Planning guides for driving Australia
Distances, seasons and road conditions — before you commit to the drive.
We started as a local guide in Townsville and still run it. This site is the national version: route detail in the order you actually drive it, honest timings, and the seasonal gates that decide whether a trip is possible at all.
Start with how long you have
Itineraries by trip length
50 day-by-day plans, sorted the way most people actually think about a trip — by how much time they've got.
A place to start
Featured itineraries
14 Days in the Red Centre
~2,200 km
- Fly & drive
- Couples
- Solo
- Friends Group
3 Weeks in Western Australia
~4,600 km
- Couples
- Friends Group
10 Days on the East Coast
~1,100 km one way
- Fly & drive
- Backpacker
- Couples
- Friends Group
7 Days in Tasmania
~600 km one way
- Fly & drive
- Couples
- Family
- Friends Group
First Time in Australia: 2 Weeks
Three flight legs; minimal driving
- Fly & drive
- First-Time
- Couples
- Family
7 Days in South East Queensland
~300 km
- Fly & drive
- Family
- Couples
- First-Time
5 Days in Margaret River & the South West
~600 km round trip
- Fly & drive
- Couples
- Family
- Friends Group
7 Days Kakadu & Litchfield
~625 km loop
- Fly & drive
- Family
- Couples
- Friends Group
7 Days Adelaide Hills, Barossa & Kangaroo Island
~400 km driving, plus the Cape Jervis–Penneshaw ferry crossing
- Fly & drive
- Couples
- Family
- Friends Group
4 Days in the Blue Mountains
~220 km round trip
- Fly & drive
- Couples
- Family
- First-Time
5 Days in Cairns & Tropical North Queensland
~250 km total, mostly day trips from a single Cairns base
- Fly & drive
- First-Time
- Solo
- Couples
- Family
5 Days in Melbourne
Minimal driving — a tram, train and walking itinerary, with one optional day-trip drive
- Fly & drive
- First-Time
- Solo
- Couples
- Family
Prefer a fixed route
Featured road trips
Great Ocean Road
243 km
- 2 days (1 is a mistake)
- EV friendly
- 2WD friendly
Gibb River Road
~708 km (Derby to Kununurra via the Gibb River Road, per Main Roads WA)
- 5 days minimum
- EV: not recommended
- 4WD required
Nullarbor Crossing
~1,200 km
- 3 days minimum
- EV: long charging gaps
- 2WD friendly
Red Centre Way
~1,130 km loop (via the Mereenie Loop)
- 4 days minimum
- EV: not recommended
- 4WD required
Legendary Pacific Coast
~1,050 km
- 5 days minimum for the highway drive
- EV friendly
- 2WD friendly
Great Eastern Drive
~325 km, Hobart to St Helens via Freycinet — Tourism Tasmania's official Great Eastern Drive brand measures a shorter 220 km core between Orford and St Helens; this total adds the Hobart lead-in and the Coles Bay/Freycinet detour
- 3 days minimum
- EV friendly
- 2WD friendly
Atherton Tablelands Road Trip
~200 km loop from Cairns
- 2 days minimum
- EV friendly
- 2WD friendly
Adelaide Hills & Barossa Road Trip
~210 km round trip from Adelaide
- 2 days minimum
- EV friendly
- 2WD friendly
Savannah Way
~3,700 km
- 14 days minimum
- EV: not recommended
- 4WD required
Our home turf
North Queensland is the one region we know firsthand
Townsville, Magnetic Island and the surrounding coast are covered in depth on our original site — written from living there, not from research. We are not duplicating that here.
"We are upfront about what is firsthand and what is researched. Townsville content comes from someone who lives it every day. For other regions we research thoroughly and say so."
By state and territory
Where the drive times actually land
Each hub covers the natural wonders worth the detour, the season that suits them, and the distances people underestimate.
Brisbane to Cairns is 1,700 km — roughly 20 hours of driving. It is not a weekend.
Sydney to Byron Bay is 770 km (9 hours). Sydney to Broken Hill is 1,150 km (13 hours).
Nowhere in Victoria is more than about 6 hours from Melbourne. It is the best state for a short road trip.
Tasmanian roads are winding. Add 30–40% to any time estimate a mapping app gives you.
Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges is 5 hours. Adelaide to the WA border across the Nullarbor is two full days.
Perth to Broome is 2,240 km — three days of driving. Perth to Exmouth is 1,270 km.
Darwin to Alice Springs is 1,500 km — 15 hours of sealed highway. They are not day-trippable from each other.
Canberra is 3 hours from Sydney and 6.5 from Melbourne. It works as a two-night stop between them.
Not sure any of the above fits exactly
Build your own route with the trip planner
Tell it where you're starting, where you're finishing, when you're going and what you're driving. It works out a sequential route with honest timings and the seasonal warnings that matter — a genuine starting point for your own dates, not a substitute for checking road conditions on the day.
Practical know-how
The parts that get people into trouble
Driving in Australia
Licence and IDP rules, which side of the road, tolls, fatigue and road trains.
Outback driving
Water and fuel rules, corrugations, UHF etiquette, what to do if you break down.
Beach & wildlife safety
Flag meanings, spotting a rip, stinger season by region, snakes and crocs.
When to travel
Northern wet/dry versus southern four seasons, and what that means for dates.
Wildlife calendar
Whales, turtles, whale sharks and wildflowers — months and locations.
Also worth a look: the Big Things trail — where each one is and whether it is worth the detour.
A note from Duncan
Thanks for stopping by
Thank you for visiting My Aussie Guide — I hope you’ve found it useful.
I’m always looking for ways to make the site better, so if there’s something you’d like to see added, if you notice anything that doesn’t look right, or if you simply have some feedback, please get in touch.
I read and respond to every email.
Thanks again for visiting,
Duncan