Ararat to Melbourne road trip: Best stops, distance & driving time
The best stops to add to a Ararat to Melbourne road trip itinerary are Beaufort, Ballarat and Werribee Gorge. By car, the distance from Ararat to Melbourne is 205km, with a driving time of around 2h19m.
Planning an Ararat to Melbourne road trip
A Ararat to Melbourne road trip along the Western Highway covers a sizable stretch of western Victoria. For many travellers, this is likely to be the last leg of the inland drive from Adelaide to Melbourne.
Ararat is most famous for its ghost tours. For Ararat accommodation picks, head here.
Melbourne offers street art tours, supreme views from the Melbourne Skydeck and Aboriginal cultural tours in the Botanic Gardens. For a great range of Melbourne tours and experiences, explore here. To track down the best value Melbourne accommodation, come this way.
This guide should help you plan your perfect Ararat to Melbourne road trip itinerary. Or, if going the other way, read in reverse to plan a Melbourne to Ararat drive.
Ararat to Melbourne distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Ararat to Melbourne is 205km. That makes for a driving time of around two hours and 19 minutes. The best stops to add to an Ararat to Melbourne road trip itinerary are Beaufort, Ballarat and Werribee Gorge.
In Ararat, the highlight is the J Ward Museum – a former lunatic asylum that hosts ghost tours.
14 fantastic experiences that make the most of your free time in Melbourne
- Get the very best views – on a hot air balloon flight over the city.
- See the changing colours of the river – on a sunset kayaking tour – with dinner. (Highly recommended ✅)
- Feast and see the sights at the same time – on a four course dinner cruise along the Yarra River.
- A genuinely excellent street art tour, led by prominent street artists. (Highly recommended ✅)
- The also superb Aboriginal heritage, plants and bush food tour in the Botanic Gardens. (💲 Great value 💲)
- Best of Melbourne bike tour – you can see more on two wheels than walking.
- Hidden laneways bar crawl OR foodie discovery tour OR chocolate and dessert tour.
- Combo ticket for Australian Sports Museum and MCG tour.
- Hassle-dodging advance tickets for the Melbourne Skydeck, Melbourne Zoo, the Ice Bar (with cocktails) and Sea Life Aquarium.
Ararat to Melbourne road trip: Ararat to Beaufort
On the Ararat to Ballarat section of the Ararat to Melbourne drive, you’ll go past Langi Ghiran State Park. There are fine views from the Reservoir Lookout, and the Mount Langi Ghiran winery is just at the eastern edge.
A little further along the drive is Mount Buangor State Park, which has several good walking trails. Many of them are blessed with kangaroos, echidnas and koalas.
The next town, however, is Beaufort. It’s a place lined with handsome 1850s buildings and quirky antiques shops.
Other things to do in Beaufort include picnicking or fishing at Beaufort Lake and smelling the flowers at the Beaufort Memorial Rose Garden.
Ballarat attractions, restaurants and accommodation
Before reaching Ballarat, you can enjoy the lakeside park at Lake Burrumbeet.
The main attraction in Ballarat is Sovereign Hill. This recreated gold rush town offers gold panning, mine tours, plus all manner of shows and craft demonstrations. Fix up your Sovereign Hill tickets here.
4 Ballarat experiences to book in advance ⬇️
- Sovereign Hill tickets – visit Australia’s best open air museum. Give it a full day, too – there’s so much to see and do.
- Ballarat Wildlife Park entry – meet loads of cute native Aussie animals.
- Kryal Castle admission – enjoy a bizarre knights in armour theme park.
- Beer-making course – learn to brew, with tastings and lunch thrown in.
Top places to eat in Ballarat include traditional Spanish restaurant Meigas Ballarat, Latin American joint Pancho and the lakeside Boatshed Ballarat.
Good Ballarat accommodation choices include the apartment-style Quest, the family-friendly Big4 NRMA Ballarat holiday park and the well-reviewed Lake Inn.
Click through to the next section: Ballarat to Werribee Gorge.