7 days · 1,100 km · Self-drive
The slow route from Sydney to Melbourne via the Sapphire Coast and East Gippsland.
The Trip
Most travellers between Sydney and Melbourne take the Hume Highway, an 8 hour straight shot inland. The Princes Highway hugs the south coast and is two days longer at minimum, but threads together some of the most underrated beach and dairy country in the south-east.
This seven-day plan gives you time for the highlights without rushing. The Sapphire Coast oysters, the Snowy River mouth, the Croajingolong wilderness coast, and the Wilsons Promontory headland on the Gippsland Bass Strait coast are all on the route.
The trip works year-round but is best in spring and autumn. Summer brings the southern school holidays and the coast fills up. Winter is quiet but the southern beaches can be windy.
Day by day
Day
01
Leave Sydney via the Royal National Park (the coast road through Bald Hill is the iconic start). Stop at Stanwell Tops for the photo, then continue south through Wollongong and Kiama (the blowhole) to Jervis Bay. The white sand at Hyams Beach is the headline.
Day
02
Drive south through Ulladulla and Bermagui to Narooma. The Montague Island fur seal and penguin tour leaves from Narooma harbour. Eat at one of the oyster shacks (Wagonga Inlet farms some of the country's best Sydney rock oysters).
Day
03
A short driving day. Stop at Bermagui for the Blue Pool, then continue south past Bega (the cheese factory tour is worth a stop) to Merimbula, the largest town on the Sapphire Coast. Spend the afternoon on the lake or at one of the beaches.
Day
04
Cross the New South Wales-Victoria border at Eden, the southernmost town in NSW. Continue through the Croajingolong wilderness coast to Lakes Entrance, the gateway to the Gippsland Lakes (the largest navigable inland waterway system in Australia).
Day
05
Drive west through Bairnsdale and Sale to Wilsons Promontory National Park. The road into the park ends at Tidal River, where most accommodation is. Walk Squeaky Beach (so named because the sand actually squeaks underfoot) before dinner.
Day
06
A full day in the park. The Mount Oberon summit walk (3.4 kilometres return, steep) is the best aerial view. The Lilly Pilly Gully circuit is a gentler 5 kilometres through eucalypt forest and fern gully. Watch for wombats around the campground at dusk.
Day
07
Drive west via Phillip Island (the optional penguin parade at sunset is worth planning around) and then on to Melbourne. Drop the rental in the city and end the trip with dinner on a Fitzroy laneway.
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