Rockhampton to Mackay road trip: Distance, drive time and stops.
Rockhampton to Mackay drive: Sarina attractions
Sarina is the biggest town on the Rockhampton to Mackay drive. The Sarina Sugar Shed offers a good insight into the sugar industry that dominates these parts, while Sarina Beach and Grasstree Beach are gorgeous in the tropical sun.
Top Sarina experiences worth booking in advance
- Learn how sugar is grown and processed on a sugar mill tour – with sweet treat tastings.
- Find out how rum is made on a rum distillery tour – with rum sampling.
Best Sarina accommodation options.
The best places to stay in Sarina, Queensland, are:
- For beachside location with an outdoor pool: Sandpiper Motel.
- For air-conditioned caravans and cabins: Sarina Palms Cabins & Caravans.
- For palm trees and beach holiday vibe: Sarina Beach Motel.
Sarina accommodation picks include the beachfront Sandpiper Motel and helpfully-central Sarina Motor Inn.
You’ll arrive in Mackay about half an hour after leaving Sarina, happy that the dullest stretch of the drive up the Queensland coast is over. Blacks Beach and Bluewater Lagoon are fine spots for some R&R.
Three great Mackay experiences to book in advance
- (Highly recommended ✅) Whitsunday Islands boat cruise – with snorkelling and paddleboarding.
- Cape Hillsborough sunrise tour – meet wallabies on the beach.
- ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Finch Hatton Gorge waterfalls tour.
Things to do in Mackay include a sugar mill tour, a distillery rum-tasting experience and catamaran cruises around the South Cumberland Islands.
Best Mackay accommodation options
The top places to stay in Mackay are:
- For attractive apartments by Blacks Beach: The Shores Holiday Apartments.
- For a cheap, but surprisingly good, motel: Cool Palms Motel.
- For apartments with kitchenettes by the marina: Mantra Mackay.
- For a holiday park with lot of family-friendly facilities: Big4 Mackay Blacks Beach Holiday Park.
- For fully furnished apartments in prime position next to Bluewater Lagoon: Riviera Mackay.
More Mackay road trips
Mackay to Airlie Beach: Distance 151km, driving time 1h52m.
Mackay to Bowen: Distance 192km, driving time 2h14m.
Mackay to Cairns: Distance 733km, driving time 8h35m.
Gladstone to Mackay: Distance 443km, driving time 4h53m.
Mackay to Proserpine: Distance 126km, driving time 1h27m.
Mackay to Townsville: Distance 386km, driving time 4h32m.
Yeppoon to Mackay: Distance 360km, driving time 4h.