Sydney to Melbourne in 13 days with Camper Van (March - April)

Hi,
We're planning a 6 week road trip in Australia and haven't finalized the last part of our trip.
We travel with 2 and 4 year olds girls.

We start at Cairns and get to Sydney after 3 weeks.
From there we have 13 days to get to Melbourne - which seems like a long way without too many attractions.

We plan to stop at:
- Blue mountains
- Wilsons Promontory National Park
- Philip island
- Great ocean drive

The road from Blue mountains to Wilsons Promontory National Park is LONG (~12 hours drive) - any recommended places to stop at? preferably 3 places that can turn this into 3 hour segments, or any other way to split this drive.
important to note that we will spend 3 days in Sydney before those 13 days, and than we will spend time in Mel after those 13 days so no need to include those in your plan.

Thanks!

The entire coast from Sydney to Melbourne is littered with fantastic natural attractions, but you seem to have only heard of one.
And what do you mean by "Great Ocean Drive"? If Great Ocean Road this is NOT on this route. It is a road that starts about 2 hours drive beyond Melbourne, on the way to Adelaide, with the major attraction all about 4 hours beyond Melbourne. If you mean Grand Pacific Drive, see below.

A few ideas:
- Blue Mountains is NOT on the way. It's better done as a nice 1 or 2 day trip from Sydney but if doing it on the way, you are heading out there, then back the same way.
- Once back in Sydney follow the Grand Pacific Drive south through the Royal National park, and over Sea Cliff bridge for stunning views through to Wollongong.
- Minamurra is a lovely patch of rainforest, with nice easy walks near Kiama..
- Kiama is a nice coastal town with a blowhole.
- The beaches south of here are stunning - especially Gerringong and Seven Mile beach.
- A good diversion is to head up the mountain to Fitzroy Falls and Kangaroo Valley
- Berry is a nice tourist town of shops and cafes
- Stop a few days at Jervis Bay, especially on the southern shore around Hyams and Green Patch where there is great camping. Fantastic white sand beaches with wildlife everywhere.
- Further south Pebbly Beach and Murramarang have great beaches with kangaroos everywhere. Murramarang has a great van park
- Maybe divert inland for a few days in Canberra, the national capital, for museums, galleries, history
- head back down to cost, or head on to the Snowy Mountains
- Further down the coast there are more great beaches, and a fabulous time capsule village Tilba
- Across the border Lakes Entrance and Buchan caves are worth a look.

That's just a few ideas to get you started. But be careful of Easter, as many of these places will be very busy, and you may need to book ahead that weekend.

Hi,
Generally agree with Harry. Just a few more suggestions. If you don't want to backtrack after the Blue Mountains , where you should definitely spend a few days, you could head further west to Milthorpe near Orange and then down the Lachlan Valley way which is quite scenic with some lovely little historic villages, visit Cowra , which has a famous Japanese garden, commemorating the breakout of Japanese prisoners of war interned there- should be some autumn colour just starting. I would agree with Harry that a visiting Canberra would be worthwhile-lots of attractions there ( Museum of Australia, National Gallery, Questacon, Botanic Gardens, zoo, lake with cycle path around it, to name just a few). Worth spending a few days at least. Agree Snowy Mountains also worth considering ( although not snowy at that time of year). Thredbo has lots of Summer attractions.
Agree Easter is difficult for accommodation almost everywhere so try to work out where you will be and book as soon as possible- also quite a few places have minimum stays of a few days over the Easter period. Apart from Easter you may be able to be a bit flexible and take the weather into account. March should still be nice for the beach, but April is probably starting to get cool as you go further south.

Thank you for all the suggestions! :)
Can you maybe provide a sample itinerary for a trip you did in the area?
we only have 13 days and I'm afraid of the long rides with 2 toddlers...
also, both of you did not mention any of the places I have listed, does this mean they are not worth while?
we find it hard to prioritize and choose when we haven't been to any of those places... this is where we need as much help as we can get.

Thanks

one more question, in the time we are there: March 29th to April 4th, in between Blue mountains to Wilsons promontory, Is this a public holiday? or can we be flexible and spontaneous and stop whenever and wherever we like on the road?
we currently have 6 days for this distance and it seems good time frame for this distance.
Thanks Again

Hi,
Easter Monday is 28th March and next public ( national) holiday is Anzac Day, which is 25th April- , but it is Victorian School holidays. The school holiday dates are: NSW 8th April to 27th April, Act ie Canberra 8th April to 26th April and Victoria 24th March to 11 th April.
So I gather you want to spend 6 days getting from the Blue Mountains to Wilson's Promontory- not including time spent in those destinations?
I haven't been to the Prom,( although it is on my list) but I gather it is very busy in school holidays/Easter, so you might want to look at booking your site there very soon.
With 2 small children and only 6 days I would probably try to go a more direct route ie Blue Mountains ( Great Western Highway) and then Hume Highway/ Federal Highway to Canberra ( about 41/2 hours- depending on where in Blue Mountains you are staying- I would suggest Blackheath Glen Blue Mountains Holiday Park). Spend a few days in Canberra- should be lovely at that time of year, and lots to see both indoors and outdoors, then head to Victoria via Cooma and Nimmitabel and overnight at Mallacoota inlet or Croajinolong National Park. I don't know Victoria so well, but you could then head the Wilson's Promontory via Lakes Entrance and Gippsland Lakes.
Hope that helps and have a great trip.

Wilson Prom is a national park and the only accommodation in the park is at Tidal River and is run by the national parks authority (Parks Victoria). As already mentioned is VERY popular over Easter and school holidays so you need to make enquiries NOW. Most of the camping is unpowered sites with a limited number of powered sites.

There is other accommodation outside the park at places like Yanakie but it about a 30 minute drive to Tidal River

I've recently been out to Orange and Millthorpe and while they are lovely towns, I don't think they are worth it on this time scale, or in comparison to the coastal attractions.
After leaving the Blue Mountains I would head back down to the city, aiming for Engadine, then Grand Pacific Drive through the Royal National Park all the way down to Kiama on day one.
Stay there 1-2 days and use as a base to see Minamurra Falls, Jamberoo water park for the kids (If open, and if you think this worthwhile), Kiama, and nearby beaches like Gerringong and Seven Mile Beach.
Next day, stick to the coastal route until it ends at Berry. I'd probably skip the diversion to Fitzroy Falls and Kangaroo Valley with toddlers as this is a steep and winding road. Head on to Huskisson, or, even better, if you are camping, Green Patch, and enjoy the stunning scenery of Jervis Bay. Hyams Beach, Green Patch have the stunning white sands, Murrays at the end is fabulous, and there is wildlife everywhere.
A good next stop could be the tourist park at Murramarang. This is a great set up for kids, good beaches, and kangaroos everywhere - but during school holidays could be booked out, so check. If it is, Ulladulla or Bateman's Bay may be good, but still make the diversion to Murramarang, or, better, Pebbly Beach.
After that you have 2 choices
- Either head up the mountain at Bateman's Bay to Braidwood (great old town) and then Bungendore and Canberra, and after a day or 2 there on to Melbourne via the Barton and Hume Highways (7 hours no stop, or, divert via Beechworth) or, if time permits perhaps via Thredbo and take a trip the chairlift to get a glimpse of Mt Kosciusko and stay here a night, then on to Melbourne.
- Or, continue down the coast. Lots of beaches, but make the tiny diversion into Tilba which is a lovely time capsule village. Merimbula, Lakes Entrance are good places to aim for but, again, this is school holidays, so try to book ahead.

The only reason I did not mention Wilson's Promontory and Phillip Island is because you'd already made clear you were going there.
I've not been to Wilson's, but Phillip island is good for kids - koalas, seals and the little penguin parade.

WOW thanks for the detailed response!
you certainly saved us a lot of time and helped us a lot :)

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