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    Torquay → Warrnambool (B100)

    Great Ocean Road: the full drive guide

    The Great Ocean Road is a memorial highway built by returned WWI servicemen between 1919 and 1932 — it hugs the cliff line because it was dug by hand, which is exactly why it is slow. Signposted 80 km/h drops to 60 and 40 for long stretches.

    Distance
    243 km
    Time needed
    2 days (1 is a mistake)
    Vehicle
    2WD suitable
    Surface
    Fully sealed, two lanes, tight coastal curves
    Best months
    March–May and September–November
    EV suitability
    EV friendly
    Route style
    Point-to-point
    Great Ocean Road — Victoria

    Route map

    Stops shown in driving order with a straight line between them, for planning only — this is not a turn-by-turn route. Always check current road conditions before you travel.

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    Leaflet © OpenStreetMap contributors

    Route stops in order: 1. Torquay, 2. Aireys Inlet, 3. Lorne, 4. Kennett River, 5. Apollo Bay, 6. Cape Otway, 7. Port Campbell National Park, 8. Warrnambool.

    Seasonal gate & outback safety

    Check before you commit to dates
    1. JJanuary — Caution
    2. FFebruary — Caution
    3. MMarch — Open — go
    4. AApril — Open — go
    5. MMay — Open — go
    6. JJune — Caution
    7. JJuly — Caution
    8. AAugust — Caution
    9. SSeptember — Open — go
    10. OOctober — Open — go
    11. NNovember — Open — go
    12. DDecember — Caution
    • Open — go
    • Caution
    • High risk / cut

    Open year-round. Amber months are crowding and weather, not closure — January is peak holiday gridlock, June to August brings short daylight, rain and fog through the Otways.

    Wildlife warning: do not drive at night

    Do not drive the Otways or Kennett River sections after dark. Kangaroos, wallabies and koalas move onto the road from dusk, and there are no shoulders to swerve into on the cliff sections.

    Live road conditions

    VicTraffic live road conditions

    The single biggest planning mistake is treating 243 km as a three-hour drive. With stops, the honest figure is 6–8 hours of daylight one way, and the Twelve Apostles are 190 km in — arrive from Melbourne at 4pm in winter and you will photograph them in the dark.

    Drive it west (Torquay first). The lookouts are on the ocean side heading that way, so every stop is a left turn instead of a cross-traffic turn.

    The stops, in driving order

    1. 01

      Torquay

      0 km in · 1h 20m from Melbourne CBD

      Critical supply point — Last cheap fuel and full supermarket before Apollo Bay. Fill here.

      Official start and the last big supermarket and cheap fuel before Apollo Bay. Bells Beach is a 10-minute detour south.

      Tip: Fill up here. Fuel between Lorne and Port Campbell runs 15–25c/L higher.

    2. 02

      Aireys Inlet (Split Point Lighthouse)

      33 km in · 25 min

      The white lighthouse on the headland with a free clifftop walk. Better light and far fewer people than the Apostles.

      Tip: Free parking on Federal St fills by 10am on weekends; the Painkalac Creek car park is 300 m further and usually open.

    3. 03

      Lorne

      45 km in · 15 min

      The main food-and-coffee stop of the eastern half, plus Erskine Falls 10 km inland (sealed road, 250-odd steps to the base).

      Tip: Erskine Falls is a 30-minute round trip from the highway plus walking time — budget an hour, not 15 minutes.

    4. 04

      Kennett River

      65 km in · 25 min

      The most reliable wild koala sighting on the route — Grey River Road, in the manna gums, first 1 km.

      Tip: Go early morning or late afternoon and look up slowly. Do not feed the king parrots from your hand; it is bad for them and there are signs asking you not to.

    5. 05

      Apollo Bay

      90 km in · 35 min

      Critical supply point — Last full supermarket, medical centre and reliable coverage before Port Campbell. Fuel and water up.

      The natural overnight point. Last town with a full supermarket, medical centre and reliable phone coverage before Port Campbell.

      Tip: If you only have two days, sleep here — not at the Apostles end. It splits the drive time roughly evenly.

    6. 06

      Cape Otway / Otway Ranges

      112 km in · 25 min plus 12 km each way off-highway

      Cape Otway Lightstation (paid entry, mainland Australia's oldest surviving lighthouse) and the Otway rainforest — Maits Rest is a free 30-minute boardwalk loop right off the highway.

      Tip: Maits Rest costs nothing and takes 30 minutes. If you are short on time, do that and skip the Lightstation detour.

    7. 07

      Port Campbell National Park (Twelve Apostles)

      190 km in · 1h 20m

      The limestone stacks. Also Gibson Steps, Loch Ard Gorge and The Arch within 10 km — Loch Ard Gorge is the better walk and half the crowd.

      Tip: Sunrise or the last hour of light. Tour buses run roughly 10am–3pm; outside that window the car park is manageable.

    8. 08

      Warrnambool

      243 km in · 50 min

      End of the road. Between roughly June and September southern right whales calve off Logans Beach — there is a viewing platform, and sightings are genuinely seasonal, not guaranteed.

      Tip: From Warrnambool the inland A1 back to Melbourne takes about 3 hours — much faster than retracing the coast.

    Drive planning: legs, fuel and conditions

    Three paces, same road: highway pace, a towing or 4WD rig, and what the day actually takes once fatigue and photo stops are in it.

    Great Ocean Road — honest timings by leg
    LegDistanceStandard vehicleHighway pace, no stopsTowing / 4WD rig90–100 km/h cruiseRealistic paceFatigue + photo stopsFuel
    Melbourne → Torquay104 km1h 20m1h 35m1h 35mPlentiful
    Torquay → Lorne45 km45m55m55mAnglesea, Lorne
    Lorne → Apollo Bay45 km50m1h1hApollo Bay
    Apollo Bay → Port Campbell100 km1h 40m2h1h 55mLavers Hill (limited hours)
    Port Campbell → Warrnambool53 km50m1h1hPort Campbell, Peterborough
    Warrnambool → Melbourne (inland)263 km3h3h 35m3h 45mCamperdown, Colac
    Whole route8h 25m10h 5m10h 5m

    How we get these: standard is moving time at signposted highway pace. Rig time assumes a 90–100 km/h cruise and slower acceleration — roughly 20% longer. Realistic pace adds a 15-minute fatigue stop every two hours (the national driver-fatigue guidance) plus about ten minutes an hour for photos, fuel and legs. Plan daylight around the realistic column, not the standard one.

    Great Ocean Road — leg conditions
    LegDistanceFuelNotes
    Melbourne → Torquay104 kmPlentifulM1 freeway, no coastal driving yet
    Torquay → Lorne45 kmAnglesea, LorneCurves start after Aireys Inlet
    Lorne → Apollo Bay45 kmApollo BayTightest, slowest section — 40–60 km/h much of the way
    Apollo Bay → Port Campbell100 kmLavers Hill (limited hours)Road turns inland through the Otways; patchy phone coverage
    Port Campbell → Warrnambool53 kmPort Campbell, PeterboroughOpen farmland, faster going
    Warrnambool → Melbourne (inland)263 kmCamperdown, ColacA1 Princes Highway — the sensible return leg

    What can go wrong

    • Overtaking lanes are rare between Lorne and Apollo Bay. If three cars stack up behind you, use a signposted turnout — it is a legal requirement in Victoria to keep left and let faster traffic pass.
    • Phone coverage drops out through the Otways between Apollo Bay and Lavers Hill. Download offline maps before you leave Apollo Bay.
    • Kangaroos and wallabies are active at dawn and dusk along the Otway sections. Avoid driving this stretch in the hour either side of sunset.
    • Cliff edges at the Apostles viewing areas are undercut and unfenced in places outside the boardwalks. Stay behind the barriers — people have died going over.

    Conditions change seasonally and after storms. Check current conditions with the road authority before relying on any of this.

    Common questions

    You physically can — roughly 10–12 hours return with a handful of short stops — but you will spend most of it behind the wheel and you will rush the Twelve Apostles. Two days with a night in Apollo Bay is the minimum that makes the drive worth doing.

    West, starting at Torquay. Driving west puts you on the ocean side of the road, so all the lookout car parks are simple left turns rather than turns across oncoming traffic.

    Grey River Road at Kennett River, roughly 65 km in. Walk the first kilometre of the road slowly and scan the forks of the manna gums. Early morning and late afternoon are best.

    It is legal and commonly done, but the Lorne to Apollo Bay section is tight, cambered and slow. Larger rigs should allow significantly more time and pull into turnouts frequently to release banked-up traffic.

    Where this is researched from

    • Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority — Car park closures, cliff and beach access notices
    • VicTraffic (Department of Transport and Planning) — Live closures — the road closes for landslips after heavy rain

    This is a researched guide, not a firsthand trip report. How we research.

    Spotted something we should update? Let us know.