Melbourne to Bairnsdale road trip: Distance, drive time & best stops
The best stops on the 278km Melbourne to Bairnsdale drive include Gumbuya World, Narracan Falls, Old Gippstown and Sale.
The Melbourne to Bairnsdale drive is one that most visitors will undertake with the Gippsland Lakes in mind.
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.
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Bairnsdale is one of the bigger regional towns in Gippsland, Victoria. It’s at the northern end of the Gippsland Lakes, which makes it both a regional hub and a holiday destination in its own right.
Melbourne to Bairnsdale distance and driving time
The Melbourne to Bairnsdale drive is 278km long, with a driving time of around three hours and 22 minutes. Advance book Melbourne car hire for the best deals if you don’t have your own vehicle.
👇 7 great day trips while you’re in Melbourne 👇
- Great Ocean Road tour – with koalas 🐨.
- Brighton Beach, Moonlit Sanctuary and Phillip Island tour – with penguins 🐧.
- Yarra Valley wine tour – with gin, cider and cheese 🍷.
- Grampians National Park tour – with bushwalks and LOADS of kangaroos 🦘.
- Mornington Peninsula tour – with hot springs bathing 🛀.
- Wilsons Promontory tour – with all manner of native wildlife 🦘🐨.
- Dandenong Ranges steam train ride – plus wildlife at Healesville Sanctuary and chocolate-tasting in the Yarra Valley.
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It’s advisable to break that drive up somewhere along the way.
The first part of the Melbourne to Bairnsdale drive is largely through Melbourne’s south-eastern suburbs. You’ll go past a series of shopping malls, including Chadstone, Waverley Gardens and Fountain Gate, before emerging at Pakenham.
Melbourne to Bairnsdale drive: Warragul wineries
Once out of the city on the way to Drouin and Warragul, the main attraction is the Gumbuya World theme park. There are also a few wineries in Warragul, but the best stops on the Melbourne to Bairnsdale drive come afterwards.
The Warragul to Traralgon leg of the journey offers the Mount Worth State Park near Yarragon, plus the Uralla Nature Reserve in Trafalgar.
Click through for the next section: Trafalgar, Moe and Morwell.