Plan the journey of a lifetime with our guide to the eight best road trips in Australia. Our travel experts have compiled a range of ideas, from week-long itineraries to 3-month adventures that circumnavigate the entire country!
Whether you’re after a sunny summer trip or a snowy winter spectacle, you’ll find it all on this list. Plus, we’ve thrown in detailed maps and a heap of extra information about attractions, distances, the best time to travel and much more.
The best road trips in Australia: 8 routes you can’t miss
1. The Big Lap around Australia
Kakadu National Park near Darwin
Total distance: 15,000 km
Recommended days: 60 to 90 days
Best time to do the route: Winter and Autumn
The best road trip in Australia takes you to every major sight and attraction around the country.
Pick up your campervan hire in NSW and leave the city lights of Sydney behind for the Pacific Coast. Catch some sun in seaside towns and cities like Port Stephens and Byron Bay before tracing the tropical QLD coast through the Daintree Forest and past the Great Barrier Reef.
Cut across the outback to steamy Darwin and spend a few days exploring the Aboriginal rock art and natural wonders of Kakadu National Park Continue further west and take a beach camel ride in Broome before tracing the rugged and remarkable coastline of Western Australia.
From Perth, pass through the lush vineyards and forests of the Margaret River before crossing the dusty Nullarbor Plain to the beautiful Eyre Peninsula. Once in Adelaide, you can spend a week venturing north to Uluru (see below) or continue east along the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne.
From Victoria, it’s only a few days drive through the Snowy Highlands and Canberra back to Sydney.
2. Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road
Total distance: 1,100 km
Recommended days: 4 to 7 days
Best time to do the route: Summer and Spring
The Great Ocean Road between Adelaide and Melbourne was built by returned soldiers in the early 1900s and is today one of the best road trips in Australia.
Arrange for campervan hire in Melbourne and check out the major attractions around this buzzing metropolitan area, including the Eureka Skydeck and Royal Botanical Gardens. Stay in Torquay, the surfing capital of Australia, and take a dip at the world-famous Bells Beach or visit the Australian National Surfing Museum.
Spend a few days exploring the tall redwood forests and waterfalls around Great Otway National Park or head inland to try locally produced wines and cheeses in charming country towns like Timboon and Colac. However, don’t miss the major geological attractions that line the Great Ocean Road, including the world-renowned Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge.
Once in South Australia, visit Mt Gambier and walk the circumference of the amazing Blue Lake. Finally, finish your journey with a glass of award-winning wine at a Barossa Valley vineyard near Adelaide.
3. Adelaide to Alice Springs via the Red Centre Way
Total distance: 2,500 km
Recommended days: 5 to 7 days
Best time to do the route: Winter and Autumn
Discover the heart of outback Australia with a road trip around the Red Centre!
Pick up your campervan hire in Adelaide and spend your first few days enjoying world-class wine in the Barossa and Clare Valleys.
Then leave the lush vineyards behind and make your way through the dusty outback to isolated towns like Woomera and Coober Pedy,where people live and work underground to escape the heat.
After touring a working Opal mine, ascend to the surface again and visit the lunar-like landscape of the Kanku-Breakaways Conservation Park.
Wake up early and catch the sunrise reflecting off the rainbow soils at the Painted Desert Lookout before continuing on to Uluru (Ayers Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas).
After a few days exploring all that Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park has to offer, follow the road through the West MacDonnell Ranges to stunning desert oases like Glen Helen Gorge and Kings Canyon.
Watch the sunset over the red desert sands before ending your road trip in Alice Springs.
4. Sydney to Melbourne via the Grand Pacific Drive
Total distance: 1,300 km
Recommended days: 7 to 10 days
Best time to do the route: Summer and Spring
This coastal road trip from Sydney to Melbourne is one of the best ways to experience Eastern Australia’s pristine beaches. After grabbing your campervan hire in Sydney, head directly to the Royal National Park and spend the day trekking around iconic sights like Wedding Cake Rock and the Figure 8 Rock Pools. Continue along the 140km Grand Pacific Drive and stop for photos on the famous Sea Cliff Bridge before camping in Wollongong.
You’ll want to spend a few days relaxing on the sugar-white sands of Hyams Beach in Jervis Bay before continuing on to seaside towns like Ulladulla and Batemans Bay, where you can taste some of the best seafood in the country. Don’t miss the iconic Mogo Wildlife Park and the Eden Killer Whale Museum, two must-see attractions on the NSW South Coast.
Cross the Victorian border and camp for a few days around Gippsland Lakes, Australia’s largest and most beautiful inland waterway. Finally, try some fine dining and soak up the sun on the gentle beaches around the Mornington Peninsula.
5. Perth to Adelaide via the Nullarbor Plain
Total distance: 3,600 km
Recommended days: 5 to 7 days
Best time to do the route: Winter and Autumn
This road trip from Perth to Adelaide is one of Australia’s best because it’s got a bit of everything – from lush forests and vineyards, to dry desert plains and deep-sea adventures!
Organise campervan hire in Perth and head south to the luscious Margaret River region, where you can catch some of the world’s best surf or try internationally renowned wines. Follow the sheer limestone cliffs along the coastline to Albany, famous for its colonial buildings and outstanding museums.
Spend a few days on the dreamy white beaches and clear waters around Esperance. Don’t miss nearby Lucky Bay, where you’ll likely spot kangaroos sunbaking on the warm sands.
It’s then time to take on the longest stretch of straight road in Australia: the Eyre Highway across the Nullarbor Plain. On one side of the road, you’ll have the towering Bunda Cliffs, from which you can watch whales splash below in the deep blue waters of the Great Australian Bight. On the other side of the road, you’ll have dusty desert plains that are trampled by camels, dingoes, kangaroos, and emus.
End your road trip by spending a few days on the Eyre Peninsula, famous for producing some of Australia’s best seafood and aquatic attractions. Thrill-seekers can go cage diving with great white sharks near Port Lincoln whilst the more timid amongst us can visit the seaside paradise that is Lincoln National Park. From there, it’s only a few more hours to your final destination, Adelaide.
6. Sydney to Brisbane via the Pacific Coast
Total distance: 1,050 km
Recommended days: 7 to 14 days
Best time to do the route: Summer and Spring
If you want sand, sun, sea and fun, look no further than a road trip from Sydney to Brisbane via the Pacific Coast.
Arrange for campervan hire in Port Stephens, the dolphin-watching capital of Australia and spend a day riding ATV’s around the largest moving sand dunes in the Southern Hemisphere. Set up a seaside campsite in the magnificent Myall Lake National Park before taking an easy stroll to the historic Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse.
Continue northward and visit Sea Acres National Park near Port Macquarie, where the forest runs right down to the edge of the ocean. Kids of all ages will have a ball at the Big Banana Fun Park in Coffs Harbour, a theme park packed with waterslides, rides and other fun attractions.
Stay for a few days in the laid back beach city of Byron Bay and be sure to take a walk along Main Beach or the Cape Byron walking track. Just up the road is the lively Gold Coast, where you can spend your day in the surf and your night on the town. Finally, end your road trip in Brisbane, a relaxed urban city beaming with art, culture and dining opportunities.
7. The Tasmanian Lap
Total distance: 1,400 km
Recommended days: 14 to 30 days
Best time to do the route: Spring or Autumn
Experience one of the world’s most beautiful islands whilst on one of Australia’s best road trips: the loop route around Tasmania!
After picking up your campervan hire in Tasmania, head for Launceston and admire its Colonial architecture before relaxing at the beautiful Cataract Gorge Reserve. Make your way through the lush Tamar Valley before setting up a seaside campsite at the Bay of Fires (one of the world’s best travel destinations according to Lonely Planet).
Trace the Tasmanian coastline south to Bicheno, a small seaside town renowned for its clear blue waters, red rocks and outstanding takeaway seafood. From here, it’s only a short drive to Freycinet National Park, home to the famous Wineglass Bay.
Don’t miss the Port Arthur Historic Site, a 19th-century penal settlement that is renowned as one of the world’s best open-air museums. Afterwards, enjoy a scenic drive to the capital city of Hobart, where you can explore the historic city streets or take in spectacular panoramic views from Mt Wellington.
Spend a day or two exploring the many walkways around Cradle Mountain National Park, a UNESCO site where Indigenous Australians are believed to have lived for up to 20,000 years. Lake St Clair, the deepest freshwater lake in Australia, is one of the easiest yet most beautiful walks in the park.
Finally, end your road trip by following Tasmania’s West Coast to sleepy towns like Strahan and Stanley, famous for attractions like the West Coast Wilderness Railway and the vivid Table Cape Tulip Farm.
8. Perth to Broome via the West Australian Coast
Total distance: 3,250 km
Recommended days: 7 to 14 days
Best time to do the route: Winter and Autumn
Travel 2,500 million years into the past as you road trip through an ancient landscape – where Western Australia’s red desert soils meet the white-sand beaches of the Indian Ocean.
Start by arranging campervan hire in Western Australia and spend a few days visiting Perth’s major attractions like Cottesloe Beach and King’s Park and Botanic Gardens. Don’t miss a day trip to nearby Rottnest Island, where more than 10,000 quokkas hop around 63 beautiful beaches.
Follow the Indian Ocean Drive northward to Nambung National Park, home to the Pinnacles Desert and gateway to Western Australia’s Coral Coast. Take a self-guided driving tour around the 30,000-year-old Pinnacles before continuing north to Geraldton, where you can enjoy panoramic views from the HMAS Sydney II Memorial.
Spend a night camping in Kalbarri National Park and walk through its monolithic red gorges to amazing sandstone structures like Nature’s Widow and Z-Bend. The next day, stay at Monkey Mia in the Shark Bay World-Heritage Site and hand-feed dolphins from the white-sand beach.
Continue up the coast to Exmouth, where you can drift snorkel and see whale sharks, humpback whales, turtles, and more swimming amongst the World Heritage-listed Ningaloo Reef. Then head inland to the remarkable Karijini National Park, where you can clamber down rock faces and swim in desert oases like Weano Gorge and Handrail Pool.
Finally, end your road trip in the beautiful seaside city of Broome. Take a tour of Australia’s pearling capital before kicking off your shoes and enjoying a sunset camel ride along Cable Beach.
Organise your Australian road trip today
Now that you’ve got a few ideas for the best places to road trip in Australia, it’s time to arrange your wheels (and accommodation)!
Camplify, is a platform that allows holidaymakers to quickly search through privately-owned rentals to find the ideal van for their adventure. Simply enter your pickup location (plus heaps of optional filters) and within seconds, you can find the perfect motorhome, caravan or campervan for your taste of van life in Australia!
Article posted originally on Camplify: https://www.camplify.com.au/
