# Best route from Melbourne to Perth



## magpie

We will be travelling from melbourne to perth in November by campervan (duration of trip 35 days) we want to visit adelaide on the way but wondered if anyone had done this and what route would they suggest so that we see as much as we can in this time.


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## Wanderer

I know the Victorian and South Australian region fairly well and like most Australians heading to Perth would have flown to there, actually having done it in both directions by light aircraft.

I'd suggest that you seriously consider using the time to perhaps travel more about the south east corner of Australia and say perhaps do Sydney/Melbourne/Adelaide and even a week in Tasmania and then fly to Perth or if you drop Tasmania, allow a week for touring the Southern corner of WA once in Perth.

The trip from Adelaide to Perth is going to be about 2500 - 3000 km. of very dry barren countryside for the most part in a time of the year when it'll be getting pretty warm and it just is not the best of drives.

Give it some thought and then I'll add some more detail for you.


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## magpie

Thanks for your reply. We had thought of going on the train from Adelaide to Perth what are your thoughts on that idea.


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## Wanderer

The train would be a better idea than driving but it's still going to be a lot of nothing to see hour after hour after hour!
The biggest advantage if you're a sociable couple is that you'll have plenty of opportunity to meet some Aussies and they have a club/lounge car, piano, bar etc.
But if you go driving about the south east of Australia and then the southern bit of WA and use Caravan Parks as accommodation, either cabins or with a motorhome you'll likely meet up with many older Aussies touring about, the Grey Nomads as they're known.
Caravan Parks usually have an outdoor kitchen with BBQ facilities and from about 4 PM on it's kind of settle down to have a few drinks while the tucker sizzles and you'll usually have people happy enough to have a chat and it's a good way to pick up on what's next up along the road.

If you're thinking of using the extra time of travelling in the south east rather than do the Nullabour across to Perth, I'd suggest you get yoyrself to Sydney for a start from there and even if landing in Melbourne, there are cheap enough one hour flights, Welcome To Tiger Airways , [ a subsidiary company of one of the worlds best - Singapore Airlines being ] being Australia's budget airline but also Virgin and Jetstar having deals too and you can check them out @ Cheap Flights & Airfares - Compare Domestic and International Airlines - Webjet.com.au but always book direct with an airline.

I'd stick with using mainly a coastal route with some exceptions as though the Alpine route between Sydney and Melbourne is very panoramic, it's a good snow season this year and in October it'll still be a bit chilly and even possibility of icey roads.
South from Sydney there are a series of lovely coastal villages and also some just inland and it is one of our least internationally heralded regions, kind of a local secret you could say.
I'd spend a few days at least in Sydney, make use of a public transport pass , 
131500 Transport Infoline - Home and use the ferry over to Manly, perhaps a good place to stay a few days - index or in The Rocks for a real colonial feel, try The Australian Heritage Hotel but book ahead and ask for a room on harbour side and not the bridge side.
There's plenty to see about Sydney and a good Visitors Information centre easy enough to find in the Rocks just across from the Ferry Terminal called Circular Quay, the Sydney Opera House and Botanical Gardens being off to the east, a couple of less touristy things to do:
. take a public bus out to Palm Beach , Sydney Restaurants & Function Rooms :: Newport Arms Hotels ,handy for a good lunch/accommodation option and from near there you can get a ferry around to Brooklyn and a train back to Sydney or over to The Basin in the Kuringai Chase NP - DECC | Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park - Facilities and activites
Australia's Best Backpacker Hostels - YHA Australia Pittwater also being a little gem and if you want to try hostel life handy to the Sydney Central RS., book an old railway carriage room at the YHA Railway Square.
You may also want to take a train out to Brooklyn for a three hour river trip with the Hawkesbury River Postal Boat, Vis. Info centre will have details.
Also in CBD area check out the Queen Victoria Shopping Building and the nearby Strand is also worth a wander.

Heading south from Sydney on the Princess Hwy./Motorway, take a turn into the Royal National Park and exit down on the coast via Lawrence Hargreaves coast road as it's quite spectacular.
. Just south of Wollongong you could take the road via Jamberoo or straight to Robertson and you enter the southern highlands area, a detour to Fitzroy falls and then lovely small village of Bowral is worth a stop and perhaps the old Surveyor General Pub at Berrima is worth calling home for the night or alternately head from Fitzroy Falls down into Kangeroo Valley *[ very very steep descent and use a suitable gear and not so much the brakes ]* , a nice old pub just past the Hampden Swing Bridge.
EcoPoint Murramarang Resort is nestled amidst forest by the Ocean and you may even share the beach with some Kangeroos.
Plenty more lazing about on the Merimbula Golf Course if you fancy a swing and that's another Aussie bonus for golfers or would be golfers, plenty of courses with reasonable green fees and clubs for hire.
But before then you have places like Mogo, Narooma, Tilba Tilba and Tilba Valley winery not a bad place to have a BBQ either.
You'll find Visitor Information centres at most even smaller towns, usually located on approach and they're a great source of local info including caravan parks or other accommodation.
I'd use google to have a look at some maps and just map yourself out a meandering route that suits your interests, Travelmate - Australia Accommodation and Hotels, Tours, Car Hire, Maps, Australian Travel Guide being typical of sites that you can use to put in locations and then get distance/time info.
If you do head that way, forget about the drive into Mallacoota Inlet for it is extra windy and the next main place of interest and/or an overnight stop is likely Lakes Entrance and where you should have a good feed of fish'n chips [ Flake the go and it's shark ] Aussie style.
If you google up National Parks for any state. you'll get a heap of info re natural attractions and for Victoria Parks Victoria: Parkweb.vic.gov.au is a great site, probably rhododendron time in the Dandenong Ranges just to east of Melbourne with roadside cherries stalls over towards Yarra Valley way but travelling from Lakes Entrance you might want to get off the Princess Highway at Sale for the South Gippsland Highway for Wilsons Promontory or you can alternately keep on the Princess until the Latrobe Valley and have a geek at a giantic man made hole in the ground where coal goes to the Loy Yang PS and an old gold mining town of Wahalla before heading over to Wilsons Promontory via Bulga Park and Tarra Valley roads, some lovely country driving available.
Going in that direction will also get you to Phillip Island for the fairy penguins doing their evening body surf in to shore, and there's also a Koala sanctuary there. 
Heading up to Melbourne, you could cut across via a place called Pakenham to get yourself via Cockatoo and on to the cherry fields and then up into the Dandenongs.
But that ought to give you some ideas.
If you stick with a Campervan with toilet/shower aboard, that'll obviously give you more freedom for you can find many places where you could just pull up for the night.
Free and Budget Top Camp Sites, Best Camping Grounds and Caravan Tourist Holiday Parks Australia is a book that could be great value for you to buy on arrival as it lists both caravan parks and free stopover locations with locations marked on reasonable maps.
You can usually buy them at auto club shops, RACV, NRMA etc. or possibly even Newsagents _[ our newspapers and magazine stores ] _ and if you have an autoclub membership, via reciprocal rights, that could also offer some deals/discounts and you often just have to ask at a motel or wherever if they have a standby rate for auto club members and you'll likely get a 10% reduction at minimum.
If by train/flying you save some time/money and you want to try a couple of warmer places, do you not want to take in the Great Barrier Reef in having travelled all the way to Australia for again you can get cheap enough flight Melbourne to Maroochydore for instance and then get a trip booked for Lady Elliot and Fraser Islands.
Have a look at packages under Bookings on Lady Elliot Island Great Barrier Reef - Official site or alternately, a place rarely mentioned as part of Australia - Lord Howe Island - Tourism, Accommodation and Travel Information , a very magical place to spend a few days.


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## magpie

*Thanks*

What a lot of info many thanks will have a good read and look at map. Thanks again.


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## lostinaustralia

*another idea*

i always check what other people do, in other words, maybe look at what the tour companies do? usually these routes are designed in order to check out all the highlights along the way. 
good luck


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