Great Ocean Road: 10 Days Around Victoria's Wild Coast

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The route · 7 stops

1
Melbourne
2 nights
Victoria's capital is the natural starting point and a destination in itself. Spend two nights exploring the laneways, the coffee-roaster culture, and the Queen Victoria Market before collecting your hire car and pointing south towards the coast.
Pick up your hire car from Melbourne Airport or the CBD. Most agencies open early so you can hit the road without losing a morning to admin.
2
Torquay
1 night1h 30m · 105 km from previous
The official start of the Great Ocean Road and Australia's surfing capital. Bells Beach, 6 kilometres south of town, has hosted the Rip Curl Pro contest since 1961, and the Surf World Museum in town traces the full history of Australian surf culture from the 1950s onwards. The 'Start of the Great Ocean Road' memorial arch makes a solid first photo stop before heading west.
Drive through the arch early to avoid tour-coach congestion. Fuel up in Torquay before the coastal road begins, as prices rise at the smaller stops ahead.
3
Lorne
2 nights1h 10m · 45 km from previous
A compact coastal town squeezed between forested hills and the beach, Lorne rewards two nights. The Erskine Falls walk takes around 90 minutes return through tall mountain ash forest to a 30-metre waterfall. Fifteen minutes north of town, the roadside grey gum trees at Kennett River are one of the most reliable spots in Australia for wild koala sightings.
Koalas are most active in the early morning and late afternoon. Drive slowly past the Kennett River gum trees and look up into the forks.
4
Apollo Bay
1 night1h · 45 km from previous
A working fishing port at the foot of the Otway Ranges and the last sizable town before the road climbs into the rainforest. Walk up to Marriners Lookout for a wide view over the bay, then take the 50-minute detour south to Cape Otway Lightstation. In operation since 1848, it is Australia's oldest surviving lighthouse and sits at the tip of the Otway Peninsula, surrounded by koala habitat. On the return leg, the short Maits Rest rainforest walk loops through ancient myrtle beech trees.
Fresh local seafood is the standout meal in Apollo Bay. The harbour restaurants serve catches landed the same morning.
5
Port Campbell
2 nights1h 45m · 100 km from previous
A small town with outsized neighbours: Port Campbell National Park begins at the edge of town and gives access to the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, The Grotto, and London Bridge within a short drive of each other. The Twelve Apostles, a row of limestone stacks rising from the Southern Ocean, glow orange at sunrise and sunset. Loch Ard Gorge, 10 minutes further west, is named after the wool clipper wrecked here in 1878 and many visitors find the narrow inlet more dramatic than the Apostles.
Arrive at the Twelve Apostles before 8am to beat the tour coaches. Walk down Gibson Steps to the beach for the closest view of the stacks.
6
Warrnambool
1 night1h 15m · 90 km from previous
Victoria's largest regional coastal city serves as the western anchor of the Great Ocean Road. Between June and September, southern right whales come into the shallows at Logan's Beach to calve and nurse their young, and a purpose-built viewing platform gives a clear sightline over the water. Year-round, Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village tells the story of the Shipwreck Coast, and Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve (15 kilometres east) occupies an extinct volcano crater with reliable sightings of emus, kangaroos, and koalas.
Whale season runs June to September at Logan's Beach. Outside whale season, Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve is the main wildlife draw.
7
Melbourne
3h 15m · 265 km from previous
The return to Melbourne via the inland Princes Highway takes around three hours and crosses the flat volcanic plains of the Western District, a quiet contrast to the dramatic coastline just left behind. Use the evening to revisit a favourite neighbourhood or restaurant before dropping the hire car the next morning.
Return your hire car by early afternoon if possible. Check traffic on the Western Ring Road on the approach to Melbourne, which can slow on Friday evenings.

Great Ocean Road: 10 Days Around Victoria's Wild Coast

The route · 7 stops

Melbourne

Torquay

Lorne

Apollo Bay

Port Campbell

Warrnambool

Melbourne

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