The best scenic drives in Australia: roads that will take your breath away
Australia is a country made for road trips. The distances are enormous, the landscapes change dramatically from one region to the next, and the sense of freedom you get from hitting an open road with nothing but red desert or green mountains ahead of you is something that stays with you long after you have returned home. Some of the country’s most extraordinary experiences are not at a destination at all — they are on the road getting there.
I have driven thousands of kilometres across this country, from the dramatic coastal cliffs of the Great Ocean Road to the eerie emptiness of the Nullarbor Plain, and I can tell you that Australia’s scenic drives are genuinely world-class. Several rank among the best in the world. All of them deliver the kind of scenery that makes you pull over every few kilometres just to stare.
📋 TL;DR — the quick version
- 🌊 Great Ocean Road is iconic for good reason: 243 kilometres of dramatic cliffs, beaches, and rainforest along Victoria’s southwest coast.
- 🏔️ The Great Alpine Road is spectacular: Victoria’s highest road passes through alpine meadows and historic ski towns — magical in any season.
- 🌅 Gibb River Road is for adventurers: 660 kilometres of red dirt through the Kimberley — one of Australia’s most remote and extraordinary drives.
- 🌿 Daintree to Cape Tribulation is unforgettable: Tropical rainforest meets the Coral Sea on this short but extraordinary Queensland drive.
- 🏜️ The Red Centre Way connects outback icons: From Alice Springs to Uluru via the West MacDonnell Ranges — red rock, gorges, and ancient landscapes.
- 🌊 The Princes Highway around the Sapphire Coast is gorgeous: A quieter alternative to the Great Ocean Road with equally beautiful beaches and headlands.
🌊 Great Ocean Road, Victoria
The Great Ocean Road is Australia’s most famous drive and one of the most iconic coastal roads in the world. Built by returned soldiers after World War I as a memorial, the road stretches 243 kilometres along Victoria’s rugged southwest coastline from Torquay to Allansford, and virtually every kilometre of it is more spectacular than the last.
The Twelve Apostles are the road’s most photographed attraction — a series of limestone stacks rising from the Southern Ocean that are genuinely dramatic in any light but especially so at sunrise or sunset. There are currently eight of them (they keep collapsing — the Southern Ocean is relentless), but the remaining formations are still extraordinary. London Arch, Loch Ard Gorge, and the Bay of Islands nearby are equally impressive and significantly less crowded.
Drive from east to west (Melbourne to Allansford) so the ocean is on your left and you never need to cross traffic to stop at viewpoints. Allow at least two days to do the road justice — ideally three, so you have time to walk in the Otway Rainforest, spot koalas at Kennett River, and visit the surf culture at Torquay and Anglesea without rushing.
🏔️ Great Alpine Road, Victoria
The Great Alpine Road is Victoria’s highest year-round road, crossing the Australian Alps between Wangaratta in the northeast and Bairnsdale on the Gippsland Lakes. The route passes through the historic High Country towns of Bright and Harrietville, climbs over Mount Hotham and Mount Feathertop, and descends through Dinner Plain and Omeo on its way to the coast.
Autumn (March to May) is the most celebrated time to drive this road, when the exotic trees planted by early European settlers turn the valleys of Bright and Mount Buffalo into a blaze of gold, amber, and red that looks genuinely unreal. But the road is spectacular in every season — white in winter when the ski resorts are running, green and wildflower-dotted in spring, and golden in the long light of summer evenings. Allow two full days minimum and stay overnight in Bright.
🌿 Daintree to Cape Tribulation, Queensland
This is a short drive — only about 35 kilometres from the Daintree River crossing to Cape Tribulation — but it is one of the most extraordinary in the country. The road passes through the World Heritage Daintree Rainforest, crosses the Daintree River on a small cable ferry, and winds through dense ancient vegetation to the point where the rainforest meets the Great Barrier Reef lagoon at Cape Tribulation beach.
You might also enjoy reading about East Coast Australia Road Trip and Stuart Highway Road Trip.
The road is sealed all the way to Cape Tribulation but becomes gravel (and sometimes impassable in wet season) beyond. Most rental cars are permitted on the sealed section. Cassowary crossing signs are common and should be taken seriously — these enormous endangered birds do cross the road regularly. Drive slowly, stop often, and take the short boardwalk trails to get into the forest.
🏜️ The Red Centre Way, Northern Territory
The Red Centre Way connects Alice Springs to Uluru via the West MacDonnell Ranges, covering about 1,140 kilometres in a loop that passes through some of the most extraordinary landscape in Australia. The West MacDonnells contain a series of ancient gorges — Simpsons Gap, Standley Chasm, Ellery Creek Big Hole, Ormiston Gorge — each carved by ancient rivers through red quartzite ridges that glow magnificently in the afternoon light.
From Kings Canyon (where the 6-kilometre Rim Walk is one of the best half-day hikes in the country), the road continues south to Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park for the iconic monolith and the extraordinary landscape of Kata Tjuta. Allow at least four days to do this route properly, ideally five. The roads between Alice Springs and the main attractions are sealed, but a 4WD is recommended if you plan to explore the back roads.
👉 Book a guided Uluru experience on GetYourGuide →
🌅 Gibb River Road, Western Australia
The Gibb River Road is not a drive for the faint-hearted. This 660-kilometre unsealed road cuts through the heart of the Kimberley in Western Australia’s far north, connecting Derby on the west with the highway near Kununurra on the east. It passes through remote cattle stations, ancient gorges, and swimming holes, and for those who can handle the corrugated dirt surface and the complete absence of mobile reception, it delivers a wilderness experience unlike anything else in Australia.
The best time to drive the Gibb is between May and September during the dry season. A 4WD is essential, and a well-equipped vehicle with extra water, a full-size spare tyre, and a satellite communication device is strongly recommended. The highlights include Bell Gorge, Manning Gorge, El Questro Wilderness Park, and Emma Gorge — each requiring a short walk to a swimming hole of extraordinary beauty. Allow at least five to seven days for the full road.
🌊 The Coastal Drive, Kangaroo Island, South Australia
Kangaroo Island’s Coastal Drive is a 60-kilometre loop through the island’s spectacular south coast, passing through Flinders Chase National Park to Remarkable Rocks and Admirals Arch. Remarkable Rocks are a collection of huge granite boulders sculpted by wind and sea into extraordinary shapes, perched on a headland above the Southern Ocean. Admirals Arch is a natural rock arch fringed with stalactites, and beneath it a colony of New Zealand fur seals hauls out on the rocks below.
Kangaroo Island is only accessible by ferry from Cape Jervis (45 minutes) or by plane, but once there the coastal drive is one of the most rewarding half-days in South Australia. Combine it with a visit to Seal Bay and the northern part of the island for a genuinely outstanding two-to-three day itinerary.
If you’re planning further afield, our guides to Sydney to Melbourne Road Trip are well worth a look.
👉 Book a Great Ocean Road day trip from Melbourne on GetYourGuide →
🚗 Tips for road tripping in Australia
A few important things will make your Australian road trip significantly safer and more enjoyable.
Fuel up whenever you can. Petrol stations in regional and remote Australia can be hundreds of kilometres apart. Never pass a servo without checking your gauge, and carry jerry cans of extra fuel in truly remote areas. Running out of fuel in the Australian outback in summer is a genuine life-threatening situation.
Do not drive after dark in the outback. Kangaroos, wombats, and cattle are active at night and their eyes do not reflect car headlights reliably. A collision with a large kangaroo at highway speed can total a vehicle. Most experienced Australian outback travellers plan their driving to be finished by 5pm.
Download offline maps. Mobile coverage is non-existent in large parts of rural Australia. Google Maps allows you to download regions for offline use. Do this before you leave the city, not once you have lost signal.
