Gold Coast Road Trip
Planning to drive on your next Holiday? This week’s insider is about a family road trip through New South Wales to the Gold Coast, including stopovers and points of interest in the way.
Living just outside of Melbourne means we’re practically on the doorstep of not one but two fantastic cities. The Gold Coast is this family’s absolute favourite holiday spot, and it’s rare that a year passes in which we don’t head up there en masse.
It’s such a short flight that the travel itself doesn’t detract much from the business of relaxing at the beach or at our Gold Coast accommodation, so air is usually our preferred mode of travel. Although, a couple of years ago we decided to do things a bit differently. With an extended two-week break on the schedule, we made the travel part of the holiday and drove up to the Gold Coast.
Driving to the Gold Coast
I love a good road trip, and the distance from Melbourne to the Gold Coast is just the right length to break the trip up into four or so days of driving. Not unduly tiring for small children, and leaves plenty of time each day for exploring along the way.
Have a look at some of Gold Coast rental apartment options from Holiday Holiday:
Soul 3 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms apartment, Level 39 Ocean View – See Apartment »
Boulevard 1 Bedroom, 1 Bathroom apartment, Level 20 River View – See Apartment »
Road Trip Plan
Now that everything is settled and you are ready to go, make sure to create or improve on the existing road trip playlist, setting the mood for the whole family and friends.
Day 1: Rather than leaving at the crack of dawn, we give ourselves plenty of time to get going, and leave after lunch. After a four-hour drive to Benalla we’re ready to stop for the night.
Day 2: We decide to spend a couple of hours in Benalla, so we walk around the centre of town for a while, looking at the street art. There are some fantastic pieces, some in plain view and some hidden down side streets. After leaving mid-morning, we decide to drive straight through Canberra and spend the night outside of Sydney. The drive is a bit longer, at a bit over 6 hours, but we still manage to arrive well before 5 pm.
Day 3: Sydney to Coffs Harbour is around 5 hours, and now that the drive is heading up along the coast it’s starting to feel more like a holiday. After the obligatory drive past the Coffs Harbour Big Banana for a photo opportunity, we spent some time on the beach, in anticipation of our final destination.
Day 4: The final leg of the journey is a bit under 4 hours. Leaving just before 10 am, we get to the Gold Coast by 2 pm—plenty of time to check-in to our Surfers Paradise apartment and head to the beach for a lazy afternoon.
