Great ocean road route? Help required please
 

Hey will be visiting Melbourne in July and looking to do the great ocean road. Don't mind how long the journey is, will stay over night - at least 3 nights. Leaving from Melbourne, will be hiring a car..

Any advice on routes that will show me the best and that will get me back to Melbourne after the few days also any advice where to stay (budget) and prices. Please

Any help would be very appreciated.. thank you in advance

We just did this trip in September and loved it. In fact we took days off of Melbourne so we could stay longer on the Great Ocean Road. Most folks only drive to Lorne and then turnaround but there is amazing places along the way to the end. We drove all the way to the end of the GOR and then took the highway back to Melbourne.
We stopped and saw the kangaroos on the golf course in Angsley;stopped at the koala cafe for an amazing afternoon of up close koalas and parrots;loved the physical geography that was past the 12 Apostles area,etc. We had amazing things like being invited to a complete stranger's birthday party at a restaurant and to driving the lighthouse area and being up close and personal to koalas in the trees along the road.
I just got home from Madeira last night and am not around my GOR info but will let you know where we stayed on the road-you will love it!

I would probably stay the first night in Apollo Bay (at which point you've done the 75 kms from Anglesea to Apollo Bay, almost all of which is along the ocean and perhaps the most "Ocean Road" part of the trip) or perhaps somewhere closer to Cape Otway. Next day, visit the Cape Otway Lighthouse and then continue on towards Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles etc. Stay the night somewhere at the end of the road, perhaps Warrnambool. You could spend several days doing the same trip if you want to explore and really take your time.

On day 3, see something of country Victoria. Head northeast on the B120/B140/B160. Visit Ballarat and Sovereign Hill and then head on to Daylesford/Hepburn Springs, the spa capital of Victoria. Stay the night and relax a while, maybe have a spa, a good dinner (in Daylesford, try the Farmer's Arms, Mercato, or Perfect Drop), visit the Convent Gallery, wander the main street. On day 4, cut over to the M79 (Calder freeway) and head back to Melbourne. On the way, if the weather's decent, stop and have a Picnic at Hanging Rock if you're so inclined.

http://www.lightstation.com
http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions.../Ballarat.aspx
http://www.sovereignhill.com.au
http://www.visitvictoria.com/Regions...Macedon-Ranges
http://www.visitmacedonranges.com/na.../hanging-rock/

Sounds like an amazing journey then! Thank you for the tips,we can extend the journey as much as we like due to it being a 7-8 week trip in Australia.. We are starting in Melbourne, doing the great ocean road drive then making our way to Canberra, Sydney etc.. We are from the uk!

Never been to Australia so any thing helps really, thank you

We were down the GOR for a weekend last June (you're going in July) - we basically had the road to ourselves most of the time. Fairly easy to go at your own speed, stop whenever you like etc. etc. Compare that with doing it now (the middle of summer) - when it'll be bumper-to-bumper traffic, tour buses, nowhere to park etc. Just have to hope the weather is decent for you.

If you have the time, taking 3 days (or more) rather than 2 would be worth it, particularly if you want to stop places, get out and walk, visit the Otway Lighthouse etc. - really no need to rush. I would still suggest coming back to Melbourne via Ballarat and Daylesford - again, no need to rush if you have the time. A couple of days relaxing in Daylesford is always nice.... :-)
A couple of the older (quirky) advertising videos they used to use for Daylesford ...-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdmDGVoxjIE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-_1lW-QBHo

Oh, No! Never really considered traffic - we plan to do the GOR at the end of this year - mid-December actually and then go on to Tasmania. If it's really a dreadful congested mess, I'll re-think!

The towns that we stayed in while driving the Great Ocean Road were Geelong (as we had just flown in) for first night at a Best Western hotel, then one night each at Apollo Bay,Port Campbell and Warrnambool before heading back on the highway back to Melbourne.We got all of our hotels off booking.com and they were great-had cooking facilities so we could make our breakfast in the morning and comfy beds.

Oliverandharry - You should be fine in mid December. The school holidays here are late December through January, that's when the real traffic starts on the GOR.

To amplify Kwaussie's comment, school term 4 ends in VIC (and NSW) on December 19, 2014 (though in SA it's December 12).

Thank you both for that info. The planned GOR portion is penciled for Dec. 19-22, so it looks like we may sneak by. It's our fifth, and likely last, trip to Australia, and we hoped to see it this time. Thanks again.