Conveniently located a little ways from Port Campbell, these serviced apartments have great rooms, a gorgeous pool area and make for a great stopover. Im glad we bought plenty of food (and wine) as we did not want to go out for dinner. Lorne is made for lunches. Day 1: Melbourne to Port Fairy via inland route.

Victoria

We have been travelling the world together since 2008, with a passion for adventure travel and sustainable tourism. We saw two koalasone sleeping (which they do for up to 22 hours a day) and one munching on leaves (which they do for the rest of the time). . We walked all of the trails except for the furthest section between Broken Head and Sherwood Estuary and walked a total of 6km (3.7 miles). On the way youll see Tom and Eva, two rock stacks named after the only survivors of the shipwreck. As one of the world's leading travel journalists, our content and adventures have been featured by National Geographic, Lonely Planet, CNN, BBC, Forbes, Business Insider, Washington Post, Yahoo!, BuzzFeed, Channel 7, Channel 10, ABC, The Guardian, and plenty other publications. You could continue down the coast, perhaps having a break in Port Campbell (Forage on Foreshore is a recommended cafe). Battery Hillis a great spot to get a view from on high of the town and see some pieces of Port Fairy history like the remnants of a Russian invasion from the 1860s. You can tackle the Great Ocean Road in one long day, or break it up over a few days, which is what we suggest doing. Its a small platform and we were lucky that we got to take a few photos before three tour buses arrived. Port Fairy offers great locations forscuba divingincludingThe Thistle. thought of doing it in one day, but now will make a stop over and take two days.. You can also travel from Melbourne to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road, but youll need at least a few days as its a distance of nearly 1000km (620 miles). Lorne is one of the most popular towns on a Great Ocean Road Trip. How far is the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne? You need to park just off the road and then walk up the hill to the lighthouse. If you want an even better view of the Twelve Apostles, you can take a helicopter ride over them. I definitely recommend allocating a few hours to explore it all. Its a beautiful drive but slow going. Relax and unwind in the seaside town of Lorne, attracting visitors for more than a century with its easy Mediterranean feel and charming scenery. While wandering around town youll surely spot a ton of street art, which is something Geelong is known for. 3 must-do stops on a Melbourne to Lorne road trip - Mantra Do you think that will be possible that time of year or do we have to book in advance ? Brekkie tacos, smoothie bowls and a full lunch menu to eat in or take away will please anyone visiting. We saw an adorable mother and baby koala! Check out Points South on Vrbo or compare prices on Booking.com. Make sure you book ahead though, as its not something you can just show up and do. The drive from . You could then drive the Great Ocean Road at a more leisurely pace and spend the night in the Apollo Bay area before continuing back to Melbourne the next day. Train operators V/Line Bus operators Gull Airport Service Public Transport Victoria V/Line Other operators Jayride Want to know more about travelling around Australia On this five-day self-drive trip, explore the coastal capital city of Melbourne and then hit the open road. For a shorter track check outMaits Restwhich will take you through a beautiful section of rainforest. We visited two stops in the tiny town of Timboon for lunch and fitted in a couple more on our way back to Melbourne the next day. As Victorias 5th largest city, Warrnambool is a lot bigger than most of the seaside towns along the Great Ocean Road drive. Please read our disclosure for more info. Park at the Kafe Koala and follow the crowds.

Melbourne

Other good breaks in addition to Bells Beach includeSan Juc, Winki Pop, Bird RockandSparrowsjust to name a few. We visited in mid-September (early spring) and there was frost on our car one morning, so tent camping is probably best in the summer. We actually visited at sunset the previous day. On the way back to Melbourne, do some . While you could drive it in the opposite direction, Port Campbell would be quite far to reach on the coastal route for your overnight stay, and its a fairly long drive from Apollo Bay to Twelve Apostles for an early morning visit. Its a wonderfully scenic place with a beach below and crashing waves. The main issues can be poor visibility due to fog, slippery roads in wet weather, and traffic from vehicles and pedestrians in the busy sections.