Perth to Melbourne Road Trip: Our 15-Day Itinerary, Route and Tips

We drove from Perth to Melbourne in 2013, straight after finishing our farm work, in a $900 car that everyone told us would never make it. Friends said to sell it and fly, then sat us down to watch Wolf Creek. (Don’t watch Wolf Creek before this trip.) We went anyway, and it’s still one of our favourite trips anywhere in the world.

Back then there was almost nothing online to help plan it. This guide is what we’d have wanted: our 15-day itinerary, with the stops we did and the ones we’d add today, plus the practical stuff nobody told us.

Perth to Melbourne by Road: The Quick Facts

• Distance: around 3,400 km on the most direct route, and 4,000 km or more on the coastal route with the detours in this guide.
• Time needed: at least 2 weeks to enjoy it. 3 weeks is even better. You can rush it in 5–7 days, but you’ll see the Nullarbor through a windscreen and not much else.
• Perth to Adelaide only: about 2,700 km on the shortest route (roughly 29 hours of driving), so allow at least 5–7 days.
• Getting a car: one-way hire from Perth to Melbourne is easy to book. Compare prices on Discover Cars, and check the one-way fee before you book.

Our 15-Day Perth to Melbourne Itinerary

Day 1–3: Perth to Esperance (via Margaret River and Albany)

Head south from Perth into wine country and forested coastline.

• Margaret River: wineries, surf beaches and forest. Start the day at the Margaret River Bakery.
• Hamelin Bay: friendly stingrays glide right up to the shore.
• Cape Leeuwin: where the Indian and Southern Oceans meet.
• Valley of the Giants: walk the treetop canopy among giant tingle trees.

Albany (we stayed 2 nights) is wild, windy and seriously underrated:

• Two Peoples Bay: we spent hours on this empty beach. Bring a picnic.
• Albany Wind Farm walk: huge views over the Torndirrup Peninsula.
• The Gap and Natural Bridge: the Southern Ocean smashing into granite cliffs.
• Dog Rock: a granite boulder shaped like a dog’s head, on Middleton Road.
• The Blowholes: in Torndirrup National Park. They only really perform in big swell.

Esperance and Cape Le Grand (we stayed 3 nights, and would stay longer)

This was the highlight of the whole trip for us. If you can camp in Cape Le Grand National Park, do it.

• Lucky Bay: white sand, turquoise water and kangaroos lounging on the beach.
• Twilight Beach: the locals’ favourite, with water so clear it looks fake.
• Pink Lake: honestly, it wasn’t pink when we visited, and it hasn’t reliably been pink for years. Go for the drive, not the colour.

Park passes and camping info: Parks and Wildlife WA.

Day 4–6: Esperance across the Nullarbor (via Norseman and Eucla)

Now you’re heading into the real outback. The Nullarbor isn’t just a road, it’s a state of mind.

• Norseman: the official gateway to the Nullarbor.
• Balladonia: a roadhouse museum with debris from NASA’s Skylab, which crashed here in 1979.
• 90 Mile Straight: Australia’s longest straight road. It’s weirdly hypnotic.
• Madura: we stopped here for a night. It’s one of the few places to sleep on this stretch, so book ahead in busy seasons.
• Eucla: the ruins of the old telegraph station, half buried in sand dunes.
• Bunda Cliffs: just past Border Village, these cliffs run for over 100 km along the Great Australian Bight. It’s the edge of the continent.
• Head of Bight: whale watching in season (roughly June to October).

Day 7–9: Ceduna and the Eyre Peninsula to Adelaide

Ceduna (we stayed 2 nights) is Australia’s oyster capital, so grab a dozen straight from the sea. Visit the Aboriginal Art and Culture Centre, and if you’re a golfer, Ceduna is one end of the Nullarbor Links, the world’s longest golf course at 1,365 km. Ceduna also gave us one of the best sunsets of the whole trip.

We made the mistake of driving Ceduna to Adelaide in one go: 773 km and 8 hours. We arrived wrecked. Take the coast road instead:

• Streaky Bay: small-town charm and Murphy’s Haystacks rock formations.
• Coffin Bay and Port Lincoln: seafood, national park beaches, and shark cage diving if you’re brave.
• Port Augusta: the gateway back to “civilisation”.

Day 10–11: Adelaide and Surrounds

Take a breather in South Australia’s laid-back capital:

• Adelaide Central Market and the Botanic Garden
• Hahndorf, a German-style village in the Adelaide Hills
• The Barossa or Clare Valley for world-class wine
• Kangaroo Island if you can add two days

Day 12–13: Adelaide to the Grampians

We skipped this in 2013 and went via Mount Gambier and Portland. Today, we’d add the Grampians.

• Mount Gambier: the Blue Lake and sinkhole gardens.
• Grampians National Park: hike to the Pinnacle, see waterfalls and ancient Aboriginal rock art. Halls Gap is the best base.

Day 14–15: The Great Ocean Road to Melbourne

Save the best for last. Give the Great Ocean Road at least two nights. We stayed in Portland and then on the coast, and three would have been better.

• Port Fairy and Warrnambool
• The Twelve Apostles, Gibson Steps, Loch Ard Gorge, London Arch, The Grotto and the Bay of Islands
• The Otways (Triplet Falls) and Kennett River, which is good for spotting koalas
• Apollo Bay, Lorne and Teddy’s Lookout
• Bells Beach and Torquay on the final stretch into Melbourne

Things to Know Before You Drive From Perth to Melbourne

Fuel

The longest gap we drove without a stop was about 150–200 km, so you won’t run dry if you’re sensible. Fill up at every roadhouse, even when you’re half full. Prices climb the further you get from the cities; at one stop we paid nearly three times the city price. We bought a 5-litre jerry can “just in case” and never needed it.

Phone reception

We didn’t think about this until we lost signal past Esperance. On the Nullarbor, Telstra is realistically the only network with coverage, and even that drops out for long stretches. Get a Telstra prepaid SIM before you leave Perth, and download offline Google Maps and plenty of music and podcasts. There’s no radio between Esperance and Adelaide.

The fruit and veg quarantine checkpoint

Driving east, you’ll hit a quarantine checkpoint at Ceduna. You can’t take fresh fruit, vegetables and some other produce into South Australia, so plan your shopping so you’re not binning a bag of food.

Wildlife

We saw kangaroos, emus, dingoes, eagles and wombats, often on or right beside the road. Don’t drive at dawn, at dusk or at night. That’s when the animals are out and hardest to see. Many hire companies also restrict driving after dark in remote areas, so check your rental terms.

Food

There’s no risk of starving, but forget healthy eating. Roadhouse toasties, chips and burgers become a lifestyle. Some of the best toasties we’ve ever had came from the Nullarbor.

Is it safe?

Everyone warned us we wouldn’t see another person for days and that nobody could be trusted. In reality there was regular traffic, the roadhouse staff were great craic, and people were friendly the whole way. Our “survival kit” of six tins of tuna, two bags of crisps, a box of water and some beers went mostly uneaten (except the beers).

Where to stay

We used a mix of motels, B&Bs and booking deals along the way. Book ahead in school holidays and summer, especially on the Nullarbor, where there are very few options. Compare places on Booking.com, or Hostelworld in the cities.

Travel insurance

It’s a long way from help out there. If you’re on a working holiday from Ireland, the UK or Europe, we use and recommend True Traveller.

What We Wish We’d Known in 2013

• Always top up your fuel, even if you’re half full.
• Offline maps are your best friend.
• Don’t rush. The best moments happen when you go off-plan.
• A good camp chair and an esky make all the difference.
• Get up early and you’ll have the beaches and lookouts to yourself (easier if you’re not hungover).
• Give Esperance and the Great Ocean Road more time than you think.

Final Thoughts

This drive is about more than ticking off landmarks. It’s the huge skies, the roadhouse chats and the quiet sunsets that stay with you. Whether you’re camping under a million stars on the Nullarbor or sipping wine in the Barossa, Perth to Melbourne is a true Aussie rite of passage.

Doing the other coast too? Here’s our East Coast of Australia guide. If you’re a working holiday maker, our 100 things we wish we knew before moving to Australia is worth a read too.

Posting your road trip photos? Grab one of our 200+ road trip captions for Instagram.

Steve and Sabina

Planning your trip? Pin this guide to your Pinterest board for later.

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Taking photos on the coast? Grab our 90+ Australian beach captions for Bondi, Whitehaven, Lucky Bay and the Great Ocean Road.

Posting your Melbourne photos? Grab a line from our 100+ Melbourne captions, or our outback captions for the Nullarbor.

Planning to drive? Read our guide to buying a car in Australia (and cheap campervan relocations).