Melbourne, Great Ocean Road?
Discussion
Yeah, it’s a great drive. Quite possible to drive the whole Melbourne - Adelaide in a day but I wouldn’t advise it. I stopped overnight at a few places just to explore the local areas. Lorne and Apollo Bay. Very nice.
Obviously coupled with staying in Melbourne and Adelaide etc I think I did that section in a whole week before driving up the Stuart Highway.
Obviously coupled with staying in Melbourne and Adelaide etc I think I did that section in a whole week before driving up the Stuart Highway.
We did this in 2019 and drove from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Rd.
If I did it agin I would go as far as the Twelve Apostles and reurn to Melbourne or wherever, but not continue to Adelaide.
After the 12 Apostles the terrain is very flat, treeless, and many salt flats. Have a look on streetview, you'll see what I mean.
We liked Melbourne, stayed at the Doubletree on Flinders St opposite the railway statio and a short walk from riverside restaurants on the Yarra river
If I did it agin I would go as far as the Twelve Apostles and reurn to Melbourne or wherever, but not continue to Adelaide.
After the 12 Apostles the terrain is very flat, treeless, and many salt flats. Have a look on streetview, you'll see what I mean.
We liked Melbourne, stayed at the Doubletree on Flinders St opposite the railway statio and a short walk from riverside restaurants on the Yarra river
It's quite a few years ago now, but I was staying in St Kilda (near Albert Park) and drove down the Mornington Peninsula and spent a night there before taking a morning ferry from Sorrento across to the other side. A leisurely drive up to Port Campbell with plenty of stops along the way. I had two nights there and spent the next day venturing a bit further along the coast to the Bay of Islands . Back to Port Campbell for the second night and another easy drive back to Melbourne along an inland route.
I guess you could do it by staying for one night along the GOR, but I wasn't in a rush (I was in Melbourne for 3 weeks for the GP).
I guess you could do it by staying for one night along the GOR, but I wasn't in a rush (I was in Melbourne for 3 weeks for the GP).
Metric Max said:
We did this in 2019 and drove from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Rd.
If I did it agin I would go as far as the Twelve Apostles and reurn to Melbourne or wherever, but not continue to Adelaide.
After the 12 Apostles the terrain is very flat, treeless, and many salt flats. Have a look on streetview, you'll see what I mean.
We liked Melbourne, stayed at the Doubletree on Flinders St opposite the railway statio and a short walk from riverside restaurants on the Yarra river
I’d second this. We also did it in 2019/2020. There was a lot of nothing as you say. A lot had just been burned in the big fires too. If I did it agin I would go as far as the Twelve Apostles and reurn to Melbourne or wherever, but not continue to Adelaide.
After the 12 Apostles the terrain is very flat, treeless, and many salt flats. Have a look on streetview, you'll see what I mean.
We liked Melbourne, stayed at the Doubletree on Flinders St opposite the railway statio and a short walk from riverside restaurants on the Yarra river
I did it back in 2010 in the opposite direction from Kangaroo Island to Melbourne, it took 2 days and I'll be honest the first day was pretty boring, long straight roads inland, from memory we stayed in Warrnambool at the end of the first day. The 2nd day you eventually got to enjoy the coast road into Melbourne, we did a helicopter ride over the apostles also so it made up for day 1.
Doing it Melbourne to Adelaide would be a drag on the 2nd day as there isn't much to take in.
Doing it Melbourne to Adelaide would be a drag on the 2nd day as there isn't much to take in.
I did it in a day in July 2007, it was offseason so it was pretty quiet. I did the coast road from Melbourne to Port Campbell and then cross country back to Melbourne- it was a long day but that was all the time I could spare. As above I'd recommend taking a bit more time than I did and stopping off. I saw my first wild Koalas there and helped a shop owner feed wild Kookaburras, so it's not all about the views!
I did a straw poll at work today (in Melbourne) to check I wasn’t being miserable. 5 of the 7 people I mentioned GOR to said it was over-rated and full of tourists, so it isn’t just me 
It’s busy, twisty and has a low speed limit. It’s painful as a driver because you need to concentrate on the road and can’t watch the scenery - which is mainly water anyway.
There aren’t 12 Apostles anymore.
As alternatives:
If you want beaches either do the Mornington Peninsula / Philip Island, or the Bellarine Peninsula.
Stay in Melbourne (I’d recommend South Bank) and explore the city and surrounds.
If you want something different drive out north of the city and explore the Goldfields (Castlemaine / Bendigo etc) or do the Silo Art trail which loops out of Melbourne (it should be spread over several days).
If you want roos, koalas and wombats then Ballarat Wildlife Park is great, and nearby is Sovereign Hill which is interesting.
Whatever you decide try and avoid driving early in the morning and at dusk because of the roos.
It’s busy, twisty and has a low speed limit. It’s painful as a driver because you need to concentrate on the road and can’t watch the scenery - which is mainly water anyway.
There aren’t 12 Apostles anymore.
As alternatives:
If you want beaches either do the Mornington Peninsula / Philip Island, or the Bellarine Peninsula.
Stay in Melbourne (I’d recommend South Bank) and explore the city and surrounds.
If you want something different drive out north of the city and explore the Goldfields (Castlemaine / Bendigo etc) or do the Silo Art trail which loops out of Melbourne (it should be spread over several days).
If you want roos, koalas and wombats then Ballarat Wildlife Park is great, and nearby is Sovereign Hill which is interesting.
Whatever you decide try and avoid driving early in the morning and at dusk because of the roos.
Yep, did it a years ago. In fact we did it three times but the second two were more circumstantial.
It's a nice road and there are some lovely towns and stops along the way, so I reckon it'd be a pleasant way to spend a few days from Melbourne if the weather's good (no guarantees in that part of Aus). It wasn't too busy when we were there which must have been around early March.
As above, Lorne and Apollo Bay were our highlights, and there are loads of forests, waterfalls, lighthouses, shipwrecks and surf beaches to see depending on your tastes. If you're old enough to remember the TV show Round the Twist, that lighthouse is along there somewhere so I had that theme tune in my head the entire time
Just reminded me that the head gasket on our crappy van went pop on some remote dirt track off the GOR so we got stuck in Colac until we hired a car to carry on while they fixed it. That was not so much fun.
It's a nice road and there are some lovely towns and stops along the way, so I reckon it'd be a pleasant way to spend a few days from Melbourne if the weather's good (no guarantees in that part of Aus). It wasn't too busy when we were there which must have been around early March.
As above, Lorne and Apollo Bay were our highlights, and there are loads of forests, waterfalls, lighthouses, shipwrecks and surf beaches to see depending on your tastes. If you're old enough to remember the TV show Round the Twist, that lighthouse is along there somewhere so I had that theme tune in my head the entire time
Just reminded me that the head gasket on our crappy van went pop on some remote dirt track off the GOR so we got stuck in Colac until we hired a car to carry on while they fixed it. That was not so much fun.
The best bits of the GOR are the places you stop off at, not the stuff you can briefly see out of a car window as you drive past it.
Allow several days, keep the driving per day to a minimum and enjoy the amazing towns and stop off points.
Would recommend all the towns already mentioned but would also add Torquay. Also, Bells Beach for a bit of surf spotting (referenced in Point Break but wasn't actually filmed there!).
Allow several days, keep the driving per day to a minimum and enjoy the amazing towns and stop off points.
Would recommend all the towns already mentioned but would also add Torquay. Also, Bells Beach for a bit of surf spotting (referenced in Point Break but wasn't actually filmed there!).
I’ve done it lots of times between Melbourne and Apollo Bay, which has a decent swimming beach for Victoria. The drive is slow and usually busy with tourist traffic. If you do go, try to spend some time in the Otways (inland from Apollo Bay). There’s a treetop canopy walk plus a brewery in the town of Forrest.
However, personally I prefer the area around Beechworth in the High Country or the hikes (and drives) in the Yarra Ranges temperate rainforest around Warburton and Marysville.
However, personally I prefer the area around Beechworth in the High Country or the hikes (and drives) in the Yarra Ranges temperate rainforest around Warburton and Marysville.
Gassing Station | Holidays & Travel | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff