The Ultimate Melbourne To Cairns Road Trip Itinerary

Last Updated on 14th September 2023

AD | This post about the ultimate Melbourne to Cairns road trip includes mentions of gifted and collaborative work with RatPack Travel and Camperman Australia. It also includes affiliate links, please see my disclaimer for more.

After the roaring success of our South Island New Zealand road trip, we knew we wanted to do a very similar thing in Australia and there’s really no better option than an epic drive along East Coast Australia, specifically a Melbourne to Cairns road trip.

We spent 5 days in Melbourne in a hotel before picking up our campervan and heading all the way up to Cairns. It took us around 30 days and thousands of kilometres to drive from Melbourne to Cairns in our campervan, with plenty of stops along the way.

If you’re planning to travel along East Coast Australia on an epic road trip from Melbourne to Cairns, I’ve got just the post for you!

Don’t forget to buy travel insurance before your East Coast Australia road trip!

AUSTRALIA TRAVEL ESSENTIALS
Flights: Kiwi.com
Accommodation: Booking.com / Hostelworld
Activities/tours: Get Your Guide / Viator
Travel insurance: SafetyWing
Reviews: TripAdvisor
My backpacking essentials: Amazon

Top tours & attractions to experience on a Melbourne to Cairns road trip

Melbourne to Cairns road trip itinerary map

During our 36 days in Australia, we covered approximately 4,396km across 3 territories, numerous cities and endless beaches.

We started our trip with 5 blissful nights in the CitiClub Hotel Melbourne and after spending over 5 weeks living in a van in New Zealand, we thought we deserved a bit of TLC (read: an actual bed, a proper shower and a place to sleep for more than 2 nights!).

It was lovely to be in a hotel, but we were eager to get back on the road and start exploring more of what Australia had to offer so we picked our new van up and hit the road!

Melbourne to Cairns road trip itinerary summary

Melbourne
Golden Beach & Cann River
Canberra
Bream Beach, Hyams Beach, Bondi Beach
Sydney
Palm Beach & Dee Why Beach
Central Coast
Port Macquarie & Coffs Harbour
Byron Bay
Gold Coast
Brisbane
Glass House Mountains
Sunshine Coast & Australia Zoo
Noosa Heads National Park & Hervey Bay
Airlie Beach & Whitsunday Islands
Townsville
Cairns & The Great Barrier Reef

Hiring a campervan for our Melbourne to Cairns road trip

hiring a campervan in Australia RatPack travel

In terms of full disclosure, we booked our van through RatPack Travel who provided us with a media rate discount on the Camperman van they found for us. RatPack Travel is an excellent team based in Byron Bay and they’re so attentive and unbelievably helpful if you have any questions!

Unfortunately, while the campervan we got was incredibly spacious and more convenient than our New Zealand vans, the Camperman team we dealt with were very unreliable and so rude.

Our van broke down twice during our trip and every time we called for help, they were just unreceptive. However, apart from that, we adored the van and how much space it had and I would definitely go for that sort of van again, I just wished the team were a bit more helpful!

Day 1 to 5 – Melbourne

We had five days to explore Melbourne which we took full advantage of and saw as much of the city as we could. I’ll write an entire post about what we did in Melbourne as it’s such a great city and I loved it so much.

Once we picked our van up on the fifth day, we drove to St Kilda and explored there a bit before driving to Tooradin where we spent the first night in our new van!

Day 6 – Toora tourist park

We used our trusty Campermate app to find our next campsite for the day/night and discovered Toora Tourist Park which was incredibly reasonably priced and even had a swimming pool and a jacuzzi (which of course we made full use of!).

Day 7 – Golden Beach & Cann River

Next up was Golden Beach and on our drive, we saw SO many dead kangaroos on the side of the road; if you’re thinking of doing an Australian road trip, that’s something that you really have to be prepared for as it’s hard to comprehend just how many you’ll see!

Day 8 – Canberra – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

Things to do in Canberra, Victoria Australia

Day 8 of our Aussie road trip saw us heading to the country’s capital city; Canberra.

There’s not an awful lot to do there but it’s still beautiful nonetheless and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the parliament and government buildings!

Check out the best things to do in Canberra here!

Day 9 – Bream Beach

How to see Kangaroos in Australia Bream Beach

One of the most surreal and amazing experiences we had in Australia was staying at a campsite that was home to more than 40 kangaroos!

The lady who owns the site helps to look after and raise the kangaroos, but they’re completely free to roam around and come and go as they please!

Day 10 – Hyams Beach, Bondi Beach, Sydney

Australia’s beaches are some of the very best in the world and we got to see so many while we were road-tripping.

Hyams Beach has some of the cleanest, whitest sand I’ve ever seen and then, of course, Bondi Beach was a definite highlight!

It felt so surreal to be standing on one of the most famous beaches in the world and even though we didn’t actually go in the sea or sunbathe, it’s somewhere that I’d love to return to one day!

Day 11 – Palm Beach & Dee Why Beach

On day 11 we made our way to Sydney which has been a place on my bucket list for so many years.

We stayed with some of Matt’s distant family while we were there and they took us around some of the best beaches in Sydney in their 1967 Mustang! This was definitely a highlight of our trip for me!

Day 12 – Sydney – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

The following day we headed into the actual city of Sydney and I fell in love with it every bit as much as I expected to!

We saw some of the most iconic structures in the world including the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House and we spent a full day exploring everything we possibly could!

Check out all the best tours and attractions in Sydney!

Day 13 & 14 – Central Coast & Dunleith Tourist Park

Dunleith Tourist Park Central Coast Australia

The following day we were making our way towards Central Coast when our van very (not so!) helpfully decided to break down and lose power to 40kmph in a 100kmph zone!

Compared to the previous day, it was an absolute nightmare but we managed to get it fixed and then stayed at Dunleith Tourist Park where we were greeted with a beautiful sunset to make up for an incredibly crappy day!

Day 15 – Port Macquarie – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

Hiring a campervan in Australia road trip

We spent the next day doing lots of driving so we didn’t get up to much at all. As we were covering such a long distance in a relatively short period of time, we actually had a few days where we did nothing but drive from one place to the next.

Day 16 – Coffs Harbour

On day 16 we explored Coffs Harbour and made fish finger sandwiches next to the sea which was such a lovely way to spend lunchtime.

We then did lots of driving again in the afternoon and parked up at a free campsite at the side of a highway which was essentially a huge parking lot with SO many campervans, caravans and trailers parked there!

Day 17 & 18 – Byron Bay – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

We spent the next two days in Byron Bay which I didn’t love quite as much as I expected but it’s still such an unbelievably beautiful place nonetheless.

There were a few things that put me off it such as how snobby everyone seemed to be; it really felt like a place for the elite youth and if you weren’t, then you felt quite judged…

We were also expecting the nightlife to be a bit more lively but it just felt rather non-existent. Apart from that, the beach is absolutely stunning and the campsite we stayed at was lush.

Book a Byron Bay adventure here!

Day 19 – Gold Coast (Nobby Beach)

Best things to do in the Gold Coast Australia

The next day we headed to the Gold Coast which incidentally turned out to be my favourite place that we visited on our road trip from Melbourne to Cairns.

It has everything I would ever want out of a place; tall skyscrapers, beautiful beaches, swimming and surfing opportunities, plus so many cute little towns and villages too.

We walked along the beaches for several kilometres and were greeted with the most breathtaking view of the skyline. The Gold Coast is a place that’s very high on my wishlist of places to live!

Day 20 – Gold Coast – Melbourne to Cairns road trip itinerary

The next day we met up with more members of Matt’s extended family (his grandad’s cousin’s daughter and her little family!) and we had a day of exploring more of the Gold Coast with them, eating yummy food and playing with their two kids and we also stayed over at their house.

It was so lovely to meet them even though they’re incredibly distantly related to Matt; we had the best time with them!

Day 21 & 22 – Beenleigh

East Coast Australia road trip itinerary Melbourne to Cairns

The following couple of days were relatively boring in comparison as we drove to a place called Beenleigh where we stayed at a free site next to a shopping centre for two nights and spent all of our time working.

Day 23 – Brisbane – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

Back to the fun stuff now as we headed to Brisbane to finally meet my long-time blogging friend Gi! It was so lovely to finally meet her after talking online for so many years and we had a great time exploring the city at sunset and at night!

Find the best tours and attractions in Brisbane here!

Day 24 – Glass House Mountains & Beerwah

The next day we moved on to a place along the Bruce Highway called Beerwah which incidentally isn’t too far from the Australia Zoo.

Along the way, we stopped off at the Glass House Mountains Lookout and as it was such a beautifully clear day, we could see for miles around!

Day 25 – Australia Zoo & Sunshine Coast

The next day we went to the Australia Zoo which was another one of the highlights of our trip.

I was quite sceptical about zoos at first but the work that goes on at the Australia Zoo is so incredible and inspiring and it was amazing to interact with all the animals.

Book tickets to the Australia Zoo here!

Day 26 – Noosa Heads, Noosa National Park

Noosa Heads National Park whale watching

Noosa Heads is famous for being a perfect spot along the East Coast to spot some whales and we were so incredibly lucky that we saw three breaches while we were there!

We also paid a visit to Sunshine Coast Beach and Noosa National Park while we were there.

Check out the best things to do in Noosa Heads here!

Day 27 – Hervey Bay – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

We spent a lot of the day driving on day 27 but we did make a quick stop at Hervey Bay as it’s another place that’s notoriously good for whale watching. Unfortunately, we didn’t see any here but we did enjoy wandering along the beach and the pier.

Find the best things to do in Hervey Bay!

Day 28 – 7 hours of driving

East Coast Australia road trip itinerary

On day 28, we spent 7 hours in the car driving all the way up towards Airlie Beach where we stopped at a free campsite just south of the town which was essentially a huge truck stop behind a BP garage!

Day 29 – Airlie Beach – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

On our relatively short drive into Airlie Beach from the free campsite, we had yet more van troubles when the air con unit started leaking liquid into the footwell!

As I mentioned before, the staff at the Camperman store in Airlie Beach were pretty rude and the man didn’t even fix the issue; he just gave us a towel to put down to mop up the water!

However, we drove to a beautiful campsite in Airlie Beach where we spent the rest of the day attracting more mishaps such as a tub of ice cream leaking out and spilling over everything in our freezer! We decided to write that day off and have a much better day tomorrow…

Day 30 – Whitsunday Islands Tour

Whitsunday Islands tour Melbourne to Cairns road trip

Which leads me nicely on to day 30; our day trip to the Whitsunday Islands! This was an absolutely remarkable experience and it’s without a doubt one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen.

We enjoyed cruising around the islands, eating lunch on the boat and snorkelling with fish and coral; it was absolutely perfect!

Book a Whitsunday Islands and Whitehaven Beach Tour here.

Day 31 – Drove to Townsville – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

After our eventful day exploring the Whitsundays we drove to a free site at yet another BP garage just outside of Townsville and spent the afternoon napping, working and watching Finding Nemo.

Day 32 – Townsville

The next day we went into Townsville itself and drove up to the top of the Castle Hill Lookout (you can walk up to it, but it seemed far too much of an effort for us!). We also wandered down to The Strand and saw the Rockpool and various cute little parks.

Once we’d got our fill of Townsville, we drove to a tiny little town called Feluga where we parked at the back of a hotel for the night and enjoyed a few drinks inside the bar!

Looking for the best things to do in Townsville? Check out these top tours and activities!

Day 33 – Drive to Cairns – Melbourne to Cairns road trip

1 month East Coast Australia Melbourne to Cairns road trip

The next day we drove the four-hour journey up to Cairns where we checked into a paid campsite for the next three nights; this was the longest we’d ever stayed in a paid site, including in New Zealand!

Day 34 – Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef

Scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef on 1 month East Coast Australia Melbourne to Cairns road trip

Our penultimate full day in Australia saw us heading to the Great Barrier Reef to go snorkelling and scuba diving which was one of the most remarkably surreal experiences of my life.

It was our first ever time scuba diving and as I have quite a fear of the ocean, it was a pretty big challenge for me but I’m so happy I did it as it was a truly humbling thing to be able to swim with the fish and the coral in the Great Barrier Reef!

Book an excursion to the Great Barrier Reef from Cairns here.

Day 35 – Stay at a campsite in Cairns

On our last full day in Cairns (and Australia!), we just stayed at the campsite and did some work and laundry and packed our bags ready to leave the next day.

We also took advantage of the site’s free mini-golf facility where I whooped Matt 2 to 1! It was a great way to conclude the last full day of our Australia East Coast road trip!

Day 36 – Cinema & fly to Bali!

The next morning we left the campsite and took some of our winter clothes to a charity shop as we figured we’d no longer need them throughout Southeast Asia over the coming months!

We then went to a local shopping mall and to the cinema where we watched Once Upon A Time In Hollywood which was a pretty disappointing film in my opinion, especially considering how much I adore Leo and Tarantino films!

Once we’d dropped our campervan back at the depot in Cairns, we made our way to the airport and flew to Bali, ready for the next part of our travelling adventure!

I enjoyed Australia way more than I ever thought I would and it was an experience that I’ll never forget and would recommend to anyone in the world!

If you’re looking to plan a trip to East Coast Australia or an epic 1-month Melbourne to Cairns road trip, please send me a message as I’d love to help you out!

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