Albury to Port Macquarie road trip: Best stops, distance & drive time
The best stops on an Albury to Port Macquarie road trip itinerary include Bowral, Sydney and Newcastle. By car, the distance from Albury to Port Macquarie is 928km, with a driving time of around 9h25m.
Planning an Albury to Port Macquarie road trip itinerary
An Albury to Port Macquarie road trip connects the largest city on the Murray River to a key hub on the New South Wales Mid-North Coast.
For Albury accommodation picks, head here.
Port Macquarie offers lots of koalas, the Sea Acres Rainforest Centre, riding camels on Lighthouse Beach and scenic helicopter flights. For the best Port Macquarie accommodation deals, step this way.
However, there is plenty to see along the way. An Albury to Port Macquarie road trip strings together wineries, charming country towns, urban energy, national parks and glorious coastline.
This guide should help you plan out the best stops on an Albury to Port Macquarie road trip itinerary. Click through on the individual places and attractions for more detailed, specific information.
If you need to hire a car, find the best rental deals. And don’t forget to do all your pre-road trip shopping.
Albury to Port Macquarie distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Albury to Port Macquarie is 928km. That makes for a driving time of around nine hours and 25 minutes.
The best stops to add to an Albury to Port Macquarie road trip itinerary include Bowral, Sydney and Port Macquarie.
Things to do in Albury include kayaking along the Murray, seeing Aboriginal art of the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk and getting a fascinating insight into Australian immigration history at the Bonegilla Migrant Experience.
Best Albury accommodation picks
The best places to stay in Albury are:
- For a heated pool and spa in a gorgeous location next to a riverside park: Best Western Plus Hovell Tree Inn.
- For apartments with kitchenettes in a central location: Mantra Albury.
- For a good quality motel next to the train station: Winsor Park Motor Inn.
- For a holiday park with lots of facilities for the kids: Big4 Albury Tourist Park.
- For a motel with cheap rates and fairly central location: Allawa Motor Inn.
Near Holbrook on the New South Wales side of the border, Woomargama National Park provides a pleasant diversion if you’re in search of wildlife and walking trails.
Albury to Port Macquarie road trip stops: Gundagai to Yass
Next up, Gundagai offers the Australian Road Transport Heritage Centre and high quality, distinctive accommodation nearby at the Nimbo Fork Lodge or Kimo Estate.
Where to stay in Gundagai
The best Gundagai accommodation options are:
- For a decent, cheap motel: Poets Recall Motel.
- For family cabins and a playground: Gundagai Cabins and Tourist Park.
- For central location: Garden Motor Inn.
Heading up the Hume Highway, however, Jugiong on the Murrumbidgee River is the perfect lunch stop, with several good places to eat – most notably the Long Track Pantry.
Yass, though, is arguably the better overnight stop as it is near several Canberra region wineries. Canberra Winery Tours offers pick-ups in Yass.
For Yass accommodation, try the handily downtown Yass Central Bed and Breakfast and the well-reviewed Colonial Lodge Motor Inn.
Albury to Port Macquarie road trip: Yass to Goulburn
It’s another 86km to Goulburn. The Pye Cottage Museum in Gunning on the way takes you back in time to the 1860s.
Goulburn doesn’t have any truly gripping attractions, but the Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre and Goulburn Historic Waterworks are moderately interesting.
Best places to stay in Goulburn
The top Goulburn accommodation choices are:
- For good quality, business traveller-friendly apartments: Quest Goulburn.
- For a cheap, decent motel for a no-fuss one night stay: Black Sheep Motel.
- For road-tripper convenience next to the Hume Highway: Mercure Goulburn.
- For free parking in the city centre: Heritage Motor Inn.
The best place to stop on the Albury to Sydney leg of the road trip, however, is the Southern Highlands. Almost everyone stops at the Sutton Forest East Service Centre on the way, although Sutton Forest Estate Wines is a more amiable spot for a journey break.
Albury to Port Macquarie drive: Bowral to Campbelltown
Once in the Southern Highlands, the highway skirts the edge of Mittagong and Berrima, but the best base is Bowral.
In Bowral, you’ll find character-packed accommodation such as the Berida Hotel and Milton Park, plus innovative wineries such as Centennial Vineyards. Cricket fans will lap up the Bradman Museum, while Fitzroy Falls or Belmore Falls in the nearby Morton National Park cater to nature-lovers.
5 great Southern Highlands experiences to boost your visit
- Personalised private Southern Highlands wine and attractions tours – tailored to your tastes.
- Tutored wine-tasting and canapes experience.
- Beekeeping experience – learn how honey is made.
- Guided wine-tasting at the Mill – with tasting notes procided.
- Behind the scenes tour of a sustainable winery in Berrima.
From Bowral, it’s not much of a drive until you reach the south-western fringes of Sydney’s suburbia.
Before joining the M7 motorway, you’ll go past the Nepean Dam, the Australian Wildlife Sanctuary at Bargo and Sydney Skydivers in Wilton.
There’s also the Campbelltown Steam and Machinery Museum in Campbelltown, the Sambar Brown Lookout and the Australian Botanic Garden.
Albury to Port Macquarie road trip: Campbelltown to Brooklyn
The quickest route from Albury to Port Macquarie doesn’t go through central Sydney – it cuts along motorways to the west and north.
However, Sydney is the obvious place to break the journey for a few days. Australia Travel Questions has a big Sydney guide if you’re planning to go into the centre. Recommended activities include kayaking tours around the lesser-seen crags of Middle Harbour, tall ship cruises and behind the scenes tours of Sydney Opera House.
13 brilliant experiences in Sydney you should book
- (💲Great value 💲) Tick off several bucket list items on a highlights-packed Blue Mountains day tour.
- Get perfect views of the world’s most beautiful city on a Sydney Harbour helicopter tour.
- Save money with a multi-attraction pass.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Enjoy the romance of a tall ship cruise on Sydney Harbour.
- Eat all you can at the Skyfeast at the top of Sydney Tower.
- See migrating humpbacks – on a whale-watching cruise.
- (Highly recommended ✅) Go behind the scenes of Australia’s most famous building on an Opera House tour.
- Dine as the city lights up on sunset dinner cruise around the harbour.
- Combine beers and stories on a historic pubs tour through the convict-era Rocks district.
- Stand on your board and catch waves during Bondi Beach surfing lessons.
- Go to wombat and kangaroo-spotting hotspots on a Southern Highlands tour.
- Enjoy Sydney’s wild side on a Manly snorkelling & nature walk.
- (🥇Top choice in Sydney) And, best of all, paddle to hidden beaches on a harbour kayaking adventure.
There are some attractions nearer the route, however, particularly in the Western Sydney Parklands. These include the Lizard Log Playground and Calmsley Hill City Farm in Abbotsbury, plus Sydney Zoo, Bungarribee Park and the Chinese Gardens in the Nurragingy Reserve.
Other good green spaces further north include the Bidjigal Reserve near Castle Hill and Cumberland State Forest in West Pennant Hills.
Other short detours worth taking before reaching the Hawkesbury River are the architecturally-dazzling Rose Siedler House in Wahroonga, the Bobbin Head picnic ground in Ku-Ring-Gai Chase National Park and Galston Gorge in Berowra Waters National Park.
Before crossing the Hawkesbury River in Brooklyn, you might wish to join the Riverboat Postman cruise. This postal boat brings tourists along as it delivers mail to small river communities like Dangar Island.
Click through to the next section: Central Coast attractions near the highway.