3 Week Campervan Itinerary Australia: Sydney to Adelaide by the Coast

The route at a glance

The plan has 21 days, 20 nights and no leg over four hours. The longest day is Lakes Entrance to Wilsons Promontory, and the two nights at each of seven stops are what keep the trip from becoming a transfer.

A one-way hire from Sydney to Adelaide usually costs more than a return, and not every company has a depot in both cities, so check that before you plan. Driving it the other way, from Adelaide to Sydney, works just as well.

Week one: the New South Wales south coast

Leave Sydney early and drive the 186 km to Jervis Bay. Booderee National Park, run by Parks Australia, has campsites at Green Patch, Cave Beach and Bristol Point, and its own park pass, which a NSW national parks pass does not cover; Green Patch weekends are generally booked out up to a month ahead from October to May. Spend the second day on the white-sand beaches, then move south to Batemans Bay for two nights near Murramarang National Park, where kangaroos graze the beach campgrounds at Pebbly and Depot beaches.

Day 5 is the longest on this coast, 198 km to Eden on the Princes Highway. Beowa National Park, renamed from Ben Boyd National Park in 2022, has vehicle campgrounds at Saltwater Creek and Bittangabee Bay south of town. Day 6 is a short 85 km to Mallacoota, inside Croajingolong National Park on the Victorian side, for two nights on the inlet.

Week two: Gippsland, the Prom and Melbourne

Drive 203 km to Lakes Entrance on day 8, then the trip's longest leg, 286 km and almost four hours, to Tidal River in Wilsons Promontory National Park. Parks Victoria now takes instant bookings for Tidal River rather than running a ballot, but in summer the campground has a minimum stay: between 20 December 2026 and 24 January 2027 camping is booked by the week, arriving and leaving on a Sunday. Outside that window two nights is enough for the Mount Oberon walk and Squeaky Beach.

Day 11 takes you 224 km into Melbourne. Two nights let you return a hired car or visit the city by train from a holiday park on the edge of town, and restock before the coast road. Melbourne's CityLink and EastLink are tolled, so check how your hire company charges tolls before you drive across the city.

Week three: the Great Ocean Road, the Grampians and the Coorong

Drive the Great Ocean Road westbound, 197 km from Melbourne to Apollo Bay, so the lookouts are on your side of the road, and spend two nights there for the Otways. Day 15 covers the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge on the way to Port Fairy, 185 km in all. Day 16 turns inland, 156 km to Halls Gap in the Grampians National Park, for two nights of walking among the sandstone ranges.

From Halls Gap it is 221 km to Mount Gambier and its crater lakes, then 133 km to Robe and 187 km along the Coorong to Meningie. The last day is 149 km into Adelaide. South Australia runs on Central time, half an hour behind Victoria, and restricts carrying some fresh fruit and vegetables into the state, so run the fridge down before the border.

When to go

October to April is the season for this coast. Summer from mid-December to the end of January brings school holidays, full campgrounds and the minimum stays at places like Tidal River, so book the national park nights first. March and April are often the calmest months, with warm water and fewer people.

Summer is also fire season along the whole route. Check the fire danger rating for each district the evening before you drive, and keep the next day's plan flexible: the Princes Highway through East Gippsland has closed in past bushfire summers.

Making three weeks work in a campervan

Two-night stops are the difference between a holiday and a delivery job. Use them to empty the waste tanks, do laundry at a holiday park and buy food, then leave the van parked for the day. Plan at least one powered site each week to charge everything and run the fridge without worrying about the battery.

Fill up before the quieter stretches: between Eden and Orbost, and between Mount Gambier and Meningie, towns are smaller and further apart. Finish each day before dusk, when kangaroos and wombats are on the roads of Gippsland and the Coorong.

Plan the three weeks in AussieCamps

Add each night to a trip in AussieCamps and it keeps the stops in order, shows the driving distance and time for every leg and the whole journey, and gives the forecast for each stop on the day you plan to arrive. AussieCamps lists campgrounds, national parks, rest areas and dump points along the route from the park agencies and road authorities, with their facilities and fees.

Place details stay readable with no signal, which helps at Croajingolong and the Prom. The map, directions and weather need a connection. AussieCamps runs on iPhone.

Places along the way