Goulburn to Melbourne road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
The Goulburn to Melbourne drive covers a distance of 681km, with a driving time of around 6h42m. Top road trip stops to add to the itinerary include Albury, Glenrowan and Benalla.
The drive from Goulburn to Melbourne is something of a slog along the Hume Highway. It’ll never go down as one of Australia’s classic drives, but it’s a significant chunk of the drive from Sydney to Melbourne or Brisbane to Melbourne.
Goulburn in New South Wales is home to the Goulburn Rail Heritage Centre and the Big Merino. To check out the best Goulburn accommodation deals, look here.
Melbourne, meanwhile, offers evening dinner cruises along the Yarra River, vertigo conquest at the Melbourne Skydeck and behind-the-scenes Melbourne Cricket Ground tours. For a great range of Melbourne tours and experiences, explore here. To track down the best value Melbourne accommodation, come this way.
Goulburn to Melbourne distance and driving time
By car, the distance from Goulburn to Melbourne is 681km. That makes for a driving time of around six hours and 42 minutes, almost entirely along the Hume Highway.
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.
The next decent-sized town is Yass, although you can get a taste of the 1860s at the Pye Cottage Museum in Gunning on the way.
Yass is close to several Canberra region wineries, and Canberra Winery Tours offers pick-ups in Yass.
For Yass accommodation, opt for the usefully downtown Yass Central Bed and Breakfast and the well-rated Colonial Lodge Motor Inn.
Goulburn to Melbourne road trip: Gundagai, Jugiong and Albury
Next up is Gundagai, which offers the Australian Road Transport Heritage Centre and distinctive, good quality accommodation at the nearby Nimbo Fork Lodge and 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.
Further along, Jugiong on the Murrumbidgee River makes for a good lunch stop, with the Long Track Pantry having a particularly good reputation.
The next stop of note is Albury, the largest city on the Murray River – although you can make a slight detour for walks in Woomargama National Park along the way.
Things to do in Albury include kayaking along the Murray, admiring Aboriginal art on the Yindyamarra Sculpture Walk and delving thoroughly into Australian immigration history at the brilliant Bonegilla Migrant Experience.
The latter is in Wodonga, Albury’s twin town on the Victorian side of the border.
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.
Click through for the next section: Wangaratta and Glenrowan.