Things to Do on the Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road packs surf breaks, shipwreck coastline, rainforest and wildlife into a 243 km drive, and most stops are free to enter. Budget two full days to cover the Surf Coast and the Shipwreck Coast properly, and add a third if you want to walk the Otway waterfalls. The list below runs west from Torquay, with opening hours, prices and tips for each stop. Use our town by town guide to plan where to sleep between sights, and see our Great Ocean Road guide for the complete overview.

Things to Do on the Great Ocean Road: Iconic Sights

Twelve Apostles

Seven limestone stacks remain of the original twelve, standing up to 45 m out of the Southern Ocean off Port Campbell. The viewing platforms are free, open 24 hours and reached by a sealed path from the car park on Booringa Road. Arrive at sunrise or the hour before sunset for the best light and the smallest crowds; from late December to January the car park is full by mid morning. Strong westerlies make the Apostles more dramatic after a cold front passes, so check our weather by month guide before you go.

Loch Ard Gorge

Three minutes west of the Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge is a narrow inlet where the clipper Loch Ard sank in 1878 with only two survivors, Tom Pearce and Eva Carmichael. The gorge is named for the ship, and the beach, Muttonbird Island lookout and the Razorback are all reached by short gravel paths and wooden steps. Entry is free and the site is open all day. Walk down to the sand at low tide, then climb back up to the Tom and Eva lookout for the full sweep of the cliffs.

London Arch and the Grotto

London Arch, called London Bridge until the centre span collapsed in January 1990, is a double span of rock with the ocean running underneath. The Grotto, a few kilometres further west, is a sea cave and sinkhole with calm turquoise water you can photograph from inside the arch. Both are free, roadside stops with car parks on the landward side of the Great Ocean Road, and each takes 15 to 20 minutes.

Gibson Steps

Gibson Steps are 86 steps cut into the cliff that drop you onto the beach beside two of the eastern Apostles, Gog and Magog. The steps are open from dawn to dusk, free, and closed when high seas or rockfalls make the beach unsafe. The stairs were first cut by local settler Hugh Gibson in the 1860s and remain the only place on the coast where you can stand at the base of the stacks without a boat. Check the tide before you descend.

Things to Do on the Great Ocean Road: Surfing and Beaches

Bells Beach

Bells Beach, just outside Torquay, is Australia’s most famous surf break and home of the Rip Curl Pro, the world’s longest running professional surfing contest, held every Easter since 1962, one of the highlights in our events and festivals guide. The break is for experienced surfers only, with powerful swells that work best from March to September, but the clifftop lookout on Bells Beach Road is free and open to everyone. Watch from the wooden viewing deck, then continue west to the beginner friendly waves at Point Addis and Jan Juc.

Lorne Beach and Louttit Bay

Lorne’s patrolled beach at Louttit Bay is the safest swimming spot on the Surf Coast, with lifesavers on duty from late November to Easter between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. The sand curves north toward the Lorne Pier, where kids fish for garfish and locals swim. Surf schools based behind the foreshore charge about AUD 75 for a two hour group lesson including board and wetsuit. The beach is free and less exposed than Bells, so it suits families and first time swimmers.

Apollo Bay Harbour

Apollo Bay’s curved main beach is calm, patrolled in summer and backed by a grassy foreshore with free barbecues. The harbour breakwater at the eastern end shelters the fishing fleet, and charter boats run half day deep sea fishing trips for around AUD 120 a person from the jetty. Sea kayak and stand up paddleboard hire costs about AUD 30 an hour on the foreshore. The beach faces north east, so it catches morning sun and is usually the calmest water between Lorne and Port Campbell.

Things to Do on the Great Ocean Road: Otway Rainforest and Waterfalls

Erskine Falls

Erskine Falls, 9 km inland from Lorne, drops about 30 m over two tiers into a fern filled gully. The upper lookout is a five minute walk from the car park on Erskine Falls Road; the lower platform is 240 steps down through mountain ash and tree ferns. Entry is free and the falls flow strongest from June to September. The car park can fill by mid morning on summer weekends, so go before 10:00 am, and our travel tips guide covers driving and fuel for the trip.

Melba Gully

Melba Gully, near Lavers Hill, is one of the wettest corners of Victoria and a reliable spot for glow worms after dark. The 1.5 km boardwalk loop passes giant tree ferns and a 30 m waterfall, and a second, shorter loop is where hundreds of glow worms light up the banks from about 45 minutes after sunset. Entry is free, the walk takes under an hour, and you need a torch with a red filter so you do not disturb the colony. Winter evenings are the best time to see them.

Triplet Falls and Hopetoun Falls

Triplet Falls, deep in Great Otway National Park, is a three tier cascade reached by a 2 km loop through ancient myrtle beech forest, with a detour to Little Aire Falls. Hopetoun Falls, 10 minutes away, plunges 30 m into a moss lined amphitheatre and is a 20 minute return walk. Both are free, and the gravel access roads off the Aire Valley road are fine for two wheel drive cars except after heavy rain. Allow 90 minutes for Triplet Falls and 40 for Hopetoun.

Things to Do on the Great Ocean Road: Wildlife

Kennett River Koalas

The short Grey River Road at Kennett River is the most reliable place on the coast to see wild koalas, often dozing in the manna gums right beside the road within minutes of turning off. Kookaburras and crimson rosellas also gather near the picnic tables. It is free, best at dawn or late afternoon, and the koalas are wild, so stay on the road and do not feed them. This is the easiest wildlife stop if you are travelling with children.

Cape Otway Lightstation

The Cape Otway Lightstation, built in 1848, is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia, standing 90 m above the sea on the continent’s southern tip. Entry costs about AUD 19.50 for adults and AUD 9 for children and includes the keeper’s quarters, telegraph station and the chance to climb the 74 steps of the tower. It opens daily from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, later in summer. The access road passes through eucalyptus where koalas are often seen at eye level.

Logan’s Beach Whale Nursery

Logan’s Beach at Warrnambool is the Southern Right Whale nursery of the southwest, where mothers bring newborn calves into the sheltered shallows from June to September each year. A purpose built viewing platform sits above the beach, and volunteers from the whale watching program staff it during the season. Watching is free and best on calm days; around 20 to 30 whales now visit the Warrnambool coast each winter. Arrive at low tide when the whales rest closest to shore.

Things to Do on the Great Ocean Road: Planning Your Route

Drive the road west to east or east to west in two to three days, splitting the night between the Otway Coast and the Shipwreck Coast. Most drivers go west from Melbourne, which puts the ocean on the passenger side and the pullover bays on the left. Fill the tank in Lorne or Apollo Bay, because fuel stops thin out between Apollo Bay and Port Campbell. Check best time to visit guide to pick the right season, and see where to stay guide for places to stay in each town.