Travelling the Great Ocean Road in Victoria - Is 2 Days Enough?
- Oct 26, 2025
- 3 min read
Updated: May 9
In October I spent 2 days travelling the Great Ocean Road, driving around 240 kilometres starting in Touquay Victoria and finishing in Allansford, near Warrnambool. The trip was part of a 3 week journey from NSW, following the Victorian coast from Tourquay to Adelaide via the Great Ocean Road and Kangaroo Island.
My first trip to the Great Ocean Road many years ago was a day tour from Melbourne on a big bus. I remember having a great but exhausting day, and if that's the only way you can fit in the road trip it's worth it. However, having your own vehicle to decide where to stop and full how long, and spending two days in the area, was a much better experience and it's a very workable timeframe.
I felt like I could have done with a little more time to really see and linger a little at all the best photo stops, but whether you'd really need a third day would depends on how leisurely you want the trip to be, whether you have great weather, if you love photo stops, and if you want to fit in extra food and accommodation stops.
I highly recommended travelling in spring, as there is a high chance of good weather and less crowds.
Day 1 - Tourquay to Apollo Bay
My mission for the day was fairly simple, stop at as many lookouts as possible to see the different views, and the first stop at Point Addis did not disappoint.
The next stop was in the Anglesea area, followed by Aireys Inlet where we found the lovely Lighthouse Tea Rooms, ideal for those in need of a coffee break.
Moggs Creek offered closer ocean views which was an excellent contrast to the high cliff views coming up.
Perhaps exactly as expected Big Hill offered a high view out to the coast and I was lucky enough to see a Kookaburra up close on the way to the lookout.
Driving along there are so many potential places to stop it can be hard to know how often to stop or not, but the views in and around Lorne were beautiful.
Lorne beach was stunning and reminded me of visiting Noosa in Queensland.
A surprising highlight I almost didn't include was Teddy's lookout in Lorne.
The last photo stop for the day was Cape Patton lookout.
After arriving at Apollo Bay I was ready to relax and enjoy the overnight stay at the Sandpiper Motel in Apollo Bay.
Day 2 - Apollo Bay to Warrnambool
The day started with a 12km diversion off the Great Ocean Road into the Otway National Park to visit Cape Otway Lightstation. If you are short on time you may want to skip this one as it's probably a minimum 1-2 hour detour.
The lighthouse itself was closed but the history and views were impressive, and the onsite cafe was a great place to stop and relax.
I found more beautiful views at Castle Cove lookout, and The Gables, before heading to the next and most famous stop to see the Twelve Apostles.
Strangely there were never 12 rock stacks at the Twelve Apostles, according to Parks Victoria there were 9 rock stacks at the beginning of the 21st century, and there are now 6 visible from the main viewing platform.
This was when I felt like I was visiting a major tourist attraction. There is a large car park and visitor centre and although the crowds were quite manageable in spring, I wouldn't want to battle through them in the heat of summer.
The next view points are also famous so there were more tourists than I'd got used to but less than at the Twelve Apostles.
Loch Ard and Razorback were both accessible from the same stop and I was surprised by how beautiful the views were.
My last impressive views for the day were at The Grotto, and London Bridge.
With more time I might have fitted in a couple more stops but I was ready to head to the accommodation for the evening, which was at the Deep Blue Hot Springs Warrnambool, and the springs were a fabulous way to finish the day!
The Great Ocean Road is one of the most well known road tips in the country for good reason. It was a real joy to take this time to explore some spectacular parts of the Victorian coast.
