Geelong to Portland road trip via the Great Ocean Road

The best stops on a Geelong to Portland road trip along the Great Ocean Road include Anglesea, Lorne, Apollo Bay and Warrnambool. By car, the distance from Geelong to Portland is 374km, with a driving time of around 5h37m.

The Geelong to Portland drive via Victoria’s Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s great road trips.

Geelong is a surprisingly fun place, offer water-biking, hot air balloon flights and electric picnic boat rentals. For the best Geelong accommodation deals, head this way.

Highlights of Portland include the cable trams, the Maritime Discovery Centre and the Point Danger gannet colony. To find the best Portland accommodation, check out the range of options here.

This guide is aimed at travellers who are self-driving, and want to plot out the best stops on a Geelong to Portland road trip itinerary. Click through on the links for more detailed information on the towns and attractions.

Geelong to Portland distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Geelong to Portland via the Great Ocean Road is 374km. You can expect a driving time of around five hours and 37 minutes.

The best stops on the way from Geelong to Portland include Anglesea, Lorne, Apollo Bay and Warrnambool.

There are plenty of things to do in Geelong. These include the National Wool Museum, helicopter rides, the Baywalk Bollards on Geelong Waterfront and the Boom Gallery.

3 Geelong experiences to book in advance

A water bike tour along the coast.
A sunrise balloon flight – see the bay, hills and river from above.
Rent an electric picnic boat on the Waterfront.

The best places to stay in Geelong

The top Geelong accommodation options are:

For an affordably-priced, good quality motel: Parkside Motel.
For fabulous apartments near the beach: Vue Apartments Geelong.
For a family-friendly hotel with an indoor pool and balconies in each room: Novotel Geelong.
For a facility-packed holiday park: Tasman Holiday Parks Geelong.

Geelong to Portland road trip: Geelong to Torquay

It’s 20km from Geelong to Torquay. The quickest route heads along the Surf Coast Highway, past the GMHBA Stadium and Barwon Valley Golf Club.

Perhaps the best stop on the Geelong to Torquay drive, however, is the Narana Aboriginal Cultural Centre. This hosts an Indigenous art gallery, café, playground and native plants garden.

Your Torquay checklist

Skydive from 15,000ft – see the Great Ocean Road from above and get the thrill of your life.
Learn to surf – get standing on your board by the end of a beginner’s surfing lesson.
Book your Torquay accommodation.

Things to do in Torquay include the Australian National Surfing Museum, surfing lessons, and aerobatic flights at Tiger Moth World.

Geelong to Portland drive: Torquay to Anglesea

The drive from Torquay to Lorne is the first leg of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road. The official start of Australia’s most famous driving route is just south of Torquay.

Several of the Great Ocean Road’s highlights line up along this stretch of the journey, so plan your stops and you can make a day of it.

7 fantastic Great Ocean Road experiences
1. Crowd-beating reverse direction tour. 2. Surfing lessons in Anglesea. 3. Split Point Lighthouse climb. 4. Shockwave Zip-Coaster. 5. Guided wildlife walk. 6. Budj Bim National Park tour. 7. Great Ocean Road by motorbike.

The Torquay to Lorne drive starts by skirting the Lorne-Queenscliff Coastal Reserve at Jan Juc before heading to Bells Beach. Perhaps the most famous surf beach in Australia, Bells was the fictional setting for the final scenes of Point Break. You need experience to attempt to surf the breaks at Bells Beach, but non-surfers can watch the action from the clifftop lookouts.

Before you come into Anglesea, you might want to make a stop at Point Addis Beach in the Point Addis National Marine Park. There are some great coastal lookouts at Point Addis – keep an eye open for whales in winter. The marine park is also renowned for good snorkelling and diving.

Otherwise, keep going until you reach the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie in Bellbrae.

Chocolate-tasting complete, you can move on towards Anglesea, which has lots of accommodation options, including the Anglesea Caravan Park. The Anglesea Golf Course is notorious for kangaroos on the fairways, and Anglesea Beach is relatively safe for swimming. It is protected from the swell somewhat by Point Roadknight.