The hardest cities to navigate by car in the world

Whether you’re planning to drive abroad for a city break or heading on an international business trip, when it comes to driving a car on unfamiliar roads, even the most experienced motorists can be pushed to their limits. 

Not all cities are designed equally, and with confusing traffic signs and different driving habits to keep in mind when driving internationally, journeys with the most ease become a priority. 

To help UK drivers know what to expect before getting behind the wheel, we have revealed the hardest and easiest global cities to navigate, by analysing a combination of key factors including searches for directions, congestion and mobile connectivity speeds. 

This guide uncovers the global cities that top the list when it comes to navigating the roads, for the right and wrong reasons: 

With a total score of 75.0, Mexico City is the hardest city in the world to drive in. With the highest congestion level globally of 52% and topping the World Congestion World charts (1st), this sprawling urban maze is nothing short of challenging when trying to navigate. 

Users on Reddit echo the frustration about the city’s driving experience, explaining, “There’s no driving test required. Police won’t enforce any laws at all. The city was poorly planned. Overpopulation”, and “The chaos of Mexico City in terms of cars is very complex, traffic, speeding is everyday”.

• Alternative: Buenos Aires

Bangkok, known for its street food and cultural attractions, is the second hardest city to drive around. With 50% congestion levels nearing those of Mexico City, the Thai capital often grinds to a halt during rush hour and festival periods. 

Despite a relatively fast mobile speed (149 Mbps), the dense layout and limited alternative routes mean drivers can often be stuck in traffic chaos. 

• Alternative: Shanghai or Beijing 

Despite having a lower congestion level (21%) and ranking 399th for the Congestion World Score, the Spanish capital of Madrid saw an astonishing 84.9 million global searches for directions - far more than any other city. 

This may reflect high tourist volume and complicated road layouts in the sprawling city. However, if everyone is searching for directions, then this may cause further chaos on the roads. Madrid stands as the hardest European city to navigate, making it a potential headache for drivers planning Euro road trips through the city. 

Alternative: Stockholm 

Istanbul blends east and west, old and new - causing a traffic nightmare. With a congestion level of 41% and almost 400,000 searches for directions, the city’s complicated road system and split-level highways make Istanbul a beast to drive around for drivers. Slow mobile speeds (78 Mbps) also add to the frustration, as drivers may struggle to rely on real-time navigation. 

Alternative: Amsterdam

Rounding off the top five hardest global cities to navigate by car is a popular location that has over 17,000 taxi drivers already driving around the city*. While Dublin has charming cobbled streets and a rich history, navigating the compact city centre can be challenging behind the wheel. 

With over 4 million direction-based searches, this suggests both tourists and locals struggle to manage the compact streets, heavy traffic and one-way systems, and the growing population only contributes to future navigation issues. 

Alternative: Copenhagen

Dubai takes the crown as the world’s easiest city to navigate by car. Despite being a fast-growing global hub with high tourist traffic, the wide roads, modern infrastructure and clear signage make it impressively easy to drive around.

Low congestion levels for a city of its size mean drivers won’t stop-and-start as the multi-lane highways provide a streamlined driving experience. With lightning-fast mobile speeds (474 Mbps), you can cruise through the sprawling city using real-time navigation. 

With low congestion levels (27%) and high mobile speeds (304 Mbps), Stockholm secures a spot for the second-easiest city to navigate globally. 

Scandinavia has a reputation for intuitive, smart planning, and this extends to the roads, which are well-connected for efficient and easy driving. While Stockholm is Sweden’s capital, it doesn’t suffer from the same traffic nightmares experienced in European cities such as Madrid. 

Despite its reputation for cycling, Amsterdam has a highly organised road network with strong urban planning and clear lanes for cyclists, so drivers can have a positive experience when navigating.

Ranking as the third easiest city to navigate in the world, high mobile speeds (204 Mbps) and low congestion levels ease any added pressure on drivers when on the roads. 

Road safety is at the heart of Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen. Rooted in sustainability and simplicity, the city’s focus on reducing inner-city traffic is refreshing for drivers wanting to pass through. 

Low congestion and a smartly organised layout make it the ideal location for anyone driving a car or planning a road trip across Scandinavia. 

China’s megacity, Shanghai, makes a surprising appearance in the top five easiest cities to navigate, as its extensive highways and advanced traffic systems allow traffic to flow smoothly, considering the population density. 

With some of the best mobile speeds (317 Mbps) worldwide, drivers can seamlessly navigate by car around one of the largest cities in the world.  

Driving abroad can feel liberating, especially when you get to explore new landscapes out of your windscreen window. However, with the freedom of navigating a car internationally, there are also a few extra must-knows. Here are practical and easy-to-follow tips to follow when driving abroad, so you can safely and confidently navigate behind the wheel. 

1. International Driving Permit - Before you leave the UK, ensure you’ve checked if you need a driving permit for the international location you’ll be driving in. You can usually apply through your local authority, so make sure you do this in plenty of time before going abroad.
2. Be prepared for emergencies - Make sure you know the numbers to call for help, save any contact information you might need, and check where the spare tyre and emergency kit are. 
3. Drive at your own pace - In some cities, driving habits may be more fast-paced or rule-abiding. Don’t take it personally if a car overtakes or speeds past you - stick to your own driving pace and what you feel comfortable with.
4. Offline maps are essential - Signal can be patchy, especially in places such as Mexico City, so ensure that your maps are downloaded offline so you’re never left stuck going around in circles or getting lost from the wrong turns.
5. Remember lefts and rights - Make sure you’re aware of which side of the road you need to drive on before getting behind the wheel. Most countries drive on the right, with the exceptions in Europe being the UK, Ireland, Malta and Cyprus. Africa and Asia have a mixture of left and right-hand driving rules, whilst North and South America mostly drive on the right, so ensure you know. 

Driving in these global cities isn’t for the faint-hearted. From language barriers to overwhelming traffic systems and digital dead zones, when navigating international roads, it’s important to take extra caution. 

By getting behind the wheel of a reliable lease vehicle, the opportunities to explore are endless.

Nationwide Vehicle Contracts looked at various factors to create a ranking to identify which global cities are the most difficult to navigate by car. We analysed search volumes for ‘[city] directions’, congestion levels, congestion world score and median mobile speed to create the weighted ranking of 35 countries worldwide based on the Global Power Cities Index (GPCI). 

Sources

• https://www.nationaltransport.ie/taxi/statistics-and-legislation/driver-licences-statistics/ (*)

• Global Power Cities Index (GPCI) - https://mori-m-foundation.or.jp/english/ius2/gpci2/index.shtml

• Google Search Volume for [city + directions] - Keywordtool.io/

• Median mobile download speed - Speed Test

• Congestion world rank - Tom Tom Traffic Index   

• Congestion % - Tom Tom Traffic Index