Bendigo to Swan Hill road trip: Best stops, distance & time

The best stops on a Bendigo to Swan Hill road trip are Bridgewater on Loddon, Middle Reedy Lake and Lake Boga. The distance from Bendigo to Swan Hill is 188km, with the driving time around 2h6m.

A Bendigo to Swan Hill road trip takes you from one of Victoria’s biggest cities to one of the most appealing towns on the Murray River.

Bendigo offers historic trams and gold mine tours. To fix up good value Bendigo accommodation, look here.

Swan Hill, meanwhile, offers plenty of heritage and paddlesteamer cruises. To get the best deals on Swan Hill accommodation, book in advance here.

Use this guide to help you plan the perfect Bendigo to Swan Hill road trip itinerary. Click through on the names of individual towns and attractions for more detailed guides.

Bendigo to Swan Hill distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Bendigo to Swan Hill is 188km. That makes for a driving time of around two hours and six minutes.

The best stops on a Bendigo to Swan Hill road trip include Bridgewater On Loddon, Middle Reedy Lake and Lake Boga.

Where to stay in Bendigo

The best Bendigo accommodation options are:

For good quality, spacious apartments: Quest Bendigo Central.
For art, liveliness and personality: Mercure Bendigo Schaller.7
For historic charm: Hotel Shamrock.
For central location and (usually) cheap rates: City Centre Motel.

Bendigo to Swan Hill road trip: Bendigo to Bridgewater

The route out of Bendigo is along the Calder Highway, which heads north-west towards Bridgewater on Loddon, where you can go wine-tasting at the Water Wheel Vineyards or go fishing at Chinamans Hole.

Either way, Bridgewater on Loddon is where you say goodbye to the Calder Highway. Head north along the Bridgewater-Serpentine Road, which follows the Loddon River north to the forgettable village of Serpentine.

Bendigo to Swan Hill road trip: Serpentine to Kerang

Here, you keep going north along the Loddon Valley Highway, and it’s all defiantly rural. The route passes through Bears Lagoon and Jarklin on the way to Durham Ox, where there’s a fishing platform on Serpentine Creek.

But barring a couple of nature reserves that aren’t really set up for tourism, there’s nothing worth stopping for on the Bendigo to Swan Hill drive until you reach Kerang.

Here, you can take in the views from the Lester Smith Lookout Tower – the town’s former water tower – or learn about local history in the Kerang Historical Museum.

Bendigo to Swan Hill road trip: Kerang to Swan Hill

Leaving Kerang on the Murray Valley Highway, you’ll go through an extensive system of lakes. Of these, Middle Reedy Lake is famous for its ibis rookery.

Lake Charm is popular for watersports and has a caravan park, while Kangaroo Lake has a sunset lookout.

Perhaps the most interesting of these lakes, however, is Lake Boga. At this almost circular lake, you can go swimming, waterskiing and kayaking. You can hire the kayaks from the Lake Boga caravan park.

Meanwhile, the lakeside Flying Boat Museum looks at the role Catalina flying boats played in World War II.

From Lake Boga, it’s a 15 minute drive into Swan Hill. Things to do in Swan Hill include visiting the Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement open air museum and going for a cruise on the PS Pyap paddlesteamer.

Find the best Swan Hill accommodation

The best Swan Hill accommodation choices are:

For families – with a pool and water park: Big4 Swan Hill holiday park.
For a solid, cheap motel – with a pool and great reviews: Murray River Motel.
For central location and convenience: Jane Eliza Motor Inn.