Four of the stops on the map
The Memorial Arch at Eastern View marks the start of the road 
The bronze relief map and soldier plaque at the Memorial Arch 
Eagle Rock at Aireys Inlet, a short walk from Split Point Lighthouse 
The Maits Rest rainforest walk in the Otways
The Great Ocean Road is one road, the B100, and it runs along the coast in a single line. That makes it easy to picture and easy to underestimate. What catches people out is not the geography, it is the arithmetic - the famous stops sit at the far end, and the far end is a long way from Melbourne. This page lays out the route in order, then does the honest sum on the driving.
How long is the Great Ocean Road?
The Great Ocean Road (B100) runs about 243 kilometres, from Torquay in the east to Allansford in the west, following the coastline the whole way.
That 243 km is the road itself, and it is worth being precise about, because it is not the distance you will actually drive. Melbourne sits well east of Torquay, and the Twelve Apostles sit near the western end. A day trip from Melbourne means covering the distance out, most of the road, and then the whole distance home again.
The official regional tourism body puts Melbourne CBD to Torquay at about one hour seventeen minutes. If you are flying into Avalon rather than Tullamarine, the same source puts Avalon Airport to Torquay at roughly thirty-five minutes.
What are the stops on the Great Ocean Road, in order?
Heading west from Torquay, the main stops fall in a fixed order along the coast, so the only real decision is how many of them you stop at rather than which direction you take.
| # | Stop | From Melbourne | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Torquay | about 100 km | Where the road officially begins. Surf beaches and the last easy shopping stop before the coast road proper. |
| 2 | Anglesea | about 120 km | A small coastal town, and the first point where the road starts to feel like the drive people came for. |
| 3 | Aireys Inlet | about 130 km | Split Point Lighthouse sits here, on a headland with views along the coast in both directions. |
| 4 | Memorial Arch, Eastern View | about 140 km | The wooden arch most people photograph as the symbolic start of the road. |
| 5 | Lorne | about 150 km | The largest town on the eastern stretch, and the usual morning-tea or early-lunch stop. |
| 6 | Kennett River | about 170 km | Known for wild koalas in the roadside gums, a short walk from the road. Sightings are never certain. |
| 7 | Apollo Bay | about 195 km | The natural lunch stop, and roughly the halfway point of a day trip. The road turns inland shortly afterwards. |
| 8 | The Otways, Lavers Hill | about 240 km | The road climbs away from the coast through rainforest before dropping back down to the shipwreck coast. |
| 9 | Gibson Steps | about 275 km | The first of the western viewpoints, and the only one that puts you at beach level beneath the cliffs. |
| 10 | Twelve Apostles | about 275 km | The limestone stacks, viewed from a clifftop platform. From 16 October 2026 every visitor to the Twelve Apostles needs a booked arrival time. |
| 11 | Loch Ard Gorge | about 280 km | A few minutes further west. A gorge, a beach and the shipwreck history that gives it the name. |
| 12 | Port Campbell, The Arch and London Bridge | about 290 km | A small town and two rock formations within a short stretch of each other. |
| 13 | The Grotto and Peterborough | about 300 km | A sinkhole pool below the cliffs, then the last small town on the coast. |
| 14 | Allansford | about 345 km | Where the road leaves the coast and formally ends, just east of Warrnambool. |
How long does it take to drive the Great Ocean Road?
Torquay to Warrnambool takes at least four hours of driving with no stops at all, and a return day trip from Melbourne with stops is realistically eleven to twelve hours door to door.
The four-hour figure is the one that surprises people, because it describes driving and nothing else. It does not include the run out from Melbourne, the walk down to Gibson Steps, twenty minutes at the Twelve Apostles, a koala stop, or lunch.
The road is also slower than its distance suggests. It is winding, single-lane in each direction for most of its length, frequently busy with other visitors doing exactly the same thing, and it carries wildlife near the verges at dawn and dusk.
What does a realistic Great Ocean Road itinerary look like?
A one-day itinerary from Melbourne runs west along the coast in the morning, reaches the Twelve Apostles in the afternoon, and returns inland via Colac. The order is fixed by the road itself, so the only real choice is how many stops you keep.
In order: join the road at Torquay, then Anglesea, Aireys Inlet for the lighthouse, Lorne for morning tea, Kennett River for the koalas, and Apollo Bay for lunch at roughly the halfway point. The road then climbs inland through the Otways before dropping back to the coast for Gibson Steps, the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge.
The useful part of an itinerary is not the list, it is the subtraction. Every stop above is optional except the one you came for, and the planning move that works is choosing the two or three that matter to your group before you leave, then treating the rest as bonus if the day runs well. An itinerary that keeps everything is an itinerary that reaches the Twelve Apostles too late for the light.
Where these plans break is the return leg. It appears on no itinerary, it is nobody's favourite part, and it is the longest single stretch of the day.
Can you do the Great Ocean Road in one day from Melbourne?
Yes, but only part of it, and the part matters. Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles and back is comfortably achievable in a day; continuing west past Port Campbell to Warrnambool and back is not, unless the day becomes mostly driving.
A day that does not work tries to add Warrnambool, the Bay of Islands, or the Grampians. Each of those is a good destination. None of them belongs on the same day as the Twelve Apostles.
The Twelve Apostles arrival now has to be booked (the rule is in the stops list above). Build that arrival time into the plan before anything else, because the rest of the day hangs off it.
Drive yourself, coach seat, small group or private vehicle?
It depends on group size and on who would be driving. The official Great Ocean Road tourism body says that while you technically can drive from Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles and back in one day, they do not recommend it: the road is long, winding, and tiring at the end of the day.
- Driving yourself
- Cheapest for one or two people and completely flexible. The driver sees less of the coast than everyone else, and does the return leg tired.
- Seat-in-coach tour
- Priced per seat; check the operator's current price. Fixed route, fixed stops, fixed departure. Good value alone or as a pair.
- Small-group tour
- Serene's Saturday small-group tour is A$179 a seat with at most 11 guests: coast first, free stops only, the Twelve Apostles as the last stop, and inland home, back in the city from about 6:30pm.
- Private vehicle and driver
- Priced for the vehicle in party bands (up to four guests, then five to seven), so the figure divides by the group rather than multiplying. Your own stops and your own timing. The gap to a seat narrows as the group grows: from eight guests the long-day rate is A$175 per person.
That advice is worth repeating, because it comes from the region itself rather than from anyone selling an alternative. The reason is the drive back, the part nobody plans for: you reach the Twelve Apostles late in the afternoon, tired, with the return leg still ahead of you - the winding coast road again in the dark, or a couple of hours inland via Colac. None of that makes a day trip a bad idea. It means the driving is the constraint, and it is the one part of the day that can be handed to somebody else: with a driver, the long day becomes time spent looking out of the window, and the return leg stops mattering.
The sum is worth doing before you book anything. Four seats on our Saturday tour are A$716; four in a private vehicle is A$1,199, about A$300 each. Eight seats are A$1,432; eight in a private vehicle is A$175 per person, A$1,400 for the vehicle. For a small group a seat is the cheaper ticket; as the group grows the gap closes, and the private day buys your own vehicle, your own stops and your own timing.
Which way should you drive it - coast out, or coast back?
Most day trips run west along the coast in the morning and return inland via Colac on the highway, because the coastal road is the slow one and it is better driven in daylight.
The alternative - highway out, coast back - puts the scenery in the afternoon light, which some people prefer for photographs. The trade-off is that you drive the twisting section at the end of the day rather than the start.
There is no correct answer, but there is a practical one: whichever direction you choose, decide it before you leave, because changing your mind at Apollo Bay adds real time to the day.
Common questions
Where exactly does the Great Ocean Road start and finish?
It runs from Torquay in the east to Allansford in the west, a distance of about 243 kilometres along the coast. The Memorial Arch near Eastern View, a short way west of Aireys Inlet, is the landmark most people photograph as the symbolic start.
How far is the Twelve Apostles from Melbourne?
They sit near the western end of the road, so a return trip from Melbourne covers the run out to Torquay, most of the 243 km coast road, and the whole distance home again. Allow eleven to twelve hours door to door with stops.
Can you see koalas on the Great Ocean Road?
Kennett River is the best-known place to look, and wild koalas are often seen in the gums there. No wildlife sighting can be promised on any given day.
Is the Great Ocean Road hard to drive?
It is sealed and well maintained, but it is winding, single-lane in each direction for most of its length, and often busy. The difficulty is fatigue and concentration over a long day rather than the road surface itself.
Is one day enough for the Great Ocean Road?
One day is enough to drive from Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles and back with time for the main stops along the way. It is not enough to drive the road's full 243 km length and return.
How much does a Great Ocean Road day tour cost?
Coach day tours are priced per seat, and Serene's Saturday small-group tour is A$179 a seat. A private vehicle is priced for the whole group instead, from A$1,199 for up to 4, so the comparison depends on how many of you there are.
What is the best month to drive the Great Ocean Road?
March and April tend to have settled weather with fewer visitors than midsummer. Winter is quieter still and the coast is dramatic, but daylight is short, which matters on a long day.
If you would rather not drive it
One price for the vehicle, your own route and your own stops. We check availability and send a written total before anything is confirmed.
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