Rough Draft: Two Week Itinerary Sydney to Melbourne Road Trip

Rough Draft: Two Week Itinerary Sydney to Melbourne Road Trip

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 0Travel to Australia
Arrive in Melbourne
Explore Downtown
Day 1Botanical Gardens
Eureka Skydeck
State Library
Queen Victoria Market
Day 2Bike ride to beaches – St Kilda
*option to extend to Great Ocean Road
Day 3Drive 1 hour to Mornington Peninsula or Yarra Valley
Wine Tasting
Day 4Drive 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 5Drive 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 6Gippsland Lakes   
Try paddleboarding
Drive 5 hours 
Stop Mallacoota: Betka Beach, Narrow Walks
Ben Boyd National Park
Tathra Beach
Eden
Day 7Drive 3 hours to Mt Kosciuszko (12.1 km, 5-6 hours, chair lift options)
Drive 3 hours to Eden
Day 8Oyster 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 9Batemans Bay  
Murramarang National Park
Pebbly Beach
Drive 1.5 hours to Jervis Bay
Jervis Bay National Park
Day 10Jervis 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 11Blue 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 12Royal Botanical Gardens
Opera House
Harbour Bridge
Observation Deck
Explore downtown
Day 13Bondi Beach 
Trail to Coogee cliff top walk (6 km)
Sunset at Mrs. Macquaries Point
Day 14Depart

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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