The Best Road Trips in Australia: From Coast to Red Centre

Few countries do the long drive quite like Australia. 

And it’s safe to assume that a healthy share of the 2.6 million international holidaymakers do the same - drawn by the wide-open highways, dramatic scenery and well-built network of driving routes.

From coastal cliffsides carved by surf and wind, to inland tracks that cross deserts older than history itself, the best road trips in Australia are as much about pie shops, pit stops and local yarns as they are about the spectacular scenery. 

Between one town and the next can lie hundreds of kilometres of nothing but sky, scrub and the occasional emu crossing the bitumen. That’s a big part of the appeal, but it also means preparation matters more than on almost any other kind of holiday.

• Map your fuel stops: In regional areas, roadhouses can sit 200 kilometres apart, and not many stay open around the clock. Top up whenever you can rather than wait for the warning light.
• Always carry extra drinking water: At least ten litres per person on remote drives, and pack more snacks than you think you’ll need.
• Mobile reception is patchy once you leave the cities: Download maps offline and let someone know your route if you’re heading into the outback.
• Check road conditions before you go: This is especially important in Western Australia and the Northern Territory, where unsealed sections can close after rain. Wildlife is most active around dawn and dusk; plan your driving hours accordingly and avoid night travel outside built-up areas.

A well-stocked first aid kit, spare tyre, jumper leads, and sunscreen are also very important insurance against the country's talent for the unexpected, so don't leave without them.

Victoria’s Great Ocean Road carries an almost mythic weight in this country. Officially opened in 1932, this 243-kilometre stretch was carved into the cliffs by returned servicemen as a memorial to those lost in World War I. Today, it remains one of Australia’s most visited routes, drawing millions each year to its wild coastline and curving tarmac.

The rhythm of the drive moves between surf towns and wild nature, from the surfing soul of Australia at Torquay’s Bells Beach to the fern-filled gullies of the Otways and the drama of the Twelve Apostles. Port Campbell National Park continues the spectacle with its blowholes, caves and arches, including the fabled Loch Ard Gorge, while the lighthouse at Cape Otway is the oldest surviving on mainland Australia.

It is easy to underestimate the time this road deserves, as while the drive itself can be done in half a day, the experience unfolds best over two or three.

Journey Length: 243 kilometres

Highlights: The Twelve Apostles, the icons of the Great Ocean Road, a series of magnificent limestone stacks rising from the Southern Ocean, slowly eroded by wind and wave.

Overnight stay: Mantra Lorne, Mountjoy Parade, Lorne, VIC

The drive from Perth to Ningaloo Reef and onwards to Broome stretches for more than 2,600 kilometres, connecting turquoise coastlines, iron-red ranges and outback roadhouses that feel like movie sets. It is both epic and elemental.

The first leg north passes through Cervantes and Geraldton, where the coastal winds carve shifting dunes and lobster boats crowd the harbours. Near Carnarvon, palms mark the entrance to fruit farms, while the turn-off to Coral Bay signals the start of the reef country. Ningaloo, unlike the Great Barrier Reef, is a fringing reef, where you can swim straight from the sand into coral gardens alive with turtles, rays and neon fish.

Further north, the road bends inland through the Pilbara before dropping back to the coast at Broome, where the sands of Cable Beach glow apricot under the sunset camel trains.

Journey Length: 1,200 kilometres to Ningaloo or 2,553 kilometres to Broome (dependent on route)

Highlights: Don't let yourself miss out on Karijini National Park, whose towering red gorges cut through two-billion-year-old rock.

Overnight stay: Mantra Geraldton, 221 Foreshore Drive, Geraldton, WA

The east coast’s Legendary Pacific Coast route is the country’s most classic long drive with a thousand-kilometre stretch linking Sydney and Brisbane through a mosaic of surf towns, hinterland forests and coastal wine regions. Nowhere else combines so much food, culture and coastline in a single sweep of highway.

Leaving Sydney, the route passes the golden crescents of the Central Coast and Hunter Valley’s vines before driving on to the long beaches of Port Macquarie, Yamba, Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay. Each stop feels like a different postcard, from the modernist surf motels of Crescent Head, to bohemian market stalls of Bangalow, and the celebrity spotting in Byron.

Journey Length: Approximately 950 kilometres (Sydney to Brisbane)

Highlights: Stop at Port Stephens for its vast dunes, then in Queensland detour through the Tweed Coast’s farm-to-table food scene and finish with a swim at Burleigh Heads.

Overnight Stay: Novotel Newcastle Beach, 5 King Street, Newcastle, NSW

One of the best road trips in Australia without the marathon distance, the drive from the Gold Coast to Hervey Bay delivers the same sunshine as the Pacific Coast Drive on a smaller scale. Stretching roughly 400 kilometres, it links the surf and skyline of the Gold Coast with the gateway to World Heritage-listed K’gari (Fraser Island).

Along the way, the drive threads together long sweeps of coastline, classic seaside towns like Caloundra and Coolum, and detours inland to waterfalls and lookouts across the hinterland ranges. Hervey Bay marks the exhale point. Between July and October, humpback whales gather here to rest with their calves, turning the calm bay into one of the best whale-watching spots in the world.

Journey Length: Approximately 400 kilometres

Highlights: Noosa, with its national park walks and high-end beach shacks, offers a pause before the road pushes north past the Glass House Mountains and the quiet cane fields around Gympie and Maryborough.

Overnight Stay: Grand Mercure Allegra Hervey Bay, 70 Cypress Street Torquay, Hervey Bay, QLD

If the mainland’s drives are about scale, Tasmania’s Great Eastern Drive is about intimacy. Running roughly 300 kilometres from Hobart to the Bay of Fires via Wineglass Bay and Freycinet National Park, this is a coastal route that serves small distances with large rewards.

Leaving Hobart, the road hugs the coastline through Orford and Swansea, where pink granite peaks rise from sea mist and vineyards spill down to oyster farms. Coles Bay and Freycinet are the postcard centrepiece, home to Wineglass Bay’s sweeping arc of white sand.

Further north, Bicheno’s penguin colonies and the orange-lichened rocks of the Bay of Fires provide the final chapters. What sets this route apart is its combination of natural theatre and culinary craft with cellar doors, seafood shacks, small-batch distilleries and artist studios.

Journey Length: Approximately 300 kilometres (Hobart to Bay of Fires via Freycinet)

Highlights: Stop in Orford for views across to Maria Island’s national park sanctuary, where wombats and wallabies roam freely. Just north of Bicheno, take the short drive to Douglas-Apsley National Park for waterfalls and wildflower trails.

Overnight Stay: Mövenpick Hotel Hobart, 28 Elizabeth Street, Hobart, TAS

For all the coastlines and rainforests, it’s the Red Centre that holds the country’s pulse. The Red Centre Way, a roughly 1,100-kilometre circuit linking Alice Springs, Kings Canyon, Uluru and Kata Tjuta, stewards you through landscapes that are both sacred and surreal.

The route begins in cultural centre Alice Springs, before heading west through the MacDonnell Ranges. Waterholes like Ellery Creek Big Hole and Ormiston Gorge offer rare desert swims framed by cliffs that change from rust to violet at dusk.

From there, the road curls toward Watarrka National Park and Kings Canyon, where a dawn climb up the rim walk reveals sandstone domes sculpted over millions of years. The final leg leads to Uluru and Kata Tjuta, where the road straightens and the monolith rises like an illusion. Watching it shift through shades of red and purple at sunset remains one of the country’s most profound travel experiences.

Few experiences capture Australia’s spirit quite like this - a reminder that the best road trips Australia has to offer don’t just hug the coast; they run through its red heart

Journey Length: Approximately 1,100 kilometres (Alice Springs loop via Kings Canyon, Uluru and Kata Tjuta)

Highlights: Stand in the ghostly silence of Standley Chasm at midday when the rock walls blaze orange, or swim in the cool waterholes of Ormiston Gorge and Glen Helen. Detour to the Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve, where ancient craters pockmark the desert, before tracing the desert oaks toward Curtin Springs for a taste of true outback hospitality.

Overnight Stay: Mercure Alice Springs Resort, 34 Stott Terrace, Alice Springs NT

Timing depends on the region. Southern routes like the Great Ocean Road and Tasmania’s Great Eastern Drive shine in spring and autumn, when temperatures are mild and traffic thins. Northern and desert routes, including Perth to Broome and the Red Centre Way, are best tackled in the dry season from April to October to avoid flooding or extreme heat. The Pacific Coast and Gold Coast to Hervey Bay drives are enjoyable year-round, though summer can bring storms and heavy holiday crowds.

The Great Ocean Road deserves at least two days, though three allows time for detours. Perth to Broome is a serious expedition requiring ten to fourteen days. The Pacific Coast can be comfortably done in a week, while the Gold Coast to Hervey Bay run works as a long weekend. Tasmania’s east coast rewards five to seven days, and the Red Centre Way needs at least six to absorb its scale.

Most of these routes are sealed and accessible to standard cars. The exception is the Red Centre Way, which includes optional unsealed sections like the Mereenie Loop that require high clearance and experience. Remote sections of Western Australia may also demand extra caution and planning for fuel and water.

Charging infrastructure is improving rapidly along the east coast and in Tasmania, making those routes EV-friendly. Western Australia and the Northern Territory remain challenging for longer distances, though new charging corridors are being developed. Always check current maps and plan accordingly.