I will be driving the Great Ocean Road on Saturday March 27 and Sunday March 28. I'll be leaving Melbourne Saturday morning.
Which town on the road would it be best to make a accomodation at? I have no way of knowing where I will end up or stop. Must I make one ahead of time?

Thanks

We stayed at Apollo Bay and enjoyed it. Typical beach front town. We just ended up there and did not have advance reservations. This was in October.

This is an excellent site for last minute accom. on GOR. Either Apollo Bay or Port Campbell would be ideal http://www.wotif.com/hotels/australi...ic-hotels.html

Just drive until you want to stop - I try to find accomodation before sundown. You shouldn't have any problems finding something in any of the towns along the Great Ocean Road at that time - Easter holidays don't begin until the next week.

Thanks. I'm nervous about doing that because it is a Saturday night, and maybe thing swill be booked up.

But, if you had to make a guess, what one or 2 towns would I most likely stop at? And where do I "turn around" and head back to Melbourne?

Thanks

You need to drive the GOR as far as Port Campbell as the 12 Apostles, a main feature of the GOR, are just a few kms. from Port Campbell. If you departed Melbourne early on Saturday you could drive to Pt. Campbell with short stops along the way and even include the Otway fly. Stay the night at Port Campbell, it is a small town right on the coast, and then return to Melbourne via Colac. As mentioned previously all these roads are well signposted and when you get to Port Campbell you will find signs directing you back to Melbourne. Otherwise ask a local as you will find everyone to be very friendly as their livelihood is dependant mainly on tourists. Overall it is a wonderful coastal stretch of Australia and I am sure you will have good time. I would make a booking for Pt. Campbell through wotif.com and then you know if you arrive late at least you have a bed for the night.

Hi Stu -

If I had to make a guess, I'd say Apollo Bay. We spent three nights there (actually in Marengo, which is a few km past Apollo Bay). We loved this accommodation:

http://www.colonialcottages.com.au/

Details here if you're interested:

http://www.fodors.com/community/aust...t-wild-tas.cfm

I think Apollo Bay is too soon and close to Melbourne to stop overnight. I went down there about 8 years ago thinking we could just get a motel en route. Something near the Apostles. However, we just happened to be there when someone local was having a big wedding, plus all the workers from the oil rigs were in for the weekend, so we nearly got stuck with not one motel/b&b/etc, room available! We had to drive in the dark about 30km or more to be lucky enough to get the very last motel room for the next 50 kms. I'd definitely check it out on a map and have it booked. Can't tell you where it was though, but around the Apostles somewhere.

There was another place we stayed the other night that was in a forest where there are glow worms and that was really nice and we could walk in the forest. Maybe someone else here will know where it was? I can't remember.

I found this link which should help you decide where:
http://www.visitvictoria.com/display...B6095A162D167/

Sounds good. If wotif has one of their "mystery" places, shouldI just take that? Is Port Campbell the type of place where anything there would be decent?

Thanks

Just make sure the 'mystery' hotel is in the area you want to be.

I don't remember there being much to Port Campbell, but it's been awhile since I was there. This Wotif listing shows quite a few options though:

http://www.wotif.com/hotels/australi...ll-hotels.html

So is Port Campbell the best place to stop for the night? Seems like a good distance to have traveled in one day.
Do people drive back on the GOR< or do they take a more direct route back?

We drove back via the inland route.

I personally wouldn't drive all the way from Melbourne to Port Campbell in a day. Too many reasons to stop along the way, but if you're just planning to drive and not stop much, I guess you could do it easily enough.

You might find this map interesting...it shows many of the things to see and do along the drive:

http://www.wilmap.com.au/stripmaps/gor.html

I would suggest that going as far as Apollo Bay is far enough for the first day. That encompasses the most windy part of the road and so going is slow and by the time you stop off to view various sites it is surprising how the day disappears. You will also find much more variety of accommodation (and dining) at Apollo Bay then there is at Port Campbell. PC is quite small and if you miss out there it is quite some distance to the next town.

Other random thoughts - Stop off at the golf course in Anglesea and you may see the kangaroos. There are plenty there (had about 60 bouncing past our house the other day) but they tend to be out in force more early morning and later afternoon.

The glow worms that Tiny Dancer mentioned are probably the ones at Kennett River (a bit before Apollo Bay) so if you are really enthusiastic you could drive down there in the evening to have a look. I can't say whether this is worthwhile because, despite always having had a house down on the GOR for 40 years, have never actually got around to having a look. I have wandered around Kennett River during the day and if you look carefully you can sometimes spot koalas. There is a suggested walk which takes about an hour to complete.

The board walk at Mait's Rest is also quite good if you want to see a temperate rainforest. Very easily accessible and doesn't involve a detour. There is also Melba Gully which gives a similar experience but takes longer. Both are a bit after Apollo Bay. Would be easy to backtrack to Apollo Bay for the night as no great distance.

If you are interested in doing the treetop walk at the Otway Fly then I would be doing it first thing the next morning if you have stayed at Apollo Bay. Despite all the signs telling you to go Lavers Hill and then basically backtracking to the Fly, it is quite possible to get there from Apollo Bay via Turton's Track. You take the Skenes Creek Road and then turn left at Turton's Track and follow the signs. Turton's Track itself is a beautiful drive through temperate rainforest. After you have seen the Fly you do not need to go back to Apollo Bay but head onwards to
Lavers Hill and rejoin the GOR at that point. You will miss a bit of GOR but it is inland all along there anyway, not actually following the coast. You would also miss Mait's Rest and Melba Gully but the drive along Turton's Track will make up for that. The Track itself is a dirt road but is in good condition. However, if it has been quite wet in the preceding days I would check at the Information Office before setting out that there are no problems with the Track. I can't imagine there would be any problem taking a hire car along it because, as said, it is well kept.

For what it's worth, we spent three nights and 2.5 days exploring the GOR and we could easily have filled another day (we like to hike).

Here's what I am thinking now. based on what people wrote and my research. I should plan to stay overnight in Apollo Bay. But can i still do Otway stuff that day, and just drive back to Apollo Bay for the night? Is there any town between Apollo Bay and Port Campbell that I could stop over at?
Also, is Port Campbell as far as I want to go, or do I go all the way to Port Fairy?
And how long a drive is it back to Melbourne on the highway?

Thanks

You will have time to do what you would like around the Otways either on the first day or first thing the following morning before you continue on the GOR provided that you are sticking to the main touristy things. There are a number of waterfalls etc which you could visit which entail a fair bit of walking but I assume you are not trying to fit them all in as well. If you are going to the Otway Fly you will see signs to a waterfall as you come out of the driveway but although it is only a short drive, you would have to allow up to 2 hours for the walk to and from it.

Whilst Port Fairy is a lovely little town at which I have stayed a number of times, I really wouldn't be bothering to travel that extra distance unless you have time for an overnight stop there as well. You will have already seen all the best that GOR has to offer by the time you get to Port Campbell. I think it would be better to head back to Melbourne at that point (3 hours on inland highway) and then you can take your time much more leisurely - to travel on to Port Fairy for a brief look around is simply adding a lot of extra travelling time.

There are no towns to speak of between Apollo Bay and Port Campbell. Accommodation would be limited to Bed and Breakfasts and cottages for rent here and there.

I hope the weather is great for you in another fortnight's time. It is absolutely beautiful along here this weekend.

I do like waterfalls, even if it takes a bit of a walk it might be nice to see one. ANy one or 2 you recommend most?

Stu, Here is a website with some info on the various falls and where they are located. http://www.visitvictoria.com/display...D80C476A90318/
I like Erskine Falls (near Lorne) and Stephensons Falls (near Apollo Bay). I have been to some of the others but, quite frankly, it was so long ago I can no longer remember which was which. If you do the Otway Fly those listed around Beech Forest will be in the vicinity.

Weather has been wonderful in Mebourne/GOR this week. Next week is meant to be a bit more overcast so hopefully by the end of the week when you are arriving it will be time to change again to lovely clear days.

There will be a cycling (bicyles) event along the GOR on the Saturday but I don't think it should be a problem for you - there may be a few delays if you need to pass a large bunch of them but there are no road closures (such as when they have 3000-4000 people on the one day!) There are road works at the exit of the Geelong By-Pass (they are still finishing it off) and a bit further along where they are creating a new roundabout but just take it slow, they don't go on forever. Once you have passed the roundabout that they are currently creating that is the end of it.

There is no need to make the detour to Torquay unless you have some mad desire to buy up big at all the surf shops, Quicksilver etc. As you intend to stop at AB/Marengo for the night, I would recommend Lorne as a good place for lunch. The hotel at Wye River would also be a nice stop for a beer/wine where you sit on the balcony overlooking the water.

Stu, Just thought I let you know that I read in the paper this morning that Ken Duncan (world famous photograhper) loves the Hopetoun Falls - says if you can't take a decent photo of these you should just throw away your camera.

Hi Stuq,

Agree with Apollo bay.

Check out the international for accommodation and have a chat to them about activities. they are very helpful about the best spots to see on the great ocean road.

http://www.theinternational.info/act...eat_ocean_road