Australia was made for road trips. With over 800,000 kilometres of roads weaving through ancient rainforests, dramatic coastlines, vineyard valleys, and white-sand beaches, there is no better way to experience the country's staggering scale and diversity than from behind the wheel. Whether you are chasing coastal sunsets in Victoria, following the reef north of Cairns, or heading into the wild southwest of Western Australia, each route delivers something genuinely unforgettable. These five drives are the ones that every traveller should have on their list.

Before hitting the open road, lock in your flights into your starting city and arrange a car rental to make the journey seamless. Traveloka lets you handle both in the one place, so you can spend less time planning and more time driving.

The Pacific Coast drive from Sydney north to Brisbane is one of the most celebrated road trips in Australia, spanning two states and an extraordinary range of landscapes. Travellers wind through the wine-producing hills of the Hunter Valley, skirt the dolphin-filled waters of Port Stephens, and roll into the laid-back coastal town of Byron Bay before the gleaming skyline of the Gold Coast comes into view. The full route covers roughly 920 kilometres, though most travellers allow five to seven days to do it justice.

What makes this drive stand out is the sheer variety it packs into a single journey. A morning spent sampling cool-climate wines in the Hunter Valley gives way to an afternoon of sandboarding at Stockton Bight, then the following day might be devoted to watching dolphins at Dolphin Marine Discovery Centre in Port Stephens. Byron Bay deserves at least two nights: the lighthouse walk at dawn, the beach at midday, and the night markets in the evening form a perfect itinerary of their own.

From Sydney, the drive north along the Pacific Highway (Highway 1) is straightforward, with well-marked exits for each major stop. The Gold Coast makes a logical finishing point before flying back south, or travellers can continue a further 90 kilometres inland to Brisbane for a city finale. This route is ideal for first-time visitors wanting to experience both urban energy and coastal beauty in a single trip.

Looking for somewhere to base yourself before or after the drive? A wide range of hotels in Sydney and along the coast are available to suit every budget.

The Great Ocean Road is arguably the most iconic coastal drive in Australia, stretching 243 kilometres along the southern edge of Victoria from Torquay to Allansford near Warrnambool. Built by returned soldiers after the First World War and dedicated to their fallen comrades, the road itself is a piece of living history. Today, it draws visitors from around the world for its towering limestone sea stacks, ancient rainforest gullies, and crescent-shaped surf beaches.

The highlight of the drive is the Twelve Apostles, a collection of limestone stacks rising dramatically from the Southern Ocean at Port Campbell National Park. Sunrise and sunset visits offer the most spectacular lighting, and helicopter tours provide a breathtaking aerial perspective. Further along, Loch Ard Gorge tells the story of a famous nineteenth-century shipwreck, with interpretive panels lining the walking path down to the beach.

The stretch between Torquay and Apollo Bay hugs a string of surf beaches beloved by locals, including Bells Beach (home to one of Australia's most prestigious annual surfing events) and Lorne, a charming holiday town with excellent cafes and a year-round weekend market. Turning inland briefly through the Otway Ranges, the road passes ancient myrtle beeches and towering mountain ash, with Triplet Falls and Mait's Rest rainforest boardwalk offering easy short walks. Koalas are frequently spotted in the eucalyptus trees along this section.

Warrnambool serves as the natural end point of the Great Ocean Road drive and offers a compelling reason to linger. Between May and October, southern right whales gather just offshore at Logans Beach, using the calm bay as a nursery for their calves. A purpose-built viewing platform makes whale watching accessible to everyone, and the town's Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village recreates a nineteenth-century port settlement with evening sound-and-light shows.

Day tours departing from Melbourne make it easy to experience the highlights even on a tight schedule. Book your activities on Traveloka to compare guided tour options for this iconic route.

Western Australia's South West Edge drive is a journey through some of the most pristine natural environments on the planet. The route runs from Perth south and east to Esperance, covering approximately 720 kilometres through a landscape of towering karri forests, turquoise bays, rolling wine country, and the breathtaking coastline of the Great Australian Bight. This is a drive for travellers who want raw, uncrowded beauty on an epic scale.

Heading south from Perth, the Margaret River region is the first major stop and one of Australia's most celebrated wine-producing areas. The region is known particularly for its Cabernet Sauvignons and Chardonnays, and the cellar doors here range from boutique family operations to grand estate wineries with full restaurant menus. Caves Road, the secondary route through the region, passes dozens of cellar doors as well as ancient limestone cave systems open for guided tours, including Mammoth Cave and Lake Cave.

Continuing east, the Valley of the Giants near Walpole offers a treetop walk 40 metres above the forest floor through ancient red tingle trees, some of which are over 400 years old. The boardwalk is open year-round and is accessible to all fitness levels. From here, the coastal road passes through Albany, a historically rich town built around a deep natural harbour, and continues east through the Cape Le Grand National Park toward Esperance.

Lucky Bay, within Cape Le Grand National Park, is famous throughout Australia for its resident kangaroos, which can often be found resting directly on the white sand at the water's edge. The water here is a striking shade of turquoise rarely seen outside of tropical destinations. Esperance itself is a relaxed coastal town with a string of pristine beaches and excellent local seafood. Between January and April, pods of orca are regularly spotted in the waters around Bremer Bay, just west of Esperance, making this stretch a bucket-list wildlife experience.

Arrange your airport transfer from Perth Airport to your starting accommodation to begin the South West Edge journey smoothly.

Tasmania's Great Eastern Drive is a road trip unlike any other in Australia, following the island state's east coast from Hobart north to the Bay of Fires. The full route covers roughly 500 kilometres and takes travellers through a landscape of mist-shrouded mountain peaks, sapphire-blue bays, historic convict sites, and the extraordinary orange-lichen-covered boulders that give the Bay of Fires its name. Tasmania's east coast is one of the least-crowded, most visually dramatic coastlines in the country.

Leaving Hobart and heading southeast onto the Tasman Peninsula, the first major stop is Port Arthur, a UNESCO World Heritage-listed convict settlement that operated between 1833 and 1877. The sandstone ruins spread across a scenic headland above Mason Cove, and guided tours bring the site's complex history to life. The harbour cruise to the Isle of the Dead and Point Puer adds an additional layer to the experience and is particularly popular at dusk.

Further north along the coast, Freycinet National Park is home to Wineglass Bay, consistently ranked among the most beautiful beaches in the world. The Wineglass Bay Lookout walk takes approximately 90 minutes return from the car park and rewards walkers with a panoramic view of the crescent bay framed by the pink granite peaks of the Hazards. Those with more time can descend to the beach itself and continue on a full-day loop walk through the park.

The northern end of the Great Eastern Drive culminates at the Bay of Fires, a stunning stretch of coast where white sand, clear water, and enormous boulders coated in vivid orange lichen create an almost otherworldly landscape. The Eddystone Point Lighthouse sits at the northernmost point and can be reached via a short walk from the car park. St Helens, the largest town on Tasmania's east coast, serves as a comfortable base for exploring the area and has a solid selection of fresh seafood restaurants.

The drive north from Cairns to Cape Tribulation in Far North Queensland is one of the most ecologically remarkable road trips in Australia. This route passes through two UNESCO World Heritage Sites — the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Wet Tropics of Queensland — making it unique on the planet. The road covers approximately 140 kilometres from Cairns to Cape Tribulation and is driveable in a single day, though the number of stops along the way makes at least two days worthwhile.

The first significant stop north of Cairns is Port Douglas, a refined resort town perched between the rainforest and the reef. From Port Douglas, boat trips access the outer Great Barrier Reef, while Mossman Gorge, just 15 kilometres inland, offers guided cultural walks led by the local Kuku Yalanji people through ancient rainforest alongside a crystal-clear mountain creek. The gorge walk is one of the most meaningful cultural experiences available anywhere along this coast.

North of the Daintree River crossing — a short cable ferry ride — the road enters the Daintree Rainforest, the oldest continuously surviving tropical rainforest on Earth at over 135 million years old. The forest here predates the Amazon by tens of millions of years and contains an extraordinary density of plant and animal species found nowhere else. The slow-moving road through the forest canopy passes boardwalk trails at Marrdja and Cooper Creek, both excellent for spotting rare and endemic wildlife.

Cape Tribulation is the point where the rainforest meets the reef, with the Daintree canopy rolling directly down to the Coral Sea. The beach at Cape Tribulation is one of the most dramatic in Queensland, flanked by ancient trees and backed by jungle-covered headlands. Cassowaries — the large, flightless birds endemic to the Wet Tropics — are occasionally spotted crossing the road in this area, and signage throughout the drive encourages slow speeds to protect local wildlife. From here, adventurous travellers with a 4WD vehicle can continue north along the Bloomfield Track toward Cooktown.

Check out the latest Traveloka promotions for deals on tours, accommodation, and more across all five of these road trip regions.

Traveloka is Southeast Asia's leading travel platform, trusted by over 100 million users across the region to plan and book travel experiences of every kind. For Australian travellers, the Traveloka app brings together flights, hotels, and activities into one seamless booking experience, making it straightforward to build a complete road trip itinerary from scratch.

Whether you are flying into Sydney to start the Pacific Coast drive, picking up a car rental in Perth for the South West Edge, or booking a guided Great Ocean Road tour from Melbourne, Traveloka has the inventory and price comparison tools to help you find the best options. The app also covers hotels right along each route, from budget capsule stays to five-star coastal resorts, so you can plan every overnight stop in advance.

For travellers based in Southeast Asia, Traveloka is the natural starting point for booking flights to Australia and securing hotels for stopovers in Southeast Asia before or after the trip. The platform's price alerts and real-time availability make it easy to find the best fares from major Southeast Asian cities into Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, or Cairns — the four gateway cities for these five drives. Download the Traveloka app to begin planning your Australian road trip adventure today.