• Distance: 960km (coast)
• Driving Time: 12 hours by the coast, 13 hours inland
• Duration: 5 to 7 Days

For those not wanting to really see anything along the way, this journey can be a comfortable two-day drive or a very long one day drive but, if you want to explore or relax, here a few suggestions:

Taking the Coast Road (Pacific Highway)…

From Sydney, you have the Hunter Valley wineries, the waterways of the Central Coast and Lake Macquarie or Newcastle just a couple of hours north.

Accommodation suggestion: Tea Gardens or Newcastle

From Newcastle, it’s two hours to Foster-Tuncurry and the Great Lakes region then Taree and the Manning River, Crowdy Head and Port Macquarie (an hour and a half from Forster to Port Macquarie).

Accommodation suggestion: Port Macquarie

It’s only a couple of hours from Port Macquarie to Coffs Harbour but there are good beaches, fishing and a lot to explore in this area… Crescent Head, Kempsey, South West Rocks, (Trial Bay Gaol), you could take a detour from Macksville to Taylors Arm for the Pub With No Beer or continue up to Nambucca Heads and lovely Valla Beach.

Accommodation suggestion: Coffs Harbour

From Coffs, head for Ballina or Byron Bay (two and a half to three hours), having a look at multicultural Woolgoolga and the Jacaranda city of Grafton on the Clarence River. Perhaps a beach turnoff to Yamba and Angourie or Evans Head before pulling into Ballina or Byron.

Accommodation suggestion: Ballina or Byron Bay

From Byron it’s only an hour and a half to the Gold Coast and worth a couple of days here. Depending whether you have children, it can be a choice of resorts and theme parks or the rainforest retreat of the hinterland.

Accommodation suggestion: The Gold Coast or Hinterland

From the Gold Coast it’s an easy drive to Brisbane (around an hour).

Taking the Inland Route (New England Highway)…

A couple of hours from Sydney, you have the Hunter Valley wineries, so why not stop and sample some find food, wine and friendly hospitality?

Accommodation suggestion: Maitland or Hunter Valley

From here, through historic Singleton (maybe a side trip to Wollemi national Park), Muswellbrook, the horse breeding area of Scone and on to the Country Music Capital of Tamworth (an hour 40 mins from Scone).

Accommodation suggestion: Tamworth

It’s less than an hour and a half from Tamworth to Armidale, but there’s a lot to see and do in this sophisticated university city. Explore and stay overnight, or head on an hour or so to the ‘Land of the Beardies’ and Glen Innes.

Accommodation suggestion: Armidale or Glen Innes

There’s lots of history in Glen Innes and it’s a good base for exploring national parks or the mining sites at Inverell. Start humming ‘Time is a traveller…” as you head to Tenterfield (less than an hour from Glenn Innes) and then make a choice of heading to the coast via Casino and Lismore to Ballina to head up through Byron Bay and the Gold Coast, or continue north through Stanthorpe and Warwick to the garden city of Toowoomba. Toowoomba is about 4 hours driving from Glen Innes.

Accommodation suggestion: Byron Bay/Ballina or Toowoomba

Either way, it’s less than a couple of hours from here to Brisbane.

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