Our picks of the most unforgettable drives that Australia has to offer.
With a car full of petrol and the Australian outback at your fingertips, adventure is never too far away. The vast expanse of country practically begs to be travelled by road, with its stretches of coastline, wide-open plains and unique flora and fauna making for some of the most majestic scenery in the world.
Time poor? The beauty about Australia is that it offers road trips as short as a two-day weekend or as long as a year, and with many car hire companies, like Europcar, having pickup and drop off points at major airports, it's way too easy to fly into a destination, pick-up your hire car keys and go.
So if you’re ready for adventure on the wide open road, here are seven of the best Australian road trips that you can make fit your holiday plans for an unforgettable experience (and the car hire deals that can make it a bargain holiday).
Ready to roam Australia?
Planning a road trip? Find out if you need Car Rental Excess Insurance
Best road trip in NSW: The Pacific Coast (Sydney to Brisbane)
- Ideal for: Summer beach holidays
- Recommended trip length: 3-5 days
- Recommended car: Medium sized sedan
During the warmer months, a road trip along the NSW coastline is a must. The Pacific Coast takes you from Sydney to Brisbane and is a tried and true fave for holidaymakers and families. For the most part, these roads hug the east coast of New South Wales and Queensland and pass through coastal hotspots like Byron Bay, Coffs Coast, Port Macquarie, Port Stephens, Hunter Valley and the Central Coast. Each location has its own unique character and small, coastal town feel that makes them impossible not to fall in love with.
Driving from Sydney to Brisbane takes a little over 10 hours, which is best broken up into a trip of 3 days or more. However, you don’t have to travel the whole Pacific Coast to experience its wonders. Instead, you can take comfortable weekend trips to the Hunter Valley, Central Coast and Coffs Harbour.
Best road trip in Victoria: Great Ocean Road (Melbourne to Allansford)
- Ideal for: Capturing our unique landscape
- Recommended trip length: 3 days
- Recommended car: Small-medium sized car
The Great Ocean Road is one of the most iconic road trips in Australia, with a gorgeous stretch of coastline that runs for 243-kilometres between Torquay and Allansford. Having been built by returned World War I veterans in dedication of their fallen comrades, it is one of the largest war memorials in the world and bears a lot of significance for many Australians.
For a perfect three-day weekend trip, keep highlights including the Twelve Apostle, Bay of Islands, Cape Otway and Bells Beach at the top of your list when building your itinerary. Fill the rest of the days exploring sweet coastal villages like Lorne, Portland and Port Fairy, as well as the lush rainforest, wineries, caves and waterfalls scattered along your journey.
If you have more time on your hands, you can also take the Great Ocean Road as a scenic route between Melbourne and Adelaide.
Best road trip in Tasmania: Hobart round trip
- Ideal for: The school holiday family getaway
- Recommended trip length: 4-5 days
- Recommended car: Medium-sized sedan
Tasmania is one of Australia’s top scenic destinations and is a dream to drive. The state’s small size means it’s possible to drive from top to bottom within a couple of hours. The scenery along the way changes frequently, moving between cityscapes, farmland, mountainsides and coastlines, with enough sleepy villages along the way to keep the kids from getting stir crazy.
Ignore the direct routes and hug the coast, driving northward from Hobart to Launceston and via Freycinet for a hike to the famous Wineglass Bay. Continue westward through Launceston and onto Cradle Mountain for another stopover before heading west around Cradle Mountain and the Lake St Clair National Park. This drive will take you through the Great Lakes region and home again.
Best road trip in Queensland: The Great Tropical Drive (Cairns/The Daintree to Townsville)
- Ideal for: Ticking that Natural Wonder of the World off your bucket list
- Recommended trip length: 5-7 days
- Recommended car: Medium-sized sedan
Queensland’s tropical region is unique in Australia, offering a diverse range of landscapes from reef and rainforest to beach and outback. The Great Tropical Drive takes you between Cairns/The Daintree and Townsville where you can make side trips to the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Rainforest, Cape Tribulation, Hinchinbrook Island and Mission Beach.
This route also takes you through some spectacularly unique National Parks, including Black Mountain National Park (where imposing black granite boulders speckle the landscape), Paluma Range National Park (a lush rainforested area) and Eubenangee Swamp National Park (a coastal swampland teaming with waterbirds and crocodiles).
Best road trip in Western Australia: The Coral Coast Drive (Perth to Broome)
- Ideal for: Having that great Aussie outback adventure
- Recommended trip length: 5-days
- Recommended car: Campervan
A campervan and some good company is a great combination when tackling this drive that combines coast and desert seamlessly. The colours themselves are worth the journey, with the red earthy tones of the landscape contrasting with the turquoise blues of the ocean - a combination that makes for the perfect Facebook DP.
Highlights to keep you gobsmacked and Instagram happy include Monkey Mia, Ningaloo Reef, the Pinnacles, Cape Range National Park and Carnvaron. If adventure is on the cards, upgrade your campervan to a 4WD that will come in handy for crossing the rugged outback territory on your route.
Need to shorten your trip? You can finish at Exmouth instead of Broome without sacrificing the highlights mentioned here (though you will miss out on the gorgeous rock formations of Karijini).
Best road trip in Northern Territory: The Stuart Highway Drive (Darwin to Alice Springs and Uluru)
- Ideal for: Exploring the Red Centre
- Recommended trip length: 9-days
- Recommended car: 4WD
Prepare to kick up some serious dust on this culturally rich exploration from the territory’s capital to its sacred rock, Uluru. A 4WD and a pair of hiking boots are mandatory if you plan to do this right.
The Stuart Highway is one of Australia’s main highways, taking you pretty much from the top to the tail of the country, starting in Darwin and ending in Port Augusta in South Australia. Stop by Kakadu National Park for a boat tour through this enormous wetland, then continue south to Alice Springs and into the Red Centre. On your way to see Uluru and its neighbouring rock formation, the Olgas (Kata Tjuta), spend a day at King’s Canyon to hike its rim and swim in the Garden of Eden - a green oasis of calm amidst the barren rocky landscape.
Best road trip in South Australia: The Wine Tour (Adelaide to the Barossa)
- Ideal for: Foodies and wine connoisseurs
- Recommended trip length: 1-2 days
- Recommended car: Luxury vehicle
Fine wine and food are the name of the game on this weekend trip away from the hustle and bustle of city life. Unlike most other Aussie road trips, hiking boots are far from the required attire for this drive. Instead, a penchant for a good drop is ideal as you travel through some of Australia’s finest wineries and historic buildings.
Barossa Valley, Adelaide Hills, Clare Valley and McLaren Vale each offer plenty of cellar doors for you to whet your whistle at. The big pickle you’ll find is deciding which places to explore, as they all radiate in different directions from Adelaide. To help (or hinder) things, the Barossa alone boasts over 160 wineries, including Penfolds and Yalumba. Meanwhile, Adelaide Hills includes Bird In Hand and Cake Wines, Clare Valley is home to Sevenhill (where wine is made by Jesuit priests), and McLaren Vale delights with its Hardys and d’Arenberg’s cellar doors. Better make that weekend trip a couple of days longer…
