Lonely Planet Australia's Best Trips

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• Publisher: Lonely Planet
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781786574947
• eBook ISBN: 9781788687461

Lonely Planet: The world's number one travel guide publisher* Whether exploring your own backyard or somewhere new, discover the freedom of the open road with Lonely Planet's Australia's Best Trips. Follow the Great Barrier Reef along the Capricorn Coast, explore the dramatic landforms and wildlife-rich Kakadu National Park, and surf famous beaches along the Great Ocean Road - with the 38 amazing road trips in this trusted travel companion. Jump in the car, turn up the tunes and hit the road! Inside Lonely Planet's Australia's Best Trips: Lavish colour and gorgeous photography throughout Itineraries and planning advice to pick the right routes tailored to your needs and interests Get around easily with easy-to-read, full-colour route maps, plus detailed directions Insider tips to get around like a local, avoid trouble spots and be safe on the road - local driving rules, parking, toll roads Essential info at your fingertips - hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, prices Honest reviews for all budgets - eating, sleeping, sightseeing, hidden gems that most guidebooks miss Useful features - including Stretch Your Legs, Detours, and Link Your Trip Covers Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra, the South Coast, Victoria, Queensland, Brisbane, Tasmania, the Outback. The Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet's Australia's Best Trips is perfect for exploring Australia by road and discovering sights that are more accessible by car. Planning an Australia trip without a car? Lonely Planet's Australia is our most comprehensive guide to the country, and is packed with popular and off-the-beaten-path experiences. About Lonely Planet: Lonely Planet is a leading travel media company and the world's number one travel guidebook brand, providing both inspiring and trustworthy information for every kind of traveller since 1973. Over the past four decades, we've printed over 145 million guidebooks and grown a dedicated, passionate global community of travellers. You'll also find our content online, and in mobile apps, video, 14 languages, nine international magazines, armchair and lifestyle books, eBooks, and more. 'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times 'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves, it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) *Source: Nielsen BookScan: Australia, UK, USA, 5/2016-4/2017eBook Features: (Best viewed on tablet devices and smartphones) Downloadable PDF and offline maps prevent roaming and data charges Effortlessly navigate and jump between maps and reviews Add notes to personalise your guidebook experience Seamlessly flip between pages Bookmarks and speedy search capabilities get you to key pages in a flash Embedded links to recommendations' websites Zoom-in maps and images Inbuilt dictionary for quick referencing Important Notice: The digital edition of this book

SYDNEY TO MELBOURNE

You could zip down the Hume Hwy from Sydney to Melbourne, but this longer, slower and infinitely more beautiful coastal route follows some of the country’s loveliest stretches of coastline.

TRIP HIGHLIGHTS

5–7 DAYS

1100KM / 683 MILES

GREAT FOR…

BEST TIME TO GO

November to March promises warm beach weather and a good chance of clear skies.

ESSENTIAL PHOTO

White-sand beaches near Jervis Bay.

BEST FOR FAMILIES

Wildlife around Merimbula includes kangaroos on the beach and passing whales in the spring.

Jervis Bay White sands and gum trees at Greenfield Beach
JONATHON STOKES/LONELY PLANET ©

Sydney to Melbourne

Australia’s most popular stretch of its famous Route 1 shadows a stunning coastline, passing en route some pristine stands of tall-trees forest. Jervis Bay, Mallacoota and Cape Conran provide the most picturesque stretches of coastal wilderness, while Central Tilba charms with artistic finds, fine wine and cheese. For lovers of wildlife, there are koalas at Paynesville, seals and seabirds at Montague Island and kangaroos aplenty near Merimbula.

Top of Chapter

1 Sydney

Sydney may be one of the world’s most beguiling cities, but for our purposes it’s merely the starting point of this classic coastal route to Melbourne.

The Drive » Drive south of Sydney along Rte 1. At Loftus, and not long after leaving Sydney’s urban sprawl, take the turnoff for Bundeena and Royal National Park.

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2 Royal National Park

The coastal Royal National Park (

02-9542 6000; www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au; cars $12, pedestrians & cyclists free;

side roads 7am-8.30pm) protects almost 151 sq km of salt-water wetlands, subtropical rainforests and beaches lapped by azure waves. It’s the world’s second-oldest national park (1879) and its 32km of coast alternates between forbidding cliffs and inviting beaches. Garie and Wattamolla are two of the easier beaches to reach. Access roads close at 8.30pm and there’s a $12 fee for vehicles. Side roads to the smaller beaches close at 8.30pm. Even if you don’t get out and walk, Rte 68 loops through the park and is an utterly lovely drive.

The Drive » Make sure you take the coast road along the Sea Cliff Bridge that links Clifton with Stanford Park – you’ll catch your breath as you cross the cantilevered bridge, hanging out over the water beneath high sea cliffs (there’s a small car park allowing a pause for up-close views). There are more dramatic views on the approach t...

Table of contents

• Contents
• Welcome to Australia
• Australia’s Highlights
• If You Like…
• Need to Know
• City Guide
• Australia’s Classic Trips
• 1 Sydney to Melbourne
• 2 Across the Nullarbor
• 3 Alice Springs to Adelaide
• 4 Kimberley Crossing
• New South Wales & The Australian Capital Territory
• Victoria
• Queensland
• South Australia
• Northern Territory
• Western Australia
• Tasmania
• Driving in Australia
• Australia Travel Guide
• Behind the Scenes
• Index
• Our Writers