701.7 km |
| 18 | Dubai to Fujairah | 0.07 | 8 | 2 | 4 bends | 119.5 km |
| 19 | Dubai to Abu Dhabi | 0.07 | 10 | 1 | 6 bends | 139.9 km |
| 20 | New York to Washington DC | 0.05 | 17 | 2 | 8 bends | 363.4 km |
| 21 | London to Edinburgh | 0.05 | 35 | 1 | 18 bends | 649.1 km |
| 22 | Bangkok to Chiang Mai | 0.04 | 29 | 3 | 9 bends | 687.3 km |
| 23 | Miami to Key West | 0.03 | 8 | 1 | 4 bends | 255.7 km |
| 24 | Paris to Nice | 0.02 | 18 | 2 | 9 bends | 928.7 km |
| 25 | Los Angeles to Las Vegas | 0.02 | 9 | 0 | 6 bends | 435.3 km |
| 26 | Sydney to Melbourne | 0.01 | 12 | 0 | 8 bends | 863.2 km |
Scroll the table sideways on a narrow screen.
How we counted
- Each road was routed through fixed points on OpenStreetMap data with the OSRM route planner, driving profile.
- We sampled the route every 10 m and counted a bend wherever the road turns one way by at least 30 degrees at a radius of about 290 m or tighter. An S-bend counts as two.
- A hairpin is a bend of 135 degrees or more. The busiest stretch is the most bends in any 10 km.
- A road is included only if its routed length came within 20 percent of the length on its guide, so a route the planner sent down a different road is left out. 4 roads failed that check this time and are not ranked.
- On long highway trips, the few bends counted come mostly from interchanges and city streets at either end.
Our definition is stricter than the curve counts quoted in guidebooks, so our numbers are lower for curve counts and close for hairpins: we count 11 hairpins on Trollstigen, the same as the published figure. Loops, the bus-only Tianmen road and scenic routes where a planner would choose a different road are not measured.
Passenger on one of these roads?
Sit in the front if you can, keep your eyes on the road ahead through the bends, and skip the phone until a straight stretch. Each road's guide shows where its worst section is, and the calmest seat in any vehicle explains why the front helps. Games that keep eyes out the window are on the road trip games page.
Twisty road ahead?
Stop Motion Sickness Now
Download Dizzout before the drive. When the bends start, put your headphones in and press play: drug-free, precisely calibrated audio, with relief in about 90 seconds. No drowsiness.
Free to try, no card needed. Or go straight to the App Store or Google Play.
Scan to open on your phoneOn a computer? Dizzout installs on your phone. Scan the code, or open dizzout.com/get on your phone and it'll take you straight to the right store.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most car-sick road trip?
By bends per km, the Amalfi Coast drive topped our measurement, followed by the Road to Hana and the Stelvio Pass. For sheer numbers, the Leh Manali Highway has the most bends and hairpins of any road we measured, spread over about 425 km.
Why is your bend count lower than the famous figures?
Counts you see quoted, like about 620 curves on the Road to Hana, count every curve. We count only bends that turn at least 30 degrees at a radius of about 290 m or tighter, the kind a passenger feels. Where both are hairpin counts, ours land close: 11 on Trollstigen against the published 11.
Do more bends mean more car sickness?
Often, but not always. Tight bends in a row give the inner ear constant side to side motion, which is why twisty roads are hard on passengers. How you sit matters too: the front seat, eyes on the road ahead, and no reading make a large difference on any of these roads.
Road data © OpenStreetMap contributors, available under the Open Database License; routes by the OSRM route planner. Measured on September 26, 2026. Roads change, and a route planner's path can differ slightly from the one you drive. This page is informational and not medical advice.