The Ultimate Dream Road Trip: Exploring Australia’s Great Ocean Road During COVID

Between the sweeping views and charming coastal towns, Australia’s Great Ocean Road makes for a truly unforgettable travel experience. Here’s how to do it best—and why it’ll stick with you long after you leave.

Since COVID-19 put the world on lockdown last year, I’ve spent most of my time grounded at home. In the absence of far-flung vacations, I have spent countless hours getting lost in my favorite travel memories, like savoring pintxos in San Sebastian and exploring the Great Pyramid of Giza. However, the trip I’ve fantasized about most often is the last big vacation I took before borders closed: a week-long Australian adventure in November of 2019.

A few months prior, my husband had come across two first-class miles tickets from New York to Melbourne. We decided to split our time between the cosmopolitan capital of Victoria and the island state of Tasmania. Squeezing two destinations into the itinerary required serious strategizing to avoid running ourselves ragged. While I had already amassed a list of restaurants, bars, and wineries, I fought the urge to prioritize those reservations and focused on the big-ticket event: the Great Ocean Road. This Australian National Heritage site is a roughly 150-mile stretch of highway winding along Australia’s scenic southern coast, from Torquay to Allansford.

With only three full days in and around Melbourne, we immediately ruled out the whole route since that would take five hours each way. Even getting to the iconic 12 Apostles rock formation would only shave off an hour each way, and I didn’t want to be behind the wheel for any of it. My long-standing driving phobia made the prospect of racing down the opposite side of the road at highway speeds anxiety-inducing. Consequently, if my husband were to drive the entire time, he’d hardly get to enjoy the magnificent scenery we had come to see.

Must-Visit Places Along the Great Ocean Road

Fortunately, I had a solution. At a conference in 2018, I met Stuart Dobson and Paul Murray, two genial Aussie natives who run Acacia Luxury Private Tours. The Melbourne-based duo offers itineraries that highlight the region’s gems, including the Great Ocean Road. While browsing their offerings, I noticed a one-day combination car-and-helicopter trip that would maximize our time and provide different perspectives of the rugged coastline. I justified the splurge, knowing it was totally worth it.

At 8 a.m., Stuart picked us up from our hotel, the hip QT Melbourne, in a cushy Audi SUV. As we made our way out of the Central Business District, he outlined the day and shared the history of the Great Ocean Road. The project began in 1919 as a means of employing soldiers returning from World War I. “That post-war period has always been a pivotal time in our country’s history,” he explained. Construction took 13 years, primarily using basic tools; only a small amount of dynamite was available, utilized sparingly due to the trauma it might bring to the soldiers. Once completed, the road opened and connected several coastal towns previously accessible only by water.

About 90 minutes in, we caught our first sweeping Surf Coast views at Bells Beach. While we didn’t spot anyone in the water that morning, I could see why the steady waves attract surfers worldwide. Just twenty minutes later, we paused for flat whites and scones at the Lighthouse Tea Rooms in Aireys Inlet, where the nearby Split Point Lookout provided another stunning view. The coastline reminded me of California’s central coast, but seen through a saturated Instagram filter.

“It’s just unreal,” I remarked as our trio made its way back to the car. “Just wait,” said Stuart. “Between Lorne and Apollo Bay, the road often carves into the cliffs. It’s relentlessly beautiful.”

As we passed under the iconic Memorial Arch, Stuart asked if we wanted to stop by a local campground frequented by wild koalas and native birds. Sure enough, we soon encountered a low-hanging tree brimming with scarlet rosellas, bright white cockatoos, and colorful parrots. Leaving the birds, we ambled up a dirt path, scanning towering eucalyptus trees for koalas. After a few minutes, I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder as my husband spotted a tiny ball of fur snoozing in a bough. I resisted the urge to whip out my camera and instead appreciated the moment—a practice I’ve come to value during the pandemic.

After a divine paella and seafood lunch at La Bimba in Apollo Bay, we picked up the pace, passing through the eucalyptus forests of Great Otway National Park on our way to the Shipwreck Coast. As we cruised, Stuart previewed our next stop: the Razorback at Loch Ard Gorge. “It’s one of my favorite vistas,” he said. “It’s a towering sliver of limestone surrounded by other dramatic outcrops. Less visited, but just as stunning as the Twelve Apostles, especially when the Southern Ocean swells are in full force.”

Standing cliffside—my gaze flitting between the formation and the endless ocean—I contemplated the time it took for nature to sculpt this landscape. It had taken millennia for erosion to reveal the layers of earth I was witnessing. We quickly dipped down to the gorge, named after one of the wrecked clipper ships that lent its name to this dramatic section of Victoria’s coast, to wiggle our toes in the sand and admire the limestone strata up close.

As we backtracked to the Twelve Apostles, Stuart dropped an interesting fact: “Funny thing is, there were never actually twelve.” It turns out, only eight stacks had ever existed—like the Razorback—created through relentless erosion. The revelation didn’t lessen the thrill of seeing the iconic pillars, standing tall against the fawn sand and aquamarine waters.

The best views of the day were yet to come. Stuart bid us farewell at the 12 Apostles helipad, where we climbed into a cherry-red copter for the 75-minute scenic flight back to Melbourne. Between the time we lifted off and landed back in the city, my forehead was glued to the window. Flying at about 1,000 feet, we fully appreciated the details of the terrain we had just explored, enjoying a broader view of the jagged cliffs, turquoise waves, and frothy sea spray.

Before I knew it, the towering skyline of Melbourne appeared on the horizon. After we touched down at a riverside helipad, Paul picked us up to take us back to the QT. When he asked how we liked the adventure, my husband and I exchanged giddy smiles and laughed. In that moment, a gobsmacked “It was unreal!” was all I could muster.

Now that I have had time to fully absorb the experience—and review the hundreds of photos I took—I can confidently say it was one of the best travel experiences I’ve ever enjoyed. Not only did we get to spend quality time with a local who shared his favorite off-the-beaten-path spots along one of Australia’s busiest tourist attractions, but we also appreciated the incredible scenery from an unforgettable vantage point.