Orange to Armidale road trip: Distance, time & best stops
The best stops on an Orange to Armidale road trip itinerary are the Wellington Caves, the Gulgong Gold Experience, Werris Creek and Tamworth. By car, the distance from Orange to Armidale is 531km, with a driving time of around 6h7m.
The drive from Orange to Armidale connects one of top wine regions in New South Wales to one of the most charming towns in New England.
Orange activities include gourmet picnic lunches in the vineyards and wine-tasting by trike. For the top Orange accommodation options, book here.
This guide is aimed at helping travellers plan their perfect Orange to Armidale road trip itinerary.
Click through on the individual places and attractions for more detailed, specific information.
If you need to hire a car, find the best rental deals. And don’t forget to do all your pre-road trip shopping.
Orange to Armidale distance and driving time
By car along sealed roads, the distance from Orange to Armidale is 531km. That makes for a driving time of around six hours and seven minutes.
Five memorable experiences to book in Orange
- Private wine-tasting tour – on board a rather cool-looking trike.
- Sparkling wine masterclass – with vineyard tour and three course lunch.
- Helicopter tour to a top winery – with wine-tasting.
- Private picnic in the vineyard – with wine included.
- Half day foodie tours – taste the best the region has to offer.
The best stops to add to an Orange to Armidale road trip itinerary include the Wellington Caves, the Gulgong Gold Experience, Werris Creek and Tamworth.
Things to do in Orange include walking on Mount Canobolas, ambling along the Orange Heritage Trail and visiting the Botanic Gardens. You can also book on a half day foodie tour.
Where to stay in Orange
The top Orange accommodation choices are:
- For style and cool factor: Byng Street Boutique Hotel.
- For a solid motel with (usually) cheap rates and free parking: Ophir Hotel.
- For a glorious three bedroom cottage in a vineyard: Borrodell Vineyard.
- For quality, business traveller-friendly apartments: Quest Orange.
- For studios with spa baths: De Russie Boutique Hotel.
Orange to Armidale road trip: Orange to Wellington
The first leg of the journey is from Orange to Molong, and it heads out along the Mitchell Highway. Amour Wines is a solid winery stop on the route, while just outside Molong is Yuranigh’s Grave Historical Site. Yuranigh was Sir Thomas Mitchell’s Aboriginal assistant, and this is the only spot in Australia where Indigenous and European burial practices are known to coexist.
After Molong, it’s a fundamentally dull stretch of the Mitchell Highway until you reach Wellington. Here, the Wellington Caves are the star attraction. Tours take you in to see the stalagmites and stalactites.
More musical visitors might be interested in the Golden Era Piano Museum.
Orange to Armidale drive: Wellington to Gulgong
You leave the Mitchell Highway in Wellington, and head along Goolma Road through some pretty darned anonymous countryside.
Keep going to Gulgong, where there are a couple of attractions that might keep spark interest. The Gulgong Pioneers Museum is a mish-mash of old photos, farm and mining equipment, and old vehicles.
The Gulgong Gold Experience is a better introduction to this former gold rush town, however. You can go gold-panning here, at the site of Gulgong’s original gold find, but the museum-like displays on goldfield life are good, too.
Click through to the next section: Gulgong to Coolah.