This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details.
Of all the beautiful road trips Australia has to offer, a self drive across the Great Ocean Road in Victoria has to be the most famous. This Adelaide to Melbourne drive itinerary includes the best drive stops along this beautiful road that curves around the Victoria coastline for over 200km.
As well as interesting limestone formations such as the Twelve Apostles, your Adelaide to Melbourne road trip will include unspoilt rainforest, beautiful national parks and a choice of seaside holiday towns.
The total driving distance from Adelaide to Melbourne is almost 1,000km along the coastal route, so the Great Ocean Road is actually only a small part of the journey.
While you could scale this drive down to a 2 or 3-day itinerary, I’d recommend 1 or 2 weeks to fully enjoy it. This Adelaide to Melbourne road trip planner includes the best places to see, driving time and driving distance and costs. So start planning now!
Adelaide to Melbourne Drive Itinerary Overview
Here’s a list of my recommended drive stops on the Adelaide to Melbourne drive itinerary via the Great Ocean Road. If you’re on a 3-day itinerary the best places to stop overnight would be Mount Gambier and the Great Ocean Road.
To skip straight to a destination, just click on the links below.
- Car Hire
- Adelaide to Melbourne Drive FAQs
- 1. Adelaide: 2 days to 1 week
- 2. Coorong National Park: 1 day
- 3. Mount Gambier: 2 days
- 4. Portland: 1 day
- 5. Great Ocean Road: 2-3 days
- 6. Melbourne: 3 days to 2 weeks
Adelaide to Melbourne Car Hire
Make sure you find the best price for car hire in Adelaide or Melbourne by using Kayak as a starting point. They compare hundreds of car hire sites to save you hours of research.
>> Click here to compare car hire prices and book your rental car <<
Adelaide to Melbourne Drive FAQs
The best drive stops along the Adelaide to Melbourne coastal route are Mount Gambier, Portland and the Great Ocean Road. Surf towns like Lorne and Torquay are also very pretty, and a detour into Great Otways National Park is well worth the time.
An Adelaide to Melbourne coastal road trip is full of unique and beautiful attractions that are really worth seeing. You can visit the iconic 12 Apostles on the Great Ocean Road, see stunning sunken gardens in volcanic Mount Gambier and the unusual Tantanoola Caves.
The shortest route from Adelaide to Melbourne is inland and takes 8 hours to drive, which can be completed in 1 or 2 days. The total distance between Adelaide and Melbourne via the Great Ocean Road is just under 1,000 km and the drive time is 12.5 hours directly. I spent 6 days driving from Adelaide to Melbourne, but you could do the journey in 2 or 3 days if necessary.
Mount Gambier is approximately halfway between Melbourne and Adelaide. This unique volcanic city is a fantastic place to visit, with the stunning bright Blue Lake and unusual gardens inside a sinkhole.
The coastal route via the Great Ocean Road is by far the most scenic route from Melbourne to Adelaide. You’ll see a range of interesting coastal formations as well as cool surf towns like Torquay that have a classic holiday feel.
I spent exactly $117 on fuel on my coastal Adelaide to Melbourne road trip, but I would scale that up to $185 for 2023 prices. Between two of us over 6 days, we also spent $126 on caravan parks, $149 on food and $65 on tours. Read my guide on the cost of travelling Australia to learn more.
1. Adelaide
Whether you’re driving from Adelaide to Perth or vice versa, it’s worth scheduling some time in to enjoy the many things to do in Adelaide. It’s a lovely city that’s vastly underrated in my opinion!
Adelaide attractions include beautiful Glenelg Beach, historic Port Adelaide, views at Mount Lofty and quaint villages in the Adelaide Hills.
Adelaide Accommodation
Make sure you book your Adelaide accommodation in advance, especially if you’re travelling during the peak summer season or school holidays! Here are my suggestions of where to stay.
ADELAIDE HOUSE SITS
My favourite type of travel accommodation is house sitting. It’s such a huge saving in an expensive country like Australia!
House sitting is when a person goes on holiday and arranges for a house sitter to stay in their home for free in return for looking after their pets and home.
I house sat in Adelaide for two weeks over Christmas and New Year, saving my travel mates and I hundreds of dollars on peak season accommodation!
Here are my recommended house-sitting sites.
- To start house sitting in Australia, I’d recommend joining Aussie House Sitters. I got plenty of jobs through them on my travels. and they’re one of the largest pet-sitting sites in the country.
- To house sit worldwide, a better choice is Trusted Housesitters. They havehouse sits in over 130 countries and offer unique perks, such as sit-cancellation compensation. Click here to get 20% off an annual membership with Trusted House Sitters.
Read my blog post on how to become a house sitter to learn how to score free accommodation instead of forking out for hostels.
ADELAIDE HOTELS AND HOSTELS
Use the search box below to browse through Adelaide hotels, apartments and hostels, or choose from my top picks below.
- BIG4 Port Willunga Tourist Park: For those of you camping or caravanning, this holiday park near McLaren Vale vineyards lies a one-hour drive from the city. It offers an outdoor pool, barbecues and a choice of villas as well as camping sites.
- Adelaide Central YHA: Located in the heart of the city, this backpacker hostel has dorms, doubles and family rooms, as well as free Wi-Fi, large lockers, a communal lounge and kitchen.
- The MAC Boutique Hotel: This modern 3-star hotel in Adelaide city is only 200m from The Art Gallery of South Australia and has air-conditioned rooms with fridges and tea/coffee-making facilities.
2. Coorong National Park
Coorong National Park in South Australia lies about halfway between Adelaide and Mount Gambier, and makes a great overnight stop if you’re camping.
Things to do in Coorong include visiting spectacular dry salt lakes, walking trails and a 140km saltwater lagoon separated from the ocean by sand dunes.
Places to See on the Way
Murray River: for a bit of relaxation, stop by Murray Bridge and enjoy tea and scones on a Captain Proud paddle boat cruise along the scenic Murray River like I did!
Distance and Drive Time
- Adelaide to Loop Road, Coorong National Park distance: 216 kilometres
- Adelaide to Loop Road, Coorong National Park drive time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Coorong Accommodation
- Coorong National Park: A range of basic campsites in the bush from $15 per site per night. We stayed at Hooded Plover, which allowed easy access to walking trails.
- Coorong Hotel Motel: If you’re not a camper, this basic accommodation at Policeman’s Point has an on-site restaurant and bar as well as TVs and a/c in every room.
3. Mount Gambier
About halfway along your Adelaide to Melbourne road trip lies unusual Mount Gambier, South Australia’s second most-populated city.
Located on an extinct volcano, the Mount Gambier landscape is really unique compared to other places to see on an Adelaide to Melbourne road trip.
Home to the beautiful Blue Lake, that turns cobalt blue in summer, Umpherston Sinkhole, a stunning sunken garden inside a limestone cave and the popular Cave Gardens, Mount Gambier has plenty of unusual attractions to fill a day or two.
Places to See on the Way
Kingston SE: the township of Kingston SE is the entrance to Australia’s South East coast and home to The Granites beach, where 2m-high granite knobs protrude out of the sand. It’s a scenic place to get out and stretch your legs.
Distance and Drive Time
- Coorong National Park to Mount Gambier distance: 232 kilometres
- Coorong National Park to Mount Gambier drive time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Mount Gambier Accommodation
- Mount Gambier Central Caravan Park: I camped here on my most recent trip. It’s very conveniently located in town and has cabins, cottages, free Wi-Fi and an outdoor pool.
- The Old Mount Gambier Gaol: I stayed at this converted prison years ago, when I was an exchange student. It was a really unique experience, and the accommodation has both self-contained cottages and dorms inside the cells.
4. Portland
Leaving South Australia behind and heading into Victoria, the next stop on your Adelaide to Melbourne drive itinerary is the busy seaside city of Portland, Victoria’s first permanent European settlement.
With a pretty foreshore, heritage buildings, museums and plenty of places to eat and drink, Portland makes a pleasant stop-off point. I had a coffee break here before heading to beautiful Narrawong to camp!
Places to See on the Way
- Tantanoola Caves Conservation Park: These beautiful caves are well worth a visit and cost $14 for a guided tour (you’re allowed to stay inside afterwards to take more photos).
- Discovery Bay Coastal Park, Nelson: From Mount Gambier, you can either take the inland Princes Highway across to Portland and beyond, or head down to Nelson and take the coastal route; the distance is about the same. Nelson is a small fishing town at the mouth of the Glenelg River with an impressive 50km-long beach stretching along the Discovery Bay Coastal Park.
- Grampians National Park: this is more of an alternative route than an attraction on the way, but about 2.5 hours north east of Mount Gambier is Halls Gap and the Grampians National Park, a mountainous hiking area and great detour for keen walkers. I didn’t go there on this trip but I did spend a few days there on my first ever Australian road trip in 2002 and loved it!
Distance and Drive Time
- Mount Gambier to Portland distance: 108 kilometres
- Mount Gambier to Portland drive time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Portland Accommodation
- Narrawong Holiday Park: I camped at this large, family friendly holiday park in nearby Narrawong. It’s in a very pretty location at the mouth of the Surry River, with sites from $27 per night. It was lovely to wander around at sunset.
- Portland Holiday Park: If you prefer to stay closer to Portland town, this tourist park has camping sites and modern cabins, free Wi-Fi and barbecues.
- Mariner Motel Portland: For a private room on a low budget, this clean but basic motel has a variety of room sizes, a garden, free Wi-Fi and great reviews.
5. The Great Ocean Road
Finally, the part you’re probably looking forward to the most! The Great Ocean Road in Victoria is a world-famous, Australian National Heritage-listed site along the Sydney to Melbourne drive.
This iconic route stretches 243km between the towns of Allansford and Torquay, and the most well-known attraction on the Great Ocean Road has to be the Twelve Apostles limestone stacks.
There are many more beautiful coastal formations along the western half of the drive though, which include Loch Ard Gorge, The Grotto, London Bridge, The Razorback and Shipwreck Walk. These are all well-signed so you wont miss them!
Allow yourself enough time to appreciate the Great Ocean Road if possible – at least two days to get from Portland to Melbourne – as it takes longer than you might expect to stop and look at each attraction.
The Great Ocean Road is unfortunately heaving with tourists a lot of the time. Prepare to be pulling up alongside tour buses and queueing to take photos amidst a sea of selfie sticks!
If you’re heading east on an Adelaide to Melbourne road trip, the visitor centre in Warrnambool is a useful place to stop at for information before you set off.
If you’re driving from Melbourne to Adelaide, stop by the centre in Lorne. Here’s a list of all the visitor centres along the Great Ocean Road.
Places to See on the Way
Great Otway National Park – the temperate rainforest of The Otways is a beautiful place to stop off for a walk or picnic. I dropped by Melba Gully Picnic Area for lunch and a short stroll.
Distance and Drive Time
- Portland to Princetown distance: 185 kilometres
- Portland to Princetown drive time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Princetown to Melbourne distance: 263 kilometres
- Princetown to Melbourne drive time: 4 hours
Great Ocean Road Accommodation
- Apostles Camping Park and Cabins Princetown: A small holiday park with pretty views not far from the Twelve Apostles. This is where I camped on my road trip.
- Port Campbell Hostel: This well-rated hostel has a choice of shared dorms and single, double and family private rooms. It’s ideally located just a 3-minute walk from the beach and a 10-minute drive from the Twelve Apostles too.
- Apollo Bay Eco YHA: An environmentally friendly hostel close to the beach and town centre with a choice of dorm beds and private rooms.
- 12 Apostles Motel & Country Retreat: Situated only 3km from the Twelve Apostles, this accommodation has a mixture of motel rooms and pet-friendly cottages. You can even order room service for your evening meal and see wildlife around the property.
6. Melbourne
The final place to see on your Adelaide to Melbourne drive! (Or the start if you’re driving from Melbourne to Adelaide of course!) Time to pack away your tent and enjoy Melbourne’s cosmopolitan cafe scene!
There are so many great things to do in Melbourne, including St Kilda Beach, Eureka Skydeck and street art in places like Hosier Lane. It’s worth spending 1 or 2 weeks there if possible.
Melbourne Accommodation
Melbourne accommodation gets booked up pretty fast, particularly in the summer; make sure you book in advance. I almost got completely stuck when I returned from Tasmania and hadn’t booked anywhere to stay that night. I ended up in a homestay as all the hostels were full!
MELBOURNE HOTELS
Use the search box below to search for Melbourne hotels, apartments and hostels.
MELBOURNE HOSTELS
I’ve personally stayed at the Melbourne hostels below and would definitely recommend them.
- HabitatHQ, St Kilda, Melbourne: I also stayed at this modern, beachside hostel, which has won awards for sustainability. The dorm beds are cheap, and the location is great.
- The Nunnery, Fitzroy, Melbourne: I stayed at this quirky, converted nunnery and thought it was really unique. The hostel has dorm beds as well as private rooms, and lots of nearby bars, funky cafes and street art.
MELBOURNE HOUSE SITS
We landed a house sit in Southbank, which had amazing views across the city skyline! Check out my house-sitting guides if you fancy free luxury accommodation instead of forking out for hostels.
To start house sitting right away, join Aussie House Sitters for house sits in Australia. For worldwide house sitting, click here to get 20% off an annual membership with Trusted House Sitters.
Distance and Drive Time
- Princetown to Melbourne distance: 263 kilometres
- Princetown to Melbourne drive time: 4 hours
Places to See on the Way:
Geelong: this port city is Victoria’s second largest city with lots of heritage buildings and an up-and-coming holiday scene.
I hope you have an amazing time on your Adelaide to Melbourne road trip. Happy travels!
Lisa Bull, founder of Dreaming of Down Under, has been living in Australia as a British expat since 2015. After travelling to every state and territory in Australia and living in Perth, Brisbane and Sydney, Lisa knows from first-hand experience the best destinations to visit in Australia and the best budget travel tips. Her guides on this blog have been read by over 700k readers and helped thousands of people achieve their dream of living in or travelling Australia.
Fantastic itinerary! Thank you so much for all of the detail, including accommodation tips and costs. Exactly what I’ve been searching (quite a bit) for. I’m planning a similar trip for this December, and I wonder if you know if campsites should/must be pre-booked during that time along the route? Thanks again!
Hi Natalie, glad you found my itinerary useful! I would look up when the Australian school holidays start, as they have their long summer holidays over Christmas time. I travelled this route in early January, which was during the holidays.
The Adelaide end of the journey was fine, but the Great Ocean Road and Melbourne itself were both extremely busy with locals camping. In fact we didn’t even stop to look at some smaller towns like Lorne, as it would have been so hard just to park!
We were very lucky to get into Narrawong and the Apostles campsites without booking. We actually stayed in Geelong on our last night as Melbourne accommodation was so booked up. So I’d definitely book that end at least a few days in advance!