Brisbane to Sydney Drive 2026: Pacific Highway or New England, Stops and Campsites

Brisbane to Sydney routes compared

The coast route is the Pacific Motorway out of Brisbane, then the Pacific Highway through Tweed Heads, Ballina, Grafton, Coffs Harbour, Port Macquarie, Taree and Newcastle. An Australian Government infrastructure listing says the full 657 km of the Pacific Highway between Hexham and the Queensland border has been open as a four-lane divided road since 17 December 2020. The inland route follows the Cunningham Highway to Warwick, then the New England Highway through Tenterfield, Glen Innes, Armidale, Tamworth and Singleton.

The distances and times are from OSRM routing on OpenStreetMap data, checked on 3 November 2026, for a car from city centre to city centre with no stops. Towing, fuel and meal stops add more. A third option stays on the Pacific Highway but detours through Forster and Bulahdelah near the Myall Lakes, adding about 33 km and 45 minutes.

The coast route in three days

A three-day split by OSRM routing is Brisbane to Coffs Harbour about 383 km, Coffs Harbour to Newcastle about 385 km, and Newcastle to Sydney about 161 km. Driving into each town centre adds distance, so these legs add up to more than the through route: Brisbane to Tweed Heads about 102 km (1 h 20 min), Tweed Heads to Ballina about 87 km (1 h 7 min), Ballina to Grafton about 136 km (1 h 44 min), Grafton to Coffs Harbour about 85 km (1 h 7 min), Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie about 154 km (1 h 55 min), Port Macquarie to Taree about 80 km (1 h 4 min), Taree to Newcastle about 172 km (2 h 14 min) and Newcastle to Sydney about 161 km (2 h 12 min).

For night one, Banana Coast Caravan Park and Reflections Coffs Harbour Holiday Park are both on the Pacific Highway at Coffs Harbour. Check availability and prices with the park. Port Macquarie is the other natural break, about 537 km from Brisbane. The AussieCamps data lists Diamond Head, Indian Head and Kylies Beach campgrounds in Crowdy Bay National Park, near Port Macquarie, and Mungo Brush, Bombah Point and other Myall Lakes campgrounds near Bulahdelah, all national park campgrounds with a park entry fee listed.

The New England Highway in three days

Inland, a three-day split is Brisbane to Tenterfield about 266 km, Tenterfield to Tamworth about 300 km, and Tamworth to Sydney about 407 km. By OSRM the legs are Brisbane to Warwick about 156 km (2 h 11 min), Warwick to Tenterfield about 110 km (1 h 28 min), Tenterfield to Glen Innes about 92 km (1 h 12 min), Glen Innes to Armidale about 97 km (1 h 23 min), Armidale to Tamworth about 111 km (1 h 36 min), Tamworth to Scone about 132 km (1 h 50 min), Scone to Singleton about 74 km (1 h 8 min) and Singleton to Sydney about 201 km (2 h 34 min).

Tenterfield has Tenterfield Lodge Caravan Park and a second park on Rouse Street, and Bald Rock campground in Bald Rock National Park is a short drive away. Armidale has Armidale Tourist Park and BIG4 Armidale Highlander Van Village, and Tamworth has Austin Tourist Park and Paradise Tourist Park. Near Cunninghams Gap, the AussieCamps data lists Spicers Gap, Manna Gum and Poplar Flat camping areas in Main Range National Park. Wikipedia says the highway can see frost and snow in winter between the Moonbi Ranges and Stanthorpe, so check Live Traffic NSW in winter.

Fuel and services

The sources checked list no fuel gap on either route, because both pass through a town roughly every hour. The longer gaps between towns are Taree to Newcastle at about 172 km and Coffs Harbour to Port Macquarie at about 154 km on the coast, and Tamworth to Scone at about 132 km on the New England. Fill up at the larger town before a long leg, since fuel and opening hours at each smaller town could not be confirmed.

Rest areas in the AussieCamps data on the coast include Macksville Lions Park near Nambucca Heads and Four Mile Hill Rest Area in the Mid-Coast, both listing toilets, picnic tables and a heavy vehicle area. Queensland says rest areas are not camping sites and allows up to 20 hours unless a sign says otherwise. In New South Wales the official advice conflicts, so read the sign. The rest area guide has the details.

Road conditions, tolls and flood closures

Check Live Traffic NSW (livetraffic.com, 132 701) and QLDTraffic. The Pacific Highway closed between Ballina and Grafton in the March 2022 floods and heavy vehicles were detoured inland, so after heavy rain check before you leave and use the New England Highway as the fallback. No current closure was listed in the sources checked on 21 October 2026. Roadworks include an overtaking lane south of Tamworth due in late March 2027.

Both ends have tolls. NSW says that if you travel on a toll road without an account or pass you have 72 hours to pay or open an account, and Service NSW lists a casual pass for visitors that covers up to 30 days. Linkt says a Queensland road pass can cover trips made up to 5 days ago on all toll roads in Queensland. Which toll roads you meet depends on your route into each city, so check Linkt and Transport for NSW. The Pacific Highway north of Hexham has no tolls.

Border rules between Queensland and New South Wales

The main rule at this border is about fire ants, not fruit fly. NSW DPIRD says anyone moving fire ant carriers out of the red, orange or yellow zones on its map must comply with the current Biosecurity (Fire Ant) Emergency Order, and carriers include soil, mulch, compost, manure, hay, green waste, pallets, packaging, containers and heavy vehicles. Queensland lists soil, manure, hay, straw, plants and their pots, mulch and sawdust. NSW runs roadside checks across the north of the state, and vehicles moving materials in breach are directed to return to Queensland. Caravans and camping gear are not on those lists, but the rules are written for carrier materials, so check NSW DPIRD on 1800 680 244 or Biosecurity Queensland on 13 25 23 about anything you carry. A fire ant nest was also found in Sydney's inner west in October 2026, so check NSW DPIRD for the control order.

Plant rules apply too. The Interstate Quarantine site says the whole of Queensland is a biosecurity zone for bananas, grape plants, mangoes and sugarcane, and to not take any plants, soil or items that have been in contact with these plants into Queensland. It also says the NSW Banana Bunchy Top Virus Control Zone covers the Tweed, Lismore, Ballina and Byron areas, which the Pacific route crosses, and to not move banana plants, bells, pseudo stems or leaves out of it. No Queensland and NSW fruit rule for travellers turned up in the sources checked. The interstate biosecurity guide covers the rest.

Dump points and the clock change

The AussieCamps data lists dump points on the coast at Coffs Harbour Moonee Street Tourist Park (no washout tap listed), Diamond Waters Caravan Park at Dunbogan (washout tap listed) and Soldiers Point Big4 at Port Stephens (washout tap listed). On the inland route it lists Maitland Visitor Information Centre (washout tap listed), about 10 km off the line. That is what the data covers, not every dump point on the road, so check the dump points guide.

Queensland does not use daylight saving, and New South Wales does: NSW says it runs from Sunday 4 October 2026 to Sunday 4 April 2027, so between those dates New South Wales is one hour ahead of Queensland. Plan check-in times and campground gate hours on the New South Wales side with that hour in mind.

Plan the Brisbane to Sydney drive in AussieCamps

Build the drive as a trip in AussieCamps: add the overnight stops in order and it shows the distance and drive time between each, with a forecast for the day you plan to arrive at each stop. AussieCamps lists 1,838 campgrounds, 5,552 rest areas and 1,393 dump points from park agencies, road authorities and public datasets, and a place page carries the facilities those sources publish.

Stored place details, saved places and guides work with no signal. Map tiles, routing, weather and photos need a connection, so open the trip while you are in coverage. AussieCamps runs on iPhone only, and it is free to download, with in-app purchases.

Places along the way