With Outback, coasts, rainforests and mountains galore to explore from behind the wheel, Australia is road trip nirvana. Sadly, only 15 are awesome enough to make our stringent cut.

Twelve Apostles – Photo credit

Great Southern Touring Route
Distance: 777 km
Destinations: Melbourne, Apollo Bay, Port Fairy, Halls Gap
Highlights: Great Ocean Road, Twelve Apostles, Grampians National Park

Great Ocean Road is a must but much more enjoyable as part of the more comprehensive Great Southern Touring Route. All in all, a good reason to get out of Melbourne for a few days.

Superb Melbourne hotels

The Great Alpine Road
Distance: 308 km
Destinations: Wangaratta, Bright, Omeo, Bairnsdale
Highlights: Alpine National Park, High Country vineyards

Some of the best scenery in Victoria unwinds in lovely intervals on the Great Alpine Road.

Sydney Melbourne Heritage Drive
Distance: 1090 km
Destinations: Melbourne, Bendigo, Echuca-Moama, Canberra, Albury-Wodonga, Sydney
Highlights: Goldfields, The Murray, Rutherglen Wine Region

Our first option to ferry you to and fro Sydney and Melbourne includes the underrated Rutherglen Wine Region.

Sydney Melbourne Coastal Drive
Distance: 1270 km
Destinations: Melbourne, Wilsons Prom, Sale, Lakes Entrance, Batemans Bay, Nowra, Sydney
Highlights: Jervis Bay, Montague Island, Eden

If the coast is more your bag, do not skip out on this remarkable trip, with linchpin landmarks like Jervis Bay and Montague Island.

Top hotels in Sydney

Pacific Coast Touring Route
Distance: 1297 km
Destinations: Sydney, Central Coast, Singleton, Gloucester, Kempsey, Grafton, Brisbane
Highlights: Hunter Valley, Barrington Tops National Park, Byron Bay

A marvel of a road trip, the Pacific Coast Touring Route hits all the sweet spots on the way to Brisbane, from Barrington Tops National Park to Byron Bay.

Charlotte Pass, Snowy Mountains – Photo credit

Snowy Mountains Drive
Distance: 519 km
Destinations: Gundagai, Tumut and Tumbarumba
Highlights: Kosciuszko National Park

A scenic circuit ’round Kosciuszko National Park is good snowy fun for all.

Gondwana Rainforests Way
Distance: 650 km (over several circuits)
Destinations: Brisbane, Woodenbong, Gold Coast, Nerang, Boonah, Murwillumbah, Dunoon, Dorroughby, Antarctic Beech
Highlights: Tooloom National Park, The Channon markets, Pinnacle Lookout

The only way to explore the phenomenal UNESCO World Heritage Gondwana Rainforests on the New South Wales – Queensland border involves several memorable circuits.

The Long Paddock
Distance: 610 km
Destinations: Moama, Wilcannia, Echuca
Highlights: Bourke, Broken Hill and White Cliffs

Explore the heart of period Victoria courtesy of the Long Paddock on the Cobb Highway.

East Coast Escape Tasmania
Distance: 252 km
Destinations: Bay of Fires, Freycinet Peninsula, Maria Island
Highlights: Winglass Bay, Swansea, Freycinet Vineyard

Tasmania has a parade of world class treks but the tidy East Coast Escape may well be the best. The Bay of Fires is worth the trip alone.

Shark Bay – Photo credit

The Warlu Way
Distance: 2480 km
Destinations: Coral Bay, Karijini, Millstream-Chichester National Park, Burrup Peninsula, Broome
Highlights: Shark Bay, Eighty Mile Beach, Ningaloo Reef

Epic in a way that only Australia can deliver, the Warlu Way unfurls hits like UNESCO World Heritage Shark Bay and Eighty Mile Beach.

Gibb River Road
Distance: 1682 km
Destinations: Derby, Kununurra, Wyndham
Highlights: Mitchell Falls, Windjana Gorge, Bungle Bungle Range

Still in vast Western Australia, the Gibb River Road meanders through The Kimberley and photogenic spots like Windjana Gorge National Park, Tunnel Creek National Park and the King Leopold Ranges.

The Eyre Highway
Distance: 1675 km
Destinations: Norseman, Cocklebiddy, Eucla, Ceduna, Wudinna, Port Augusta
Highlights: Nuytsland Nature Reserve, Great Australian Bight

A classic meditative road endurance test equals a good chunk of the drive from Perth to Adelaide.

HotelClub Perth accommodations

Great Central Road
Distance: 1126 km
Destinations: Laverton, Yulara
Highlights: Lasseter’s Cave, Kata Tjuta, Uluru

A 4×4, Outback emergency kit and steely resolve all come in handy on the unforgettable Great Central Road, which intersects with the Gunbarrel Highway en route to the Northern Territory and UNESCO World Heritage Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park.

Nature’s Way
Distance: 815 km
Destinations: Darwin, Kakadu National Park, Katherine, Litchfield
Highlights: Ubirr, Mamukala Wetlands, Yellow Water Billabong

Another spectacular UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Northern Territory, Kakadu National Park, is the ultimate reward on the beautiful Nature’s Way trip out of Darwin.

Darwin City Guide

Matilda Highway
Distance: 1789 km
Destinations: Barringun, Charleville, Winton, Cloncurry
Highlights: Heritage pubs, Gulf of Carpentaria

Waltz with Matilda on one of the most remote and delicious journeys Down Under. Dusty, desolate pubs and the formidable Gulf of Carpentaria await.