Complete 3 Day Guide to Driving the Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is one of the most beautiful drives in the world. This famous road follows the coastline of southeastern Australia for 243 kilometers. It runs from Torquay to Allansford and features so many beautiful spots along the way! Here is our complete 3 day guide to driving the Great Ocean Road so you can see a lot of this amazing route in just a few days!

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Do I Need a Car?

There are plenty of tours you can take from Melbourne to different locations along the Great Ocean Road so technically you don’t need a car but we would highly recommend it. We passed quite a few buses and large groups. It isn’t that far geographically so it is doable to do it that way. You can also take the train from Melbourne to Warrnambol but then it requires taking a bus too so it will take so much longer.

However, this drive is one of those things that is so much more enjoyable when you can go on your own pace. We stopped whenever we wanted, spent how ever much time we wanted at each stop and even went back to the 12 Apostles twice so we could visit when it was less crowded.

The most western part of the Great Ocean Road in Allansford is 3 hours from Melbourne via the inland route. So even if you don’t love driving, this isn’t a road trip where you should have to spend hours and hours in the car.

We rented a car through Alamo from the Melbourne Airport for about 8 AUD a day. It was extremely reasonable and gave us all the freedom we wanted to be able to move at our pace!

Day 1: Melbourne to Port Campbell

You can leave Melbourne and immediately jump on the Great Ocean Road in Torquay and work your way west. We chose to take the inland route from Melbourne straight to Port Campbell which is on the west edge of the Great Ocean Road. This inland route is faster because it’s more direct therefore it took us about 2 hours and 45 minutes.

We chose to go all the way west first and then spend the next few days working our way back east towards Melbourne. You can do it the opposite way as well and just flip this itinerary!

We did it this way to give ourselves more time along the Great Ocean Road. This way we would visit the farthest points first and then we could slowly make our way back east and make as many stops as we wanted without worrying about having a long drive back at the end.

Make your first stop of the day at the Twelve Apostles. Park at the Twelve Apostles Visitor Facility where there is plenty of free parking as well as toilets. From the visitor facility there is a path that leads out to the Twelve Apostles viewing platforms.

The Twelve Apostles are so well known along the Great Ocean Road that this is likely to be the most crowded stop along your road trip. We expected it to be crazy crowded but really we were both surprised to find it wasn’t that bad. The problem is that the walkways are just not that wide so it’s hard to accommodate too many people. Even though it can be busy it is so worth visiting because these famous rock formations are really beautiful!

It is really windy along the Great Ocean Road and particularly when we were at the 12 Apostles. I was glad to be wearing this fleece to keep warm!

Walk all the way out to Castle Rock which extends out into the water so you can get views looking back at the coastline. However, there is a high fence around the perimeter that makes it hard to take pictures of what it actually looks like.

When you’re done at the Twelve Apostles continue west and park at the Loch Ard Gorge Parking lot which is only 4 minutes down the road. From there you can see a multitude of other formations. First up is the Tom and Eva Lookout. It’s an easy walk from the parking lot and gives you unobstructed views looking out at two pillars in the water.

Walk to the end of the path to the Razorback which was one of our favorite spots from day one! The razorback is unlike the other stacks you will see. It is larger and because it’s closer to the viewing spot you can see the layers of rock and how the wind and water has eroded it over time.

The Island Arch Lookout and Loch Ard Gorge can be accessed from that same parking lot so go ahead and visit them as well. The Island Arch Lookout gives you really good views looking back at Loch Ard Gorge.

There are stairs to go down to Loch Ard Gorge and on a nice day this would be such a good place to spend a few hours!

From there continue west to the Grotto which is about 16 kms down the road. We were able to take some really nice pictures at the Grotto because we were the only ones there! It was about 5:00 PM and all the big groups we saw earlier in the day were nowhere to be seen. You can get views looking out at the top of the stairs but walk all the way down the staircase and there is a viewing spot to look through the grotto where you can see out to the ocean. It’s so unique and a spot you have to see!

Your last stops of the day are the London Bridge and the Arch which are going back east towards Port Campbell. There are large signs for both so you won’t miss either one. The London Bridge is so much larger than we expected and stands close to a really large beach area.

End day one by staying in Port Campbell for the night. It is a very small town but one of the closest towns to stay in near western points like the Twelve Apostles.

If you’re looking for a quick and delicious dinner option check out Nico’s Pizza & Pasta!

Day 2: Port Campbell to Apollo Bay

Day two is about 100 kms going from Port Campbell to Apollo Bay. Start the day by going to nearby Mutton Bird Lookout. We opted not to do it on day one to continue to farther spots but if you did then skip ahead! Around 10:00 AM we were the only ones there. This one is really interesting to see because you can see where an arch has already formed in the middle.

We actually chose to go back to the Twelve Apostles on day 2 because the weather was significantly better than the previous day. If you have no reason to go back then continue on! But we found it was so much less crowded early in the morning compared to when we went midday on day one! So our biggest piece of advice is to visit the Twelve Apostles early in the day!

There were less people and it was so much sunnier so it was really enjoyable!

Gisbon Steps is the next stop and one you are sure to love! You can park at the Twelve Apostles Visitor Facility and walk about 30 minutes to Gisbon Steps. Or you can drive a few minutes down the road and park at the small parking lot right at Gisbon Steps. On a crowded day if the smaller lot is full don’t worry you can always park and walk! There is a lookout point at the top but you can actually walk down to the beach and explore down by the water at Gisbon Steps!

There were only a few other people on the beach with us which was so nice!

We spent a few hours enjoying the beach area and if it had been a little warmer I’m sure we could have stayed even longer!
Make sure to walk to the far right side (looking to the ocean from the bottom of the stairs) and peak around and you can see the rugged coastline continue on.

Get back in the car and drive for about 50 minutes before getting to Castle Cove Lookout. The road passes through rolling pastures and beautiful tree lined forests so feel free to pull over and make any other stops you want.

Castle Cove Lookout is right along the Great Ocean Road so you will probably see other cars pulled over. The teal color of the water here was so beautiful! We couldn’t believe it was that color so of course we both took way too many pictures.

This beautiful lookout is only about 30 kms outside Apollo Bay so you’re close! Apollo Bay is a really nice town with quite a few restaurants and shops in the town area as well as a very large beach!

If you have time spend some time at Apollo Bay Beach. There is parking at various spots along the beach so take your pick.

We ate at Georges (pizza was a theme on this trip) and really enjoyed it! They will have anything you could want and have really good wifi!

Before ending the day go up to Marriner’s Lookout which overlooks all of Apollo Bay. The drive up is pretty steep but from the car park it only takes about 5 minutes to walk up to the top. The views from the top are incredible! We went around sunset and couldn’t believe how beautiful it was up there!

Day 3: Apollo Bay to Torquay

Apollo Bay to Torquay is about the same distance as day two so while it’s not that many kilometers there are quite a few places to stop! We pulled over just on the side of the road a few times during the first hour of the drive. The Great Ocean Road follows (you guessed it) the ocean and winds back and forth making it so picturesque!

The first official stop of day 3 is Teddy’s Lookout which is just outside the town of Lorne. The drive up was very steep we were actually worried our tiny little rental car wasn’t going to make it but we’re glad we did! The path takes about a minute to walk before giving you views looking down at the road you just drove in on.

This next one isn’t really a stop but something you’ll see along the way. The Memorial Arch is an archway that says Great Ocean Road over the road. There is a small parking lot to pull over if you want to get out and take a picture otherwise you can simply drive through and continue on.

The Split Point Lighthouse, however, is something you have to see! There are so many lookout points that we spent a few hours exploring this area. There is a small parking lot near the lighthouse that definitely fills up. Because it’s small you might need to wait a minute or two for a spot. First walk out to the lighthouse which you can climb for 10 AUD. Nearby is Castle Rock Lookout and Split Point Lookout which look out in opposite directions.

Walk a few minutes out to Loutit Bay Lookout and you can see the lighthouse and the coastline if you look back.

The pathways are all so well maintained! We had such a good time walking around and enjoying being outdoors.

From the other side of the parking lot walk out to Lands End Lookout which gives you views looking out over the teal water. This is such a good photo spot and looks really different from the viewpoints we just saw.

If you have more time walk down to Steps Beach which is just a few steps from the parking lot. It was almost empty and so beautiful to be down by the water.

Bells Beach is about 25 minutes from Split Point Lighthouse and you are bound to see surfers trying their hand at the waves. We stood and watched for a while at how easy it looked for some of them! You can climb down to the beach or just watch from the top like we did.

From there it’s only about 10 minutes to Torquay, the town where the Great Ocean Road begins heading west. You have now driven almost 80% of this beautiful route! If you feel like more beach time head to Torquay Beach or you have quite a few restaurant options in this surf town.

Day 4: Torquay to Melbourne

From Torquay it’s about 100 kms or an hour and 20 minutes back to Melbourne. You can choose to spend the morning or even the afternoon in Torquay if you have the time or set off early and get to Melbourne with plenty of time to explore the city!

Hopefully this guide has shown you that you don’t have to drive hours and hours to explore the Great Ocean Road. We absolutely loved our few days exploring this coastline and are so glad we were able to see it!