June 2020
Rough Draft: Sydney to Melbourne Road Trip (or vice versa!)
Due to the COVID quarantine, I am creating rough draft, “off the shelf” travel itineraries for when travel resumes normal operations so we do not waste any time getting out and exploring!
My first impression for Post-COVID travel was leaning on National Parks. However, I grew more skeptical that US National Parks would be good for continued social distancing given that people will be running to nature after being inside for weeks. Since the US is not doing a country wide approach, even traveling within the country could be a risk for the rest of 2020.
New strategy – well there is not one. Ever since we did our planning to New Zealand where I foolishly thought we could also include Australia as well in two weeks, I knew a separate trip would be warranted. It is a 5-6 hour flight from New Zealand to Australia – not exactly next door! I thought it would be really neat to road trip from Sydney to Melbourne (or vice versa) all up thee eastern coastline.
I accounted for three days in each of the cities to bookend the trip. They are by no means comprehensive – especially on the food front! I pointed out the highlights and “must see attractions” for first time visitors. As for the stops along the way, I took a page out of my Rough Draft for South Africa and mixed it up to have lots of nature experiences both on land and on sea, hiking locations including summits and waterfalls, and even sneaking in some wine tasting.
Based on the stops for this type of road trip, two weeks felt like enough time without rushing in Sydney and Melbourne. I allocated three days to each Sydney and Melbourne so if you are only into the drive, it really is only a week long trip to see the destinations in between. I decided to reverse the route, starting in Melbourne and working our way back up to Sydney. Flights will help dictate the route for me personally – whether we can fly into one or out of another, if round trip out of one city is cheaper, etc. Here I am assuming we got a round trip flight to Sydney and would take another flight to Melbourne to start. Then at the end of the trip, there is less travel stress as we are already in the city in which we will be departing.
| Day 0 | Travel to Australia Arrive in Melbourne Explore Downtown |
| Day 1 | Botanical Gardens Eureka Skydeck State Library Queen Victoria Market |
| Day 2 | Bike ride to beaches – St Kilda *option to extend to Great Ocean Road |
| Day 3 | Drive 1 hour to Mornington Peninsula or Yarra Valley Wine Tasting |
| Day 4 | Drive 1.5 hours to Phillip Island Cape Woolamai Visit Koala Conservation Centre Boat ride to Seal Rocks Try surfing Summerland Beach for the penguin parade at dusk |
| Day 5 | Drive 2 hours to Wilsons Promontory Marine Wilsons Promontory Marine Park Tidal River Mount Oberon Summit (6.8km, 2hrs) Squeaky Beach Whisky Bay Try snorkeling Drive 3 hours to 90 Mile Beach |
| Day 6 | Gippsland Lakes Try paddleboarding Drive 5 hours Stop Mallacoota: Betka Beach, Narrow Walks Ben Boyd National Park Tathra Beach Eden |
| Day 7 | Drive 3 hours to Mt Kosciuszko (12.1 km, 5-6 hours, chair lift options) Drive 3 hours to Eden |
| Day 8 | Oyster Tour Drive 2 hours up Sapphire Coast Stop at Bermagui Blue pool Narooma Barunguba Swim with seals Surfing Glasshouse Rocks Drive 1 hour to Batemans Bay |
| Day 9 | Batemans Bay Murramarang National Park Pebbly Beach Drive 1.5 hours to Jervis Bay Jervis Bay National Park |
| Day 10 | Jervis Bay National Park White Sands Walk from Greenfield Beach to Hyams Beach (birdwatching) Booderee National Park Dolphin Cruise Blowhole Point Drive 4 hours to Katoomba (Stop at Sea Cliff Bridge) |
| Day 11 | Blue Mountain (*can also take a train from Sydney) Three Sisters at Echo Point Lookout Katoomba Falls Three Sisters to Katoomba Falls (3.1km) Gordon Falls Empress Falls Elysian Rock Lookout Bridal Veil Lookout Wentworth Falls (1.4km , 1 hour) Jamison Lookout Jenolan Caves Drive 1 hour to Sydney |
| Day 12 | Royal Botanical Gardens Opera House Harbour Bridge Observation Deck Explore downtown |
| Day 13 | Bondi Beach Trail to Coogee cliff top walk (6 km) Sunset at Mrs. Macquaries Point |
| Day 14 | Depart |
If you have been to Sydney, Melbourne, or anywhere in between, let me know what I missed and what your favorites are!
Don’t forget to check out all DESKRIB itineraries here!
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