Melbourne to Brisbane by Road - Which Route by Road?

• 

  Flying Ace on 05/04/2022 - 17:40

  +1

  I would never go the Newell highway anymore. Use the Pacific down to western Sydney, and then down the Hume to Melbourne. The Pacific is really good now.

• 

  djones145 on 05/04/2022 - 18:27

  +1

  check the rain forecast and whether there is any road closures too! better stick to pacific highway just in case

• 

  bmxr on 05/04/2022 - 18:44

  +3

  As of late 2020, the Pacific Highway (M1 and A1) from Brisbane to Heatherbrae (near Newcastle) is dual carriageway and very quick, easy and safe to drive. Parts of the A1 were flooded last week, and 3 weeks prior to that between Tweed Heads and Grafton, but it drains reasonably quickly and is a very rare occurrence. Similarly parts of the A1 between Coffs and Taree were closed due to Bushfires in later 2019 and early 2020. But you wouldn't necessarily alter the route based on those rare occurrences.

  There's a short stretch from the A1 at Heatherbrae to the M1 west of Hexham that has signalised intersections. Approaching Sydney, use a combination of M1 to Wagroongah, then NorthConnex, M2, M7, M5 and connect to the Hume Motorway/Highway/Freeway to skirt around Sydney will save you about an hour (or more depending upon the time of day), but will cost a fair bit in tolls. Worth it I say! Then the Hume all the way to Melbourne.

  No other combination of Princes, New England, Newell Highways or others will get close to that in terms of time and safe travels. Different story if you are looking for a road trips with sights to see along the way!

  • 

    djones145 on 05/04/2022 - 19:04

    +2

    forget the toll, being stuck in Sydney traffic is an experince not to miss.

    also those tolls im sure u would be spending close 50 bucks!

    • 

      kloner on 05/04/2022 - 19:13

      haha. Been in Sydney traffic many times!

  • 

    kloner on 05/04/2022 - 19:14

    Thank you very much for your detailed response!

• 

  pegaxs on 05/04/2022 - 18:53

  +2

  Depends. Do you want a scenic route or you just want to get there as quick as you can? Does it matter if it takes a few more days?

  And why the hell are you driving? You could fly there in 2 hours for less than the cost of the fuel it would take to drive there.

  • 

    kloner on 05/04/2022 - 19:13

    Just get there quickly. Can spend 2.5 days going up and 3.5 back.

    Why? Peace and quiet from kids. Petrol covered. Car rentals very expensive. Transporting a very expensive road bike and I don't trust the baggage handlers!

    • 

      djones145 on 05/04/2022 - 21:14

      +1

      time away from kids
      take the long way

      left at Melbourne, off to Adelaide then Perth, swing around to Darwin then Cairns then Brisbane

      say u took a wrong turn at the start, didn't wanna u do a u turn, blame Apple maps

      “I Knew I Should’ve Taken That Left Turn At Albuquerque!”

    • 

      pegaxs on 05/04/2022 - 22:34

      +1

      Get there quickly, up the freeway, stop at somewhere on Central Coast overnight. Leave the next day and up the freeway and land in Brisbane later that day. It’s virtually 110km/h freeway the whole way

      Coming back, go out via Warwick, Tenterfield, Armidale, Tamworth, down to the Hunter Valley where you can go one of two ways,
      A: Muswellbrook, across to Denman, out to Byalong Valley, down to Rylstone/Kandos/Sofala and on to Bathurst, OR,
      B: Keep going down to Singleton, out to Bulga then out to the Putty road and into Windsor.

      A: from Bathurst, go down through Cowra, Young, Cootamundra and onto Wagga, then onto Albury.

      B: Go from Windsor out to Lithgow and onto Bathurst, then follow above.

      Option C: would be, Brisbane to (via Warwick/Tenterfield) Tamworth. Stay at Tamworth. Tamworth (via Werris Creek, Coolah, Dunedoo) to Wagga, stay at Wagga. Wagga (via Jeriderie, Deniliquin, Echuca) into Melbourne. Each of those steps are about 7.5 ~ 8 hr stints.

• 

  altomic on 05/04/2022 - 22:12

  +4

  I always use the newell.

  don't stop in Dubbo. it's shit.

  stop either side
  going down to melb I stay in Parkes or forbes.

  trip back to Bris I stay in Gilgandra.

  got a nice family suite for $85. only prob is limited dining. so arrive before 8PM (or eat dinner in dubbo and drive on to gilgandra - book ahead)

  in Dubbo cheapest was ~$150 or something outrageously expensive.

• 

  kanad on 06/04/2022 - 07:43

  +1

  Travelled in early Jan. Took the pacific highway, excellent road conditions the, plenty of large service stations on the way well stocked with food and drinks, took a few short detours to scenic beaches on the way. We stayed 2 nights on the way. First night at Campbelltown Sydney, 2nd night at Coffs.

• 

  stirlo on 06/04/2022 - 09:38

  +3

  Newell will be faster, There's barely any traffic out there and heaps of places to overtake despite it being mostly 2 lane. The limit on many of the long stretches between towns in NSW is 110km too.

  Going via the coast is longer and requires paying tolls (M7) and/or dealing with Sydney traffic. The speed limit is the mostly the same and you have to deal with commuter traffic . Yes its 4 lanes (and the road is much prettier) but its still longer.