Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s most popular and well-known activities. It’s essentially the coastal road from Melbourne, specifically Torquay, to Port Fairy/Warrnambool. Along the way, there are extremely many unique and incredibly beautiful stops to make. These could include viewpoints, waterfalls, charming villages, and the road itself is incredibly scenic with constant beautiful views. What is the best part of great ocean road? I will tell you everything you need to know.
Where do you start and where do you finish?
Great Ocean Road begins in Torquay just outside Melbourne. In simple terms, you can start from Melbourne. The road then continues all the way to Port Fairy or Warrnambool, which are very close to each other. The difference between Warrnambool and Port Fairy is that Warrnambool is a fairly large and proper city, while Port Fairy is a bit further away and is considerably smaller but charming
How much time do you need on Great Ocean Road?
The drive from Torquay to Port Fairy takes only about 2.5 hours. However, since you will be stopping at many beautiful places, you’ll need more time. I would recommend planning for 2 nights and three days on this road trip to avoid rushing through it. Start by driving from Melbourne in the morning, take a full day to drive to Port Fairy, sleep there, spend a day exploring the area. It’s beautiful, with beaches, charming streets, and plenty of good restaurants. Sleep there another night before driving back the same way and revisiting or stopping at your favorite places.
If you have more time and are eager to visit another place in Victoria, Grampians National Park is something I highly recommend in connection with Great Ocean Road.
Can you drive Great Ocean Road with a campervan?
A campervan always works well to drive in Australia and is a very popular way to get around.
Many love campervans and find them very convenient; others feel the opposite. According to me, it depends a lot on the place you’re driving. If you’re prepared to pay for a campsite, and you like or want to try a campervan, it might be perfect here as the distance is so small. It can be challenging to find free campsites sometimes. You’ll also have to pay for a campsite when you need to charge your car on certain nights. In this way, you don’t save much money driving a campervan compared to driving a car and staying at hostels/budget accommodation. However, campervans are more about the feeling and the experience, and if you love that life, go for it! You can rent one here.
Is it good to book a tour to see the best part of Great Ocean Road?
I know that there are many tours that are just for a day where you get to see the most popular places. This is a good choice if you have little time and don’t want to complicate things too much. However, you miss many places, and as a backpacker, I wouldn’t recommend it. If you’re traveling as a family or alone and feel that you just want to see the most important and not spend too much time on it, it can be a good way.
Best part is driving a car and staying in hostels/hotels on Great Ocean Road
If you are in Australia on a WHV and already have a car, I would drive with it to save money and avoid renting. This is what we did, and we liked this way very much. We drove to Warrnambool, spent some time there, and then drove back. This way, you get two days on Great Ocean Road, which felt just right. We didn’t stay very long at each place, but we didn’t feel like we missed anything and managed to see everything we wanted to see. There is plenty of accommodation available in Warrnambool or Port Fairy in all price ranges.
If you want to make your Great Ocean Road trip more luxurious and are willing to spend more money, you can, of course, do that by renting a car and staying in nicer hotels.
There’s a lot happening on Great Ocean Road, and it’s not as desolate as some other road trips in Australia. You will have many different opportunities; it’s just about choosing what you feel for the most.
Top 6 places on Great Ocean Road
- The Twelve Apostles
- London Arch
- The Grotto
- Loch Ard Gorge
- Gibson Steps
- Oakley Waterfalls (this is Sheoka Falls)
Keep an eye out for wildlife; there are many koalas in the area.
These are absolute favorites! However, there is much more to see. As mentioned before, Great Ocean Road is just one road, and there are brown signs everywhere to things you can see or do. If you want, you can stop at everything and explore the area thoroughly. But if you don’t have time for that, use my list to not miss the absolute best.
