Melbourne to Anglesea road trip: Best stops, distance & time

The best stops on a Melbourne to Anglesea road trip along the Great Ocean Road include Werribee and Torquay. By car, the distance from Melbourne to Anglesea is 112km, with a driving time of around 1h26m.

The Melbourne to Anglesea drive brings you to the start of Victoria’s Great Ocean Road.

Before leaving, you may want to tick Melbourne Cricket Ground tours, Yarra River dinner cruises and cross-city hot air balloon flights off your Melbourne wish list. For a great range of Melbourne tours and experiences, explore here. To track down the best value Melbourne accommodation, come this way.

For Anglesea accommodation, hunt for good deals here.

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

Melbourne to Anglesea distance and driving time

By car, the distance from Melbourne to Anglesea via the Great Ocean Road is 112km. You can expect a driving time of around one hour and 26 minutes.

The best stops on the way from Melbourne to Anglesea include Werribee and Torquay.

Melbourne to Anglesea road trip: Melbourne to Werribee

The first section of the drive is from Melbourne to Torquay, covering a 101km distance in around one hour and 13 minutes. Obviously, this can vary significantly depending on Melbourne traffic.

The Melbourne to Anglesea drive leaves central Melbourne to the west, crossing the West Gate Bridge and passing the Scienceworks museum.

The West Gate Freeway becomes the Princes Freeway as the drive passes through Melbourne’s south-western suburbia. The biggest chunk of this is Werribee.

On the outskirts of Werribee, it’s only a short detour to the River Walk Village water park and the Cocoroc Historic Township open air museum.

But the most interesting potential stop here is the Werribee Open Range Zoo.

Melbourne to Anglesea drive: Werribee to Torquay

There are wetlands to the east of the freeway after leaving Werribee. The Little River Bird Hide is a pleasant spot to observe the bird life. But the most attractive mini-detours are to the west of the highway.

The You Yangs Regional Park offers wildlife and walking trails through a series of granite ridges, while the Serendip Sanctuary provides close-up encounters with native Aussie wildlife.

The Freeway then skirts the southern edge of Lara, home to the Lara Museum and the cactus displays at the Roraima Nursery. Avalon Airport is on the eastern side of the freeway.

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.

But most tackling the Melbourne to Anglesea drive won’t want to go into the city. Buckley Falls, however, is just off the freeway, should you be wanting a quick photo stop.

When the Princes Highway diverts west towards Winchelsea, you need to head south and join the Surf Coast Highway. South of Geelong, there’s a short stretch of farmland before the Surf Coast Highway passes through Torquay.

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

Melbourne to Anglesea road trip: Torquay to Anglesea

The official start of Australia’s most famous driving route, the Great Ocean Road, is just south of Torquay.

The Torquay to Anglesea 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.

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.

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.

More Victoria travel

The best Melbourne history museums.

Can I climb the Cape Otway Lighthouse?

What to see on the drive from Stawell to Melbourne.

The best walking tours in Melbourne.

The best stops on a Melbourne to Port Douglas road trip.