Hervey Bay to Mackay road trip: Distance & best stops
The best stops on a Hervey Bay to Mackay road trip itinerary include Bundaberg, Agnes Water and Yeppoon and Mackay. The distance from Hervey Bay to Mackay is 718km, with a driving time of around 8h8m.
The Hervey Bay to Mackay road trip takes you between two key destinations on the Queensland coast. Hervey Bay is the main gateway to Fraser Island.
Hervey Bay offers sunset cruises, whale-watching and wildlife cruises in the Great Sandy Strait. To pick out Hervey Bay experiences that pique your interest, look here. For Hervey Bay accommodation, nosy around here.
Mackay is the biggest city in the Whitsundays region, and the departure point for an excellent Whitsunday Islands cruise which includes paddleboards and snorkelling equipment. To choose from the best Mackay tours and experiences, head this way. To select the right Mackay accommodation for you, book here.
The best thing to do in Mackay is a snorkelling cruise around the South Cumberland Islands.
Many travellers will pass through both on the route from Brisbane to Cairns. However, if you take the drive slowly, there are plenty of places worth stopping at along the way.
Hervey Bay to Mackay distance and driving time
The distance from Hervey Bay to Mackay is 718km. Travelling by car, that makes for a driving time of approximately eight hours and eight minutes.
Good potential stops to add to a Hervey Bay to Mackay road trip itinerary include Bundaberg, 1770 and Yeppoon
Hervey Bay to Mackay road trip: A stop in Bundaberg
The quickest route from Hervey Bay to Mackay joins the Bruce Highway at Torbanlea. However, you may want to continue closer to the coast and visit Bundaberg.
Things to do in Bundaberg include rum-tasting on tours of the Bundaberg Rum distillery. You might also opt for strawberry-picking at Tinaberries, seeing nesting turtles at Mon Repos and relaxing on the beach at Bargara.
6 Bundaberg experiences to make the most of your free time
- (Highly recommended ✅) Tour – with tastings – at the Bundaberg rum distillery.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Day trip to Lady Musgrave Island on the Great Barrier Reef.
- Fly out to Lady Elliot Island for a day on the reef.
- See migrating humpbacks – on a four hour whale watching cruise with lunch.
- Brewery tasting tour – including the famous Bundaberg ginger beer.
- Farm life experience at Splitters Farm.
Good value-for-money Bundaberg accommodation includes the Villa Mirasol Motor Inn, Bundaberg Spanish Motor Inn and Bundaberg Big4 Cane Village Holiday Park.
If you ignore Bundaberg and stick to the Bruce Highway, and you’ll soon arrive in heritage building-packed Childers. Here, you’ll find the Snakes Downunder reptile park. Further north, you might want to visit Good Night Scrub National Park from Gin Gin or go fishing at Lake Monduran.
Click through for the next section: Agnes Water and Gladstone.