The Great Ocean Road Trip from Melbourne - Highlights

Welcome to the Great Ocean Road !!!

Great Ocean Road is Australia's most famous and one of the world's most scenic coastal drives which gets you up close with the wondrous yet frightening southern ocean. Nothing can prepare you for what lies in store, for this road trip offers a diverse array of things to see and explore.

If you are planning your own Great Ocean Road adventure trip , here is how we can help. We have an itinerary to help you nail down your own without spending hours.

You cannot be blamed if you jump out of that car every time you see a lay-by on your road trip in Australia :D

Day 1 : Fly from Singapore to Melbourne. Pick up rental car (we rented a Mitsubishi ASX SUV from thrifty via rentalcars.com ). Stock up on nibbles and munchies before you hit the road. 

Drive to the city in the evening to see Melbourne street art and graffiti. Melbourne street art is in every nook and cranny of the city. However , hossier lane , AC/DC lane and Duckboard place, Centre place, Union lane are among the most notable ones where you can see tourists left right and centre. Undoubtedly, hossier lane is our favourite.Take your pick !

After spending hours walking through the claustrophobic walls of melbourne laneways, we couldn't figure out what anything on that wall ever meant ( blame it on our not - so-artistic souls :P) but the kaleidoscope of colours was truly a feast for the eyes. 

Stay at Park Royal Airport Hotel.

walking through the hossier lane ......

Day 2 :  Drive to Torquay - the seaside town that marks the beginning of the GOR. This memorial arch sets your expectations high and rest assured that you'll never be disappointed. There are surprises everywhere !!

Stop at Bells beach , Bird Rock Lookout at Jan Juc beach.

The GOR officially starts at Torquay

Drive to Lorne - yet another beautiful seaside town along the GOR to relax and unwind. It's only a 45 minutes drive from torquay. There is more to Lorne than just beaches. Enjoy spectacular views of the winding roads of GOR hugging the coastline from Teddy's Lookout. You can also take a 45 minutes bush walk near the lookout.

Stay at RACV Torquay resort

this is the view from Teddy's Lookout 

View from our Ocean Suite at RACV Torquay Resort

Day 3 : Drive to Port Campbell. Stop at Lorne and Apollo Bay. Apollo Bay is one of our favourite towns.

Expect scenic lookouts like this on your way : 

It's a no - brainer that the winding narrow roads of GOR requires the driver to be alert all the time. Allow yourself enough time to enjoy the drive and savour every view along the way. Do not rush.

We couldn't get enough of the crashing southern ocean waves

In Lorne , you can stop at Kenneth river , Forest Edge near Grey river road to see koalas in the wild.

Mariner's look out , Maits rest walk (800m) and triplet falls( one hour walk) are a few points of interest in Apollo Bay.

View from Mariner's look out - Apollo Bay

Drive through the Great Otway National Park. Stop at Cape Otway Lighthouse. It is extremely windy up there !!!

Stay at Loch Ard Motor Inn ( Highly Recommended )

driving through the Great Otway National Park.....

The Cape Otway Light House 

Wake up to this amazing view at Loch Ard Motor Inn

Right in front of our room at Loch Ard Motor Inn - Your morning cuppa can't get any better than this !! :)

Day 4 :   The Arch , London Bridge , The Apostles, Gibson Steps, Loch Ard Gorge, the Grotto and Bay of Islands were the order of the day. 

( pls note : there is a viewing platform at the Gibson steps. If you need to make your way down, you have to take the 86 steps staircase if the weather permits. It was very slippery when we went down. Stay safe ! )

The Arch

London Bridge has fallen down .... :D

Aww.. Australia's very own Apostles - The Twelve Apostles

Take the Gibson steps to get up close with the Apostle. After an 86 step staircase down the cliff face , we made it to the Apostle...phew !!!

Gibson steps will take you here !!!

Loch Ard Gorge

Three of us at The Grotto :)

Day 5 : Head to the Port Campbell scenic lookout to view the natural harbour , beach and the township of Port Campbell. Take a walk in the Port Campbell National Park. Head back to Melbourne. We chose to drive via GOR which was 2 hours longer than the highway route.

Stay at Ibis Melbourne

Port Campbell Scenic Lookout

walking in the Port Campbell National Park.....

Day 6 : Visit yarra valley and dandenong ranges - you can take an early morning balloon flight or sample some of the best wine in this world renowned Australian wine region. 

Drive through the scenic road that stretches between the towns of Haelsville and Marysville winding through the rainforest filled with tall black spur trees with ferns. It is known as the Black Spur Drive - one of Victoria's popular roads and a must - do for road trip junkies like us ;-). Pictures can't really capture the beauty of this drive and there ain't many lay - bys here where you can pull off your car and stop as it's a winding road. So put that camera down , sit back, relax and enjoy the drive !! :-).You can also drive to / take the keppel look out trail and stop at stevensons falls.( note these are gravel roads ).

The Black Spur Drive

We chose to drive to the philip island later in the afternoon instead of dandenong ranges. It takes about 2 hours to get there from yarra valley. Ideally you should be visiting philip island on a different day. As we had to fly back home the following day, we decided to skip the dandenong ranges and visit philip island.

Stroll along the nobbies boardwalk at the philip island overlooking the wild waters of Bass Strait and enjoy the amazing view of the rugged coastline of the island.

There are dozens of things to do in this island.Take a look here.You can also visit the Koala conservation centre or head out to see the penguin parade

The Nobbies - boardwalk

Day 7 : Fly back to Singapore !

Hope you enjoyed the Great Ocean Road with us. Travel , Fall in love and be happy ! ✈️✈️