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Great Ocean Road itinerary — 1, 2 or 3 days

Q: Great Ocean Road itinerary — 1, 2 or 3 days

One day from Melbourne reaches the Twelve Apostles and back, from $139. Two days lets you stop properly and adds the Grampians. Three days covers the coast and the mountains without hurrying. All start and finish in Melbourne.

One day reaches the Twelve Apostles and back: it is a long day and it works, from $139. Two days lets you stop properly and adds the Grampians. Three days does the coast and the mountains without hurrying either. All start and finish in Melbourne.

Checked on 6 October 2026.

The Great Ocean Road runs about 240km west from Melbourne and the famous stretch sits near the far end. That's the whole planning problem: a day trip spends a lot of itself driving, and the second day is where the road stops being a destination and becomes a drive.

1 day — the Twelve Apostles and back

What the day holds

The surf coastat Torquay and Bells Beach, where the road begins.
Rainforestat Maits Rest or Kennett River, and wild koalas in the trees above the road.
The Twelve Apostlesand Loch Ard Gorge — limestone stacks standing off the cliffs.
Back in Melbournethe same evening. The reverse-direction version reaches the Apostles later, when the coaches have gone.

2 days — stopping properly

Day by day

Day 1the coast road west with time at each stop rather than a photograph from the car park, overnight on the road.
Day 2the Apostles in the morning light, then inland to the Grampians on the longer version, or back along the coast.

3 days — the coast and the mountains

Three days is the one that adds the Grampians as a place rather than a detour — sandstone ranges, waterfalls and some of the best short walks in Victoria, and a complete change from the coast.

Every length, with prices

Trip	Length	What is in it	From
1 Day Great Ocean Road + Rainforest Tour	1 day	The classic day — coast road, rainforest, koalas and the Apostles	$139
1 Day Great Ocean Road Reverse Tour (with lunch)	1 day	Driven in reverse, so the Apostles come later in better light, lunch included	$149
2 Day Great Ocean Road Tour	2 days, 1 night	Two days on the coast with a night on the road	$369
2 Day Great Ocean Road & Grampians Tour	2 days, 1 night	Two days, adding the Grampians	$475
3 Day Great Ocean Road & Grampians	3 days, 2 nights	Three days — the coast and the Grampians properly	$695

All leave from and return to Melbourne. Prices update on their own.

Which to pick

One dayif Melbourne is the trip and the road is an excursion. Take the reverse-direction run if you can.
Two daysif you want to watch the sun go down over the Apostles rather than drive away from them.
Three daysif you would rather see two landscapes than one — the Grampians are nothing like the coast.
Penguins instead?Phillip Island is a different day out of Melbourne entirely, and the parade is at dusk.