Australia's Best Road Trips Ranked: 15 Routes from Weekend to Epic

A country the size of Europe with 26 million people mostly on the coast leaves an extraordinary amount of empty road. These 15 drives are ranked honestly — not by what looks good on a travel brochure, but by how memorable they actually are when you do them.

Ranking Criteria

Each route is scored on: scenery (primary), difficulty (accessibility for most travellers), planning effort, and whether it lives up to its reputation.

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Tier 1: The Best in the Country

1. The Gibb River Road, Western Australia

Distance: 660km (Kununurra to Derby)
Time required: 5–7 days minimum
Vehicle required: 4WD essential
Best months: May–September (April and October are risky; November–March is impassable due to wet season)

• Start in Kununurra; stock up with enough supplies for 3 days between resupply points
• Hire a 4WD for the Gibb → — a standard AWD won’t cut the corrugations and creek crossings
• Check road conditions: Kimberley Road Report (kimberleyroadreport.com.au) updated daily
• Stop 1: El Questro Gorge — thermal springs, gorge swimming, one of the most dramatic landscapes in Australia
• Stop 2: Emma Gorge — 1.5-hour walk in to a waterfall and swimming hole; camping at the gorge
• Stop 3: Bell Gorge — the signature Gibb River Road stop; swimming under a tiered waterfall
• Stop 4: Manning Gorge — cross the river by rope on a floating platform, 2km hike to a wide swimming hole
• Carry 2 spare tyres — corrugations on unsealed sections destroy tyres
• End in Derby or continue to Broome (sealed road from Derby, 3 hours)
• Rating: 10/10 — no other Australian road trip comes close for pure remote drama

2. Cape York Peninsula, Queensland

Distance: 1,000km (Cairns to the tip)
Time required: 10–14 days
Vehicle required: 4WD essential
Best months: May–October

• This is Australia’s most demanding accessible road trip — river crossings, remote fuel stops 300km apart, and genuine wilderness
• The tip of Cape York is the northernmost point of mainland Australia — a goal worth the effort
• Key stops: Cooktown (4WD track from Cairns through the Bloomfield Track or sealed road via Mt Carbine), Lakefield National Park (crocodile territory), Musgrave, Laura, Archer River
• Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park for the best remote camping
• Book the ferry across the Jardine River — it runs on limited hours
• Rating: 9/10 — incomparable remote tropical wilderness but requires serious logistics

3. Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Distance: 243km (Torquay to Allansford)
Time required: 2–4 days
Vehicle required: Any 2WD
Best months: October–April (avoid peak Christmas period for crowds)

• Start in Torquay and drive west — the morning light falls on the ocean-side cliffs in the afternoon this direction
• Bells Beach (world-famous surf break): park at Bells Blvd, walk to the clifftop lookout
• Lorne: best stop for lunch, town with good restaurants on the main street
• Apollo Bay: underrated base for the Otway Ranges (koalas in the rainforest hinterland)
• Great Otway National Park: take the inland detour via the Otway Fly Treetop Walk (A$35 adult)
• Twelve Apostles: arrive before 9am or after 4pm to avoid tour bus crowds; the late afternoon light is the most photographed in Australia
• Loch Ard Gorge (1km from the Twelve Apostles): often empty even when the Apostles are packed
• Port Campbell to Warrnambool for whale watching (June–September, southern right whales from Logan’s Beach)
• Rating: 8/10 — excellent scenery but can feel busy; go mid-week off-season

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Tier 2: Outstanding Drives

4. Mornington Peninsula Loop, Victoria

Distance: 160km loop from Melbourne
Time required: 2 days
Best months: October–March

• Frankston to Portsea via the Nepean Highway — Mornington, Sorrento, Portsea
• Portsea back bay: best swimming in the bay
• Mornington Peninsula National Park: ocean side with rocky surf beaches
• Winery circuit through Red Hill and Main Ridge
• Ferry from Queenscliff back to Sorrento if doing the loop (A$90 per vehicle)
• Rating: 7.5/10 — best Victoria drive accessible in a weekend

5. The Flinders Ranges, South Australia

Distance: 540km return from Adelaide
Time required: 3–5 days
Best months: April–September

• Drive via Port Augusta, arrive at Quorn (old Ghan railway junction, interesting history)
• Wilpena Pound: the natural amphitheatre formation visible from the air — extraordinary
• Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary in the northern Flinders — serious 4WD territory, world-class dark skies
• Brachina Gorge geological trail: 20km unsealed road through ancient sea floor exposed at the surface
• Rawnsley Park Station for accommodation (from A$180/night glamping)
• Rating: 8/10 — among Australia’s most dramatic landscapes within reasonable distance of a capital city

6. Savannah Way, Queensland to WA

Distance: 3,700km (Cairns to Broome)
Time required: 3–4 weeks
Best months: May–September

• The northern Australia equivalent of the Nullarbor — crosses the top of the continent through the Gulf Country, NT and Kimberley
• Key stops: Undara Lava Tubes, Adels Grove (Lawn Hill Gorge), Boodjamulla National Park, Karumba sunset, Doomadgee, Borroloola, Timber Creek, Keep River
• 4WD strongly recommended for many sections
• Rating: 9/10 — the most underrated long drive in Australia; genuinely little-known outside road-trip communities

7. South Coast NSW (Sydney to Melbourne via Princes Highway)

Distance: 1,050km
Time required: 5–7 days
Best months: November–April

• Wollongong to Kiama (blowhole, Cathedral Rocks)
• Jervis Bay (turn inland for the whitest sand in Australia)
• Batemans Bay to Moruya: oyster farms and quiet estuaries
• Merimbula: excellent flat-water kayaking
• Eden: whale watching capital of NSW (September–November)
• Cross into Victoria at Genoa for the Mallacoota detour (one of Victoria’s best-kept secrets)
• Rating: 7.5/10 — consistently beautiful, surprisingly underrated

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Tier 3: Good Drives Worth Knowing

8. Pacific Coast Route (Sydney to Brisbane)

Distance: 940km
Time required: 4–6 days

• Newcastle → Port Macquarie → Coffs Harbour → Byron Bay → Gold Coast hinterland → Brisbane
• Best stop: Byron Bay and Lennox Head (excellent surf, natural headlands)
• Manning Valley detour: Hat Head National Park for absolute isolation
• Rating: 7/10 — well-travelled but beautiful in stretches

9. Nullarbor Plain

Distance: 1,200km (Ceduna to Norseman)
Time required: 2–3 days
Best months: April–October

• World’s longest straight stretch of road: 146.6km without a curve
• Bunda Cliffs: 200km of unbroken 80m cliffs dropping into the Southern Ocean — extraordinary and completely unknown internationally
• Head of Bight: whale sanctuary with viewing platforms; southern right whales May–October (A$16 entry)
• Fuel up religiously — stations are 200km apart
• Rating: 7/10 — less visually dramatic than people imagine until the cliffs; do it once

10. Eyre Peninsula, South Australia

Distance: 750km loop from Port Augusta
Time required: 4–5 days
Best months: March–November

• Coffin Bay (the best oysters in Australia, eat them direct from the farm)
• Elliston: massive clifftop murals in this tiny town
• Point Labatt: mainland Australia’s only permanent sea lion colony
• Baird Bay: swim with dolphins and sea lions guided tours (A$195pp)
• Rating: 7.5/10 — excellent food and wildlife, very few visitors

11. Savannah Drive, North Queensland (Cooktown to Normanton)

Distance: 700km
Time required: 4–5 days
Best months: May–August

• Through the Cape York hinterland and Gulf savannah
• Undara Lava Tubes: the world’s longest lava tubes (A$69 guided tour)
• Cobbold Gorge: boat tour through narrow red gorge, extraordinary
• Rating: 7/10 — for those who’ve done the Gibb River Road and want the Queensland equivalent

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Tier 4: Specialist Drives

12. Alpine Way (Thredbo to Albury), NSW

• Best in autumn (leaf colour) and winter (skiing); summer wildflowers at the plateau
• Dinner Plain and Falls Creek for alpine villages
• Rating: 7/10 — distinctive Australian alpine landscape, short enough for a weekend

13. Mawson Trail (Gawler to Blinman), SA

• Off-road motorcycle/mountain bike route with vehicle support option
• 900km through the Flinders Ranges
• Rating: 7/10 — for enthusiasts specifically

14. Waterfall Way, NSW (Armidale to Coffs Harbour)

• 180km through the Great Dividing Range escarpment
• Multiple waterfalls visible from the road or short walks
• Dorrigo National Park: ancient Gondwana rainforest
• Rating: 7.5/10 — best short inland drive in NSW

15. Huon Valley and Deep South, Tasmania

• 280km return from Hobart through apple orchards, old-growth Huon Pine forests and Tahune Airwalk
• Tahune Forest AirWalk: canopy walk above the Huon Pine trees (A$29 adult)
• Cockle Creek: the southernmost driveable point in Australia
• Rating: 7.5/10 — Tasmania’s most accessible wilderness drive from Hobart

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Road Trip Essentials Checklist

Vehicle

• Service check at least 1,000km before departure for remote drives
• Check tyre pressure and carry a spare (2 spares for Gibb River Road / Cape York)
• Carry a tyre repair kit and portable compressor
• Book your hire car early for remote routes → — 4WD availability is limited in peak season

Navigation and Communication

• Download offline maps for every section before departure
• Carry a paper road atlas as backup (UBD/Gregorys Australia road atlas, A$30–40)
• Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) for any outback drive — hire or buy from Anaconda/BCF (~A$300 purchase, A$30/week hire)
• Satellite communicator (Garmin inReach, from A$400) for two-way communication in no-signal areas

Supplies

• Water: 10 litres minimum per person for outback drives (20 litres for the Gibb/Cape York)
• Food for 2 days beyond your planned itinerary — unexpected breakdowns happen
• First aid kit rated for remote areas
• Jump starter pack (lithium, compact)

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