If you are planning for Australia holidays, you should spend time on driving in Australia. This is one of the most interesting experience to explore the beauty of this country.
What to drive
Choosing what to drive is the first important thing when you think about driving in Australia. A standard hire car will get you surprisingly far in Australia, as you’ll find sealed roads and roadhouses along all but the most remote sections of coast, even deep into the Outback.
For the romantics among you, though, hiring a campervan allows you greater freedom, and a true sense of adventure. Bear in mind, though, that the lack of space and the joys of a chemical toilet mean you’ll often be craving the facilities of a campsite (aka campground) kitted out with power points, bbqs and hot showers. If you do go for a campervan, invest in air-con and preferably a fridge. Cracking open an ice-cold VB under a star-strewn sky doesn’t get much more Australian.
For anything truly gnarly a four-wheel drive (4WD) is your best bet – in Australia this is generally the “bulletproof” Toyota Land Cruiser. For the basics on 4WD driving print out the safety card produced by the National 4WD Association and follow our Outback driving tips.
Rules of the road
Despite its epic and often empty roads, there’s a maximum speed limit of 110kph or 68mph across Australia. Police do not need a reason to pull you over for a breath test and you’ll often find roadblocks testing every driver on the approach to big cities, especially if there’s a big rugby, AFL or cricket match on. Parking fines can also be a headache for those with a campervan who expect to be able to park anywhere (and don’t expect to escape a fine once you’ve left the country – the authorities are great at tracking people down). Petrol and diesel, though a major expense on any road trip, is cheaper in Australia than the UK or Europe.
Here are the route ideas for travelers to choose for driving in Australia for Australia holidays.
Route idea #1: The red desert one
While most visitors now fly direct to Uluru (Ayers Rock), approaching this monumental Aussie icon is even more exciting by road. The route from Alice Springs via the Stuart Highway and Ernest Giles Road (4WD only) takes you past otherworldly meteor craters, across the dry Finke River bed and offers a tempting detour to the unmissable Kings Canyon. Along the way you might spot thorny dragon lizards skittering across the road, emus and beefy red kangaroos. This is interesting thing to do for holidays in Australia.
Route idea #2: The Great Ocean One
An all-time classic for jaw-dropping coastal scenery, The Great Ocean Road west of Melbourne, combines gorgeous vistas of crashing surf and rocky pinnacles (notably the Twelve Apostles) with wildlife-watching opportunities, including whales and fur seals. Try and time your visit around Easter so you can drop in at the Rip Curl Pro surfing competition at the legendary Bells Beach.
Route idea #3: The city to city one
Melbourne to Sydney can be done in a but-aching nine hours if you stick to the M31 Hume Highway. Instead, take your time and explore the wonders of Wilson’s Promontory National Park, before heading north through the rolling and occasionally snowy Snowy Mountains via Mount Kosciuszko, the country’s highest peak at 2228m. Between Kosi and Sydney, Canberra makes a perfect pitstop and an opportunity to check out one of the world’s quirkiest capitals.
Route idea #4: The cross-country beast
If you’re dead set on crossing the whole continent, the 3500km Savannah Way links Broome in Western Australia to Cairns in northern Queensland, and provides every type of Outback driving from parched desert to humid tropics. While you could feasibly drive this within a week or less, it’s best to allow two to three, and stopping off along the way (there are an amazing four UNESCO World Heritage sites to drop in at). While much of the Savannah Way is on sealed roads there are also a few sections requiring four-wheel drive.
With our guide, hope all travelers have the memorable Australia holidays with driving in Australia.
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