Are you considering driving from Melbourne to Sydney in a car or camper van, and looking for the best things to do and see along the way?
After travelling around Australia in our self converted camper van for two years, we’re here to give you the best places to see along the Melbourne to Sydney coast to help you build an unforgettable road trip.
From iconic coastal towns to wildlife hotspots and hidden gems you rarely see on Melbourne to Sydney drive itineraries, including Australia’s snowy mountain – yes, Australia gets snow – it’s going to be an introduction to Aussie life outside of the city that will stay with you forever.
Driving From Melbourne to Sydney Itinerary
This 7 day road trip itinerary can easily be done in reverse, but since we started in Melbourne and ended in Sydney, that’s the way I’ll plot it out here.
Since I know you might want to extend the trip out further to really make the most of each destination, I’ve included camping & accommodation ideas for each spot, however some of them can be merged together into one day depending on how much you choose to do in each place.
Even though we think this is a pretty perfect Melbourne to Sydney drive itinerary, free to tweak and adjust it to suit your needs!
Before leaving, make sure you tick off some of these free and budget things to do in Melbourne
Wilsons Promontory National Park
Drive time from Melbourne: 3 hours
3 hours from Melbourne, your first destination is Wilsons Promontory and what better way to kick off this drive from Melbourne to Sydney than with a stop off at squeaky beach!
This beach does exactly what is says on the tin, it squeaks, and while it isn’t the only beach in Australia to do this, it does make a fun first stop!
Other things to do at Wilsons Prom include hiking to the top of Mt Oberon (2 hour return) to get spectacular views over the coast, wildlife spotting on the Loo Errn Boardwalk track where you’re highly likely to see wild wombats, and visiting the stunning Refuge Cove.
For us, Wilsons Prom was a great excuse to let our inner child run wild, and shake off the city stresses in the bushlands and squeaky beaches. We wish we made more time to visit mainland Australia’s most southerly point, so if that’s something you’d like to do, make sure you leave plenty of time!
Places To Stay At Wilsons Prom
If you’re driving from Melbourne and Sydney by car or campervan and want to do a spot of camping while you’re here, Tidal River Campsite is the official National Park camping area in the heart of the bushland with toilets, showers & BBQs on site.
If you want somewhere with electric hook up, washing machines and other facilities, Wilsons Prom Holiday Park is a good option, however, it is a little further out of the national park.
90 Mile Beach & Gippsland Lakes
Drive time from Melbourne: 5 hours
Located in the Gippsland lakes area, 90 mile beach runs alongside Australia’s largest network of inland waterways and the area as a whole offers a host of different water and nature activities, as well as cute lakeside and coastal villages with plenty of great cafes for a spot of breakfast or lunch!
During our time spent driving from Melbourne to Sydney, this was perhaps the most peaceful. We spent a couple of hours at the beach and didn’t see a single person that whole time, so if you want a pristine beach all to yourself, 90 mile beach is the place to go!
The sheer size of this beach meant we were unable to see from one end to the other, so even if there are other people there when you visit, there’s certainly plenty of space for it to feel like you have it to yourself!
Once you’ve had your fill at the beach, take a short drive and head into the town of Lakes Entrance where you can hire some fishing gear to try your luck catching crabs from one of the docks!
Places To Stay At Lakes Entrance
Should you choose to spend the night here, The Lakes Beachfront Holiday Park offers great facilities for campers. We’re also a big fan of Holiday Parks because of how well set up they are for couples and families!
Mallacoota & Croajingolong National Park
Drive time from Melbourne: 9.5 hours
This stunning town is close to the Victoria, NSW border in the heart of Croajingolong National Park and is a great spot, once again, for nature lovers and people looking for a peaceful escape as they drive from Melbourne to Sydney.
Named a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, here you’ll find a wide variety of walking tracks, lookout points and places to relax so get your walking boots on and head out onto one of the trails where you can expect to spot wild Goanna, Kangaroo and endless species of birds.
One of the most popular walks here is the Double Creek Nature walk because of your increased chances of seeing wild koala! This is a short and easy walk, so if you don’t want to spend long in this part of Victoria, this would be the track that gives you the most bang for buck, so to speak.
If you fancy a more challenging hike, head to the Genoa Peak walk which is a 2 hour return on a level 3 track. From here you’ll get breathtaking views over Croajingolong National Park.
Top tip for Koala spotting… Look in the ‘Y’ shapes of the tree branches. They’ll spend the majority of their time perched here so zoning in on these areas will increase your chances of seeing them!
Places To Stay In Mallacoota
Free camping is available at the Genoa recreation reserve where you pay by donation & honesty box. Alternatively there’s Shady Gully Caravan Park which offers full services for campers.
Kosciuszko National Park
Drive time from Melbourne: 13 hours
This is one of the most unique things to do on your Melbourne to Sydney road trip but it is completely optional, depending on how much time you have given yourself.
If you want to see snow in Australia (presuming you’re travelling in winter), and marvel at Australia’s largest peak, you need to head to Kosciuszko National Park.
Unfortunately we only skirted around the edge of this national park. We were travelling at the end of winter and had seen snow on the verges, so we weren’t confident our van would cope well on the roads without snow chains.
That being said, if you’re better prepared than we were (honestly, being young and naive, we weren’t really expecting to see snow in Australia!) you really should make time for this side trip on your Melbourne to Sydney road trip.
So, considering you now know there’s snow here in winter, you won’t be surprised to hear that skiing and snowboarding are some of the best activities to do here in winter.
Selwyn Snow Resort is popular for beginners and a great family friendly resort, or, if you fancy something that’s a bit more tranquil, head to Charlottes Pass which is the highest resort in Australia.
During summer the snow slopes turn into a prime location for mountain bikers, hikers and nature lovers alike.We kept meaning to go back and do a proper trip to Kosciuszko National Park as a day trip from Sydney but we never made it any closer than Cooma on our way to Canberra.
Narooma & Alpine Highway
Drive time from Melbourne: 17 hours
As you travel from Kosciuszko National Park towards Sydney, you’ll be taken down Princes Highway, or also known as Alpine Highway. This is a beautiful and underrated road which we thought was the inland counterpart to the Great Ocean Road!
At the end of the Alpine Highway you’ll hit Narooma.
Narooma took my breath away. As you drive off of Princes Highway, and down into this little fishing town, the view you are greeted with is worth the small detour.
Its little harbour filled with boats and mountain backdrop makes it look straight off a postcard. We had to stop and admire its beauty as well as the locals just going about their daily lives, almost unaware that they live in such a picturesque town.
If you choose to hang around Narooma for a day or two, you won’t be disappointed by what you find.
Wagonga Inlet is a great place to see Pelicans and stingray, hire a kayak or try some local oysters. If you fancy a longer day trip, you can join Montague Island Adventures to explore one of Australia’s most diverserve wildlife wonders and a sacred land to the local Yuin Aboriginal people. With this tour you’ll have the chance to see even more wildlife, visit the historic lighthouse and snorkel with the local seal population!
Narooma was one of our favourite little towns along the Sydney coastal drive and like with most places we visited on our Aussie travels, we just wish we had longer!
If you weren’t going to the snowy mountains, there’s an alternative route to get to Narooma. If you stick to the coastal road, instead of taking the alpine highway, and pass through Mimosa Rocks National.
It’s still a beautiful drive with plenty of free camping available but we liked to break up the Melbourne to Sydney drive by heading inland for a small stretch.
Places To Stay In Narooma
For camping near Narooma we recommend Surf Beach Narooma Holiday Park, not only do they have great views but they’re pet friendly and usually have good prices too!
Batemans Bay
Drive time from Melbourne: 17.5 hours
As we inch closer to the end of this Melbourne to Sydney drive, let’s take another look at a fantastic rugged coastline of New South Wales and explore Batemans Bay.
British and missing your fish and chips by this point? (Like us!) Batemans Bay has some of the best along this stretch of coast. Or, if you’re more adventurous than me you could join a kayaking tour to sample fresh local oysters.
We spent a little bit of time just wandering around this cute Marina town, with so much personality in the buildings – and the locals – we didn’t feel the need to explore further afield, although there’s certainly plenty to choose from if you wanted to! For us, it made for a perfect rest stop to refuel both us and the camper!
If you’ve been travelling with us a while, you’ll know how much we love a whale watching tour. Well, at Batemans Bay you can see them from a kayak for a really unique experience! Had it been the season for them, this is something we would definitely have done because it seems like a really amazing experience to have.
Instead, we went whale watching in Sydney so be sure to check out that post for more information about the season etc.
Places To Stay In Batemans Bay
There’s a Big4 Holiday Park in Batemans Bay so if you’re looking for a fully serviced beachfront holiday park, give this one a go! Alternatively there’s Clyde View Holiday Park too
For free camping all around Australia, we used the WikiCamps app
Jervis bay & Booderee National Park
Drive time from Melbourne: 19.5 hours
The penultimate location on your Melbourne to Sydney road trip, Jervis Bay is a spectacular safe-swimming cove that is really popular with Aussies and tourists.
If you’re travelling between November and March, Murrays beach in Booderee National Park is a great place to see Fairy Penguins either from the beach or during a wildlife cruise where you’ll also spot dolphins. If you’re travelling later in the year, you could also spot whales!
A visit to Plantation Point after sunset will reveal why this area really is magical… Bioluminescence! Tie it in with the beautiful white sands, and beautiful coastline, it’s a landscape photographer’s dream! Like with all nature, it isn’t a guaranteed thing, but it’d be cool if you did get a chance to see it! Ycan learn more about the Bioluminescence at Jarvis Bay here!
Places To Stay In Jervis Bay
For the best access to the Bioluminescence then you should base yourself for the night in Vincentia. This area, unsurprisingly, is full of holiday homes & private rentals more so than B&Bs, holiday parks.
Most camping spots are still pretty close to everything though, so if you don’t want to splash out on some comfort for the last few nights of your Melbourne to Sydney road trip, check out Jervis Bay Holiday Park.
Royal National Park
Drive time from Melbourne: 22 hours
After driving for almost 23 hours, by this point you might be pleased to know this is the final stop on our Melbourne to Sydney road trip itinerary.
Royal National Park makes for a fun pit stop along the way, or, as a day trip from Sydney if you plan to stay there for an extended time.
We visited Royal National Park specifically because of the great vantage point over the ocean which made for amazing Whale watching (have you spotted the wildlife theme in this itinerary?)
Entrance to Royal National Park is now $12 per vehicle per day, but considering it’s the world’s second oldest national park, that makes it pretty special and worth the entrance fee!
It’s a really popular spot with road trippers and backpackers heading out from the city for a day trip.
Figure 8 pools are perhaps the most popular thing to do there thanks to its Instagrammable photo opportunities.
When we visited, we chose to explore some of the coastal walking tracks to wedding cake rock and Marley head before turning back to find the car. Our goal was to see whales, we weren’t expecting to also see wild echidna too!
It was relatively quiet when we visited, with the boardwalk still being worked on, I’m sure during peak summer season or school holidays it gets much busier than that!
Places To Stay In Royal National Park
There are a couple of DOC camping areas in Royal National Park that require permits, however we think it’s worth spending at least one night here so you can explore more of the tracks and enjoy the beaches.
Given its close proximity to Sydney though (50 minutes drive to the city centre!) if you didn’t want to pay to stay at a site with limited facilities, you could easily continue your journey into the city and see what’s available there!
Things To Know About Driving From Melbourne to Sydney
While this isn’t one of the most dangerous road trips we’ve done, and you’re never far from water or a fuel station, there are still a few things to consider before you set off. Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the Melbourne Sydney drive to help you prepare better.
Distance from Melbourne to Sydney
The distance from Melbourne to Sydney with this road trip itinerary is roughly 1,685 km, it’ll take you along alpine and coastal roads, so it’s important to not underestimate the drive time.
While you can drive from Melbourne to Sydney in a day, to really experience these locations we recommend setting aside 5-7 days to see everything.
Best Time to Road Trip from Melbourne to Sydney
We landed in Melbourne in the middle of winter and did our Melbourne to Sydney road trip towards the start of Spring. This resulted in some glorious weather and very little rain, and the same can be said for travelling at the start of Autumn too.
If you’re wanting to ski, then of course you’d want to visit in winter but generally the best time to road trip from Melbourne to Sydney is Spring & Autumn to avoid the really hot, and really cold/wet, weather.
I’ll be honest, through winter the weather in Melbourne was awful so I can’t imagine doing the Melbourne to Sydney drive and being able to enjoy it if it’s constantly raining, especially when most of this road trip itinerary is based on getting out in nature!
Is It Safe To Drive from Melbourne to Sydney?
Yes. Unlike driving from Cairns to Darwin, or Darwin to Adelaide, the drive is really safe. The roads are all sealed, you’re never really far from a town or fuel station and you’re almost guaranteed to see at least a handful of other people while you’re on the road.
That’s not to say there aren’t still risks. If you’re driving to the mountains, you’ll want to watch out for ice and of course, never drive at night to avoid coming in contact with a kangaroo. They’re still a risk even on the urban roads.
Tips For a Melbourne To Sydney Road Trip
Absolutely yes, a road trip to Sydney from Melbourne is 100% worth doing. If you’re visiting Australia for the first time, it’ll give you a really good sample of what Victoria and New South Wales have on offer.
When we’re not camping or using WikiCamps, we use Booking.com for our accommodation.
Final Thoughts – Is It Worth Driving From Melbourne To Sydney
Absolutely yes, the Melbourne to Sydney drive is 100% worth doing. If you’re visiting Australia for the first time, it’ll give you a really good sample of what Victoria and New South Wales have on offer. If you’re limited on time and can only squeze in one quick road trip, a Melbourne to Sydney drive would be a great choice for seeing the most in a short amount of time (and ticking off two cities!)
If you’re travelling further than Sydney, our guide to driving from Sydney to Brisbane is full of hidden gems to help you extend this road trip further. If you’re hanging around Sydney for a bit, here’s where to find the best views of the city!
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