Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road is one of the absolute highlights of being in Victoria and is easily accessible from Melbourne. The best way to do this is with your own vehicle, though it can be done as part of a tour group, or if you are trying to save money via public transport. The Great Ocean Road starts at Torquay and follows the coast all the way to Portland and was built by returned Australian soldiers, linking towns along the coast that had relied on inland routes to be accessible.

As far as tour companies are concerned, go down to the Melbourne Visitor's Centre at Federation Square (the big glass building on the corner) and they will have all the information you need.

If you choose to drive you have full freedom on what you can see, and this makes it worth it. There are many car hire companies that operate out of the Melbourne CBD, though if you choose to do so you can get the V-Line train from Southern Cross Station to Geelong and hire a car there. It will likely be cheaper, and you'll have to do less driving. There are two types of trains operating out of Melbourne, the "Metro" trains which service the metropolitan area and these V-Line trains which serve regional areas. For both you need to purchase a "MYKI" card from any train station or 7/11 store, costing $6.50 plus the pre-paid credit you will need to load on it.

The Geelong-Melbourne train line is the most used regional train route in Australia and there are many services operating between Geelong and Melbourne's CBD. The train line does finish at Waurn Ponds which is closer to Torquay, however there are not any car hire places or connecting buses from there. There are various car hire places within walking distance from Geelong Railway Station.

From here you can drive to Torquay and start following the Great Ocean Road through the towns of Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and all the way through to Portland if you choose. If you are only going on a single day trip I would not recommend going further than Port Campbell before you use the inland route from there to get back to Melbourne. I will have another post with greater detail on the sights of the Great Ocean Road shortly!

From Geelong you can also get a bus to Apollo Bay. If you do this you will get to experience the best parts of the drive from the comforts of the public bus (and quite cheaply). You can find the timetable for the bus here:

Major Towns Along Great Ocean Road!

Torquay: The Great Ocean Road begins at Torquay, which is about 45 minutes past Geelong. This is a great spot to start your day and get some coffee or breakfast as you get ready to start your adventure, or if you're on the way home stop off for a refreshment. I always stop off for a coffee and some breakfast at "The Pond Cafe", which is just on the foreshore close to the IGA. I'm also a big fan of Blackman's Brewery if you're on the way home and want somewhere to stop for a lovely beer and a big lunch. 

Lorne

Lorne has grown massively over the last few years and has a lot of popularity as a destination in its own right, as well as being about halfway to the 12 Apostles. Whilst here in Lorne you should 100% go and check out Erskine Falls, a waterfall about 15 minutes inland, as well as going to Teddy's Lookout. If you have a bit more time here in Lorne there are some great trails to do around the back of the town, check out the 'Ocean Walk' and the 'Tramway Track Walk'.

Eat and Drink: My fav stop off is at the 'Milk Bottle' on the main row of shops along the Great Ocean Road, you won't miss it.

Apollo Bay:
Apollo Bay is a pretty simple small town with an lovely beach - heap up into the hills above the town for some great views back over the water. 

I love Bay Leaf Cafe for a stop-off for a coffee fix. As you leave and head towards Port Campbell, drive another 30 minutes and set your GPS for 'Wreck Beach', where at low tide you can see the remains of several ship wrecks. The next portion of your drive is not as interesting as the rest of the road, so this is a good way of breaking it up and seeing something awesome. 

Brilliant seafood and fish and chips at the Fisherman's Cooperative (with a great view as well). 

Port Campbell:
Beautiful little town, stop off at Forragers for lunch. 

Portland: Portland is definitely one of the lesser explored gems of the Great Ocean Road. Being so far along it is more time consuming to get to, and as such fewer people get there. If you follow the signs towards the Blowhole, you will find yourself coming across one of the most beautiful beaches in the state, and if you follow the road towards South Australia there are some amazing sand dune areas.

Highlight for me of the entire Great Ocean Road was camping at Swan Lake Campsite, where there are incredible sand dunes and rolling hills across the beach. If you've got the time, it's worth the extra drive up there.