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Great Ocean Road: Route Guide

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The Twelve Apostles sea stacks off the Great Ocean Road
Photo: Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Collect the car in the city, then drive west through the Surf Coast towns and Otway rainforest to the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, continue to Warrnambool and Tower Hill, and return on the inland Princes Highway. The road itself is the thread: wildlife sightings, surf, waterfalls and beach access depend on current conditions and are never guaranteed.

Great Ocean Road is a 664 km loop (self-drive). It works best as 4–5 days; the plan below is the 5-day version for March, built from 10 verified places, with planned transit times, opening hours and daylight checked.

4–5
days
664km
distance
5
Stops
10
curated stops

Plan your own version → 4-day plan · 5-day plan · best time to go

The route

Melbourne→ 145 kmSurf Coast and Lorne→ 45 kmApollo Bay and the Otways→ 90 kmPort Campbell and the Shipwreck Coast→ 96 kmWarrnambool and Tower Hill

What you'll see

Bells Beach/Djarrak clifftop reserve
Begin the coastal road at Bells Beach/Djarrak from the managed clifftop reserve.
Surf Coast and Lorne
Apollo Bay harbour and coast walk
Slow down at Apollo Bay’s public harbour and beachfront.
Apollo Bay and the Otways
Twelve Apostles viewing platforms
Use the managed viewing path for the Shipwreck Coast’s defining sea stacks.
Port Campbell and the Shipwreck Coast
Flagstaff Hill maritime history
Finish the Shipwreck Coast story in Warrnambool’s maritime collection.
Warrnambool and Tower Hill
Australian National Surfing Museum
Trace Australian surf culture through Torquay’s dedicated museum.
Surf Coast and Lorne
Great Otway rainforest walk
Walk one officially open Otway rainforest circuit selected from current park notices.
Apollo Bay and the Otways
Loch Ard Gorge open-trail circuit
Follow an open signed Loch Ard Gorge circuit through geology and shipwreck history.
Port Campbell and the Shipwreck Coast
Tower Hill geology and cultural landscape walk
Read Tower Hill as a volcanic and Eastern Maar cultural landscape on an open walk.
Warrnambool and Tower Hill

Choose your length

4-day plan7 stops · 15.7 h transit1.8 stops/day · 3.9 h transit/daySee the full plan →5-day plan8 stops · 12.7 h transit1.6 stops/day · 2.5 h transit/daySee the full plan →

When to go

Best months: March, April, May

Long summer daylight helps the coastal drive, but heat, fire danger, crowds and park restrictions require current VicEmergency, VicTraffic and park checks.

See the month-by-month breakdown →

Similar journeys

Plan your own version →