Great Ocean Road — drive it yourself or take a tour?
Take the tourFor one day. Drive it if you have two and want to stop.
Take the tour for one day. Drive it if you have two. A day trip is $139 and includes the driving, which matters because the road is slow: about 240km of winding coast with the stops that are the point. Hiring a car for a day costs most of that before fuel, and you spend the day driving instead of looking. The thing driving buys you is stopping where you like, and over two days that is worth real money. Over one day you will see the same five places as the coach and arrive later.
Checked on 6 October 2026.
The Great Ocean Road looks like the ideal self-drive, and over two days it is. Over one it is a long stretch behind the wheel to see the same lookouts everybody else is seeing.
What it costs each way
| Roughly | What you get | |
|---|---|---|
| Day tour | From $139 | Driving included, hotel pick-up, five or six stops, back by evening. Rated 2 out of 5 for effort |
| Hire car for a day | Most of that before fuel | Your own schedule, and about six hours of driving in it |
| Hire car for two days | Two days' hire, fuel and a night | Where self-drive starts paying. Apollo Bay or Port Campbell overnight |
| Two day tour | From $369 | A night at Apollo Bay included. Dorm share at that price |
Why the road is slower than it looks
- About 240kmfrom Torquay to Allansford, and it winds the whole way.
- The stops are the point.Bells Beach, the Memorial Arch, Kennett River, Loch Ard Gorge, the Twelve Apostles. Each one adds time.
- Melbourne to the Apostles and backis around six hours of driving on its own.
- The lookouts are on the ocean side.Going west to east means crossing traffic at every one of them.
What driving gives you
- Timing.First light and last light at the Twelve Apostles are better than the middle of the day in every way, and no coach is there for either.
- Cape Otway and Kennett Riverwhere the koalas are. Both are short detours a tour may not make.
- Stopping at a beach because you saw it.This is the only real argument, and over two days it is a good one.
- Carrying on to Adelaidewhich turns the road into a three day trip rather than a loop.
What the tour gives you
Somebody else drives the winding part, and you look out of the window. Both Great Ocean Road day trips are rated 2 out of 5 for effort, and both collect you from your Melbourne accommodation. The reverse-direction trip runs the road the opposite way to everyone else, so you reach the Twelve Apostles after the usual coaches have left.
| Trip | Length | Effort | Group | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Day Great Ocean Road + Rainforest Tour | 1 day | — | Max 34 | $139 |
| 1 Day Great Ocean Road Reverse Tour (with lunch) | 1 day | — | 9 to 21 | $149 |
| 2 Day Great Ocean Road Tour | 2 days, 1 night | — | Max 21 | $369 |
| 2 Day Great Ocean Road & Grampians Tour | 2 days, 1 night | — | Max 21 | $475 |
If you drive it
- Go east to westfrom Torquay. The lookouts are then on your side of the road.
- Start early.The Apostles car park fills from mid-morning in summer.
- Fuel up before Apollo Bay.The stretch past it is thin on services.
- Watch for koalas near Kennett Riverand for the traffic that stops suddenly to look at them.
- It is sealed the whole wayand a normal hire car is fine. No 4WD needed.
Two days changes the question
At two days, both options work and the tour is no longer obviously better. The two day trip includes a night at Apollo Bay from $369, in dorm share; the Grampians version offers a private ensuite at Halls Gap. There is more on the beds on our where you sleep page, and on whether two days is the right length on are two days enough.
Where this comes from. Trip lengths, effort ratings, group sizes, pick-up arrangements and prices are each trip's own details as held on its page here, and prices update on their own. The road length is the published Great Ocean Road route. Hire car costs vary by season and operator; check current rates.