Melbourne to Perth road trip: Distance, driving time, stops & attractions
Melbourne to Perth road trip guide
Australia Travel Questions has detailed guides to the component legs of a Melbourne to Perth road trip. Click through for full information.
Melbourne to Adelaide (inland route – 727km)
Adelaide to Port Augusta (309km)
Port Augusta to Ceduna (468km)
Crossing the Nullarbor – Ceduna to Kalgoorlie
Kalgoorlie to Perth (593km)
👇 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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Melbourne to Perth road trip attractions: Victoria
However, if plotting a rough itinerary, the best attractions on the Melbourne to Perth road trip are as follows.
The Melbourne to Adelaide leg of the Melbourne to Perth drive has the most to see. If you’ve not got enough time to go along the Great Ocean Road (and you should allocate that time), you’ll start out along the Western Highway via underwhelming towns such as Melton, Bacchus Marsh, Beaufort and Ararat.
Road trip essentials that many travellers forget
Search on the web, and you’ll find ludicrously long lists of equipment to take on a road trip. Australia Travel Questions isn’t going to do that to you. But it is worth buying the following road trip items before setting off. Click through for a good range of options.
- Charging cables – yes, you’ll probably need a spare at some point.
- Car charger adaptor – in case your rental car has the old-fashioned cigarette lighter rather than a USB.
- Multi USB charger – for those hotel rooms that don’t have enough power sockets.
- Fold-up chairs – to make anywhere a picnic spot.
- A really good water bottle – go for a bigger one than usual to last the longer drives.
- Packing cubes – save space but, more importantly, avoid unpacking everything every night.
The best stops before the South Australian border are Ballarat – visit the superb Sovereign Hill open air museum – and the Grampians National Park. The most attractive section of the Grampians requires a small detour to Halls Gap, but the walks and Aboriginal rock art around Mt Stapylton are just off the Western Highway.
Before swapping Victoria for South Australia, the Little Desert National Park near Dimboola is perhaps worth a look, too. You can stay at the Dimboola Motel if choosing to stay overnight.
Next up: South Australia.