Great Ocean Road trip: Melbourne to Warrnambool
≈ 400 km · ~6 h driving · ideal in 6 days · 6 stops
Australia's memorial highway — built by returned WWI soldiers — hugs the Southern Ocean past surf towns, koala forests and the crumbling limestone giants of the Twelve Apostles.
Photo: Unsplash
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The route at a glance
- Melbourne — 1 night
- Torquay — stop en route
- Lorne — 1 night
- Apollo Bay — 1 night
- Port Campbell — 1 night
- Warrnambool — 1 night
The stops
- 1
Melbourne
Laneway coffee to go, then over the West Gate and down to where the road meets the sea at Torquay.
- 2
Torquay
Surfing's Australian capital — Bells Beach and the surf brands' outlet stores mark the official start of the road.
- 3
Lorne
Golden-era seaside town with Erskine Falls in the rainforest behind — the first proper overnight of the road.
- 4
Apollo Bay
Fishing-town base for Cape Otway's lighthouse and the treetop walk among 60-metre mountain ash.
- 5
Port Campbell
Sleep beside the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and London Bridge — golden hour and dawn without the day-trip coaches.
- 6
Warrnambool
End where southern right whales calve off Logans Beach in winter — then cut inland or double back along the clifftops.
Good to know
Drive it westbound to stay on the ocean side. The Twelve Apostles face south-west — sunset is their hour, and the crowds know it; sunrise is yours alone. Koalas are reliably in the manna gums at Kennett River. December–February is busy season; winter (June–August) brings whales to Warrnambool's nursery bay. Watch for kangaroos at dusk.
More road trips
Or start from a blank map and build your own — Stopful shows drive times between stops, splits long days, finds hotels and EV chargers along the route, and tracks the budget as you plan.