Australia East Coast Road Trip: Sydney to Cairns in 5 weeks

Finally! We wanted to make this post in order to gather all the different places we visited in our Australia East Coast road trip. This trip was so intense – 5 weeks! – and it’s for both of us, the longest time we’ve been traveling.

Australia’s East Coast is amazing in many aspects, it has many things to do and see. In this post, we cover all the places we visited between Sydney and Cairns while driving more than 4000 km. Hikes, beaches, markets, a resort, animals… we have it all!

Let’s start with the basic info, just in case you plan to do it 🙂

By Roberto – (Updated Feb 2023)

⏱ 12 min

Road trip itinerary for the Australian East Coast 🚐

• Sydney to Port Stephens
• Port Stephens to Coffs Harbour via Port Macquarie
• Coffs Harbour to Byron Bay
• Byron Bay to Brisbane (⭐️Top pick)
• Brisbane to Noosa (⭐️Top pick)
• Noosa to Mackay via Agnes Water and 1770
• Mackay to Airlie Beach and Whitsundays (⭐️Top pick)
• Airlie Beach to Cairns
• Extra: Cairns to Cape Tribulation

Australia’s East Coast map with all the stops

Please be invited to check or copy our stops, hikes and towns. We did this map with hours of research and people’s advice. 🗺

The very basics of an Australia East Coast Road Trip

When to go	September to May will offer the best weather, less rain and warm enough for swimming. Keep in mind that the North area around Cairns is VERY humid and going there in Summer (Dec-Feb) – as we did – is suffocating 🥵
How to get there	You can either start in Sydney or Cairns, and drive all the way up or down the coast. We recommend doing a one-way road trip, otherwise, you’ll just be driving the whole time!
Where to stay	If you’re going 4 weeks or more, we recommend a mix of accommodations like AirBnB, van, hostels… If you’re not a van expert, sleeping more than 3 weeks in a van can wear you down.
Don’t forget	There are tons, but the most important would be: Check the campings to park the van, plan the route in advance, try to keep the van in order and follow the van’s rules.
Cost	Australia is overall expensive. You can always buy groceries in supermarkets and save some money, but minor extras will increase the budget. Expect to pay a minimum of 100AU$/day per person.

How many days should you spend in a road trip from Sydney to Cairns?

This is a good question because the places to visit are numerous yet not infinite and the very very best can be explored in some days. So… when visiting Australia’s East Coast, I would say that 3 to 5 weeks is adequate.

Less than 3 weeks will mean that you have to drive a minimum of 100 km per day, and for sure you’ll want to stay in some areas for more than two or three days. In 4 or 5 weeks, you can explore the full coast, dedicate more time to some areas or others and focus on what you want to explore. More than this – we think – is too much.

Rent a van for an Australia East Coast road trip

We had some previous experience with the vans and the campings thanks to our previous Western Australia Road Trip: Perth to Esperance in 9 days. We knew we needed a bigger van for this trip and instead of the Fiat Ducato Explorer we got before, we got a Mercedes Sprinter that, honestly, was amazing. Some amenities, a bigger kitchen or even a shower, are things that made a difference.

We chose to rent our van from Lets Go Motorhomes because they have multiple locations and we were able to pick the van up from Brisbane, and return it in Cairns. (We did the first part of the road trip from Sydney to Brisbane with a rental car and stayed in AirBnBs). The cost for the van for 16 days was $2484 AUD and we had a positive experience with Lets Go Motorhomes.

You MUST download the app – WikiCamps Australia – it’s the ultimate map app for camping in Australia. This is the app we used to find all of our campsites. You have the ability to filter, review sites, and more. It even works offline!

Road trip itinerary Sydney to Cairns in detail

Sydney to Port Stephens

Approx drive time: 2 hours 20 minutes

Distance: 180 km

Our trip starts driving north to Port Stephens, which is usually the first stop of the long itinerary. Port Stephens is a small town with not sooo many things to do. We suggest spending half or one day here and not missing the following post about Tomaree Head Summit Walk and the famous sand dunes in Stockton:

We think that Port Stephens doesn’t have amazing beaches to swim in, but the walk, the dunes and a walk along the coast with a coffee, are worth the stop.

Port Stephens to Coffs Harbour via Port Macquarie

Approx drive time: 3 hours 45 minutes 

Distance: 360 km

Going north again, there are two famous towns in NSW, Port Stephens and Coffs Harbour. In these areas, you find pretty good beaches and – more interesting for us – two famous Natural Parks, Barrington Tops and Dorrigo, both with recommended hikes to do.

In Port Macquarie, you can’t miss a visit to the Koala 🐨 Hospital.

If you’re more into hiking like us, we absolutely recommend visiting Barrington Tops Natural Park. Which is located before reaching Port Macquarie. We stayed in Monkerai in the middle of a farm and hiked the Blue Gum Loop & Rocky Crossing Track. It’s a medium track, flat a bit long with about 18 km, but the pools, the path and final waterfalls are worth the sweat.

After Port Macquarie, we made a stop at the Crescent Head Lookout, with epic views of the coastline. There’s a hidden path that in a few minutes brings you to a place where this photo was taken.

Close to Coffs Harbour, we drove to Dorrigo National Park, through the – considered – most beautiful road in NSW. In this park, you can do the easy Wonga Walk. In 2-3 hours you’ll explore a rainforest and some waterfalls.

Once in Coffs Harbour, we rested from our hikes in nature and went to some beaches and restaurants. Sadly, nothing spectacular that we could recommend this time.

Coffs Harbour to Byron Bay

Approx drive time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Distance: 235 km

This is the last part of the Australia East Coast road trip before leaving the state of NSW and in our opinion, a must-stop in the itinerary. We spent 4 full days in Byron Bay and really liked it. Byron is a well known holiday destination, with a mix of surfers, hippies and tourists. In addition to the multiple stores and restaurants, the town is famous for its beautiful beaches.

Another place to visit around Byron Bay, is Killen Falls, which also appears in the above ☝️ post.

Byron Bay to Brisbane

Approx drive time: 2 hours

Distance: 170 km

In a short drive and crossing the border to Queensland, we arrived in Brisbane, a city that we loved and made us think about our past decision of spending the year in Sydney and not in this one. We’ll never know which is one was better for us! We stayed 2 days here and did some shopping, visited the centre, walked along the river and had a remarkable dinner in the best Afghani restaurant we’ve ever had: East by Middle East.

Brisbane is a good stop if you need a reset from the van and want to reconnect with your urban necessities, before going north to the next destination.

Brisbane to Noosa

Approx drive time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Distance: 140 km

Noosa Heads – or just Noosa – is a famous Aussie destination for a vacation. This town contrasts with Byron Bay in terms of energy and order. While Byron is more chaotic and wild, Noosa is ordered and refined. With good restaurants, boutiques and crystal clear beaches, Noosa is another must stop in our Australian East Coast road trip.

Noosa Natural Park is an awesome area with walks and multiple beaches to explore and relax. You can also visit the Noosa Fairy Pools, two natural pools that are very Instagrammable.

Noosa to Mackay via Agnes Water and 1770

Approx drive time: 10 hours

Distance: 850 km

This is the longest part driving and – sorry for the locals – the most boring in terms of things to do. You can drive the entire day if you’re short on time or – as we did – make a stop in the middle of the way. Before going we checked for hours, if there was something in the middle, like hikes, beaches or something incredible … and there’s nothing.

Only the area of 1770 & Agnes Water offer a place to stop and the big towns of Rockhampton and Gladstone. We opted for spending some hours and one night in the former. In case you want to do the same, check the post below with all the information about things in the area.

Skipping these towns or not, you will head Mackay Region, which has many things to offer. The landscape changes drastically if you head the interior part, offering green colours that are omnipresent. The very best of the region is Eungella National Park and Cape Hillsborough.

We recommend heading to Finch Hatton, where there’s a fantastic hike with waterfalls. Also, quite close, in Broken River, there is the best area of the world to have an encounter with the extraordinary platypus, plus more hikes to explore the rainforests.

Mackay to Airlie Beach and Withsundays

Approx drive time: 2 hours

Distance: 150 km

Whether you skipped Eungella National Park and the platypuses, or not, we recommend stopping at Cape Hillsborough, deviating from the main road to Airlie Beach. Why? Because at Cape Hillsborough you’ll enjoy the possibility to view kangaroos and wallabies with an epic sunrise at the beach. It’s a formidable experience you won’t regret, and the camping is right at the beach.

And coming next, Airlie Beach! The base camp for the trip to the unique Whitsundays Islands, a must in this East Coast trip and the whole of Australia. Airlie is a popular destination and it is a great opportunity to spend some days here to plan your excursions to the islands.

We visited two of them, Whitsunday Island – with its famous Whitehaven Beach – and Hayman Island. We loved them both so much! The visit is absolutely recommended.

After so many days in the van and exploring nature, we needed a vacation from our vacation and went to the luxurious Hayman Island resort. Check the post below to find a very complete review of it.

Airlie Beach to Cairns

Approx drive time: 7 hours 30 minutes

Distance: 620 km

In case you don’t drive up to Cape Tribulation, this would be your last drive and also the second longest. But no worries, the visit is worth the effort because there are many things to do around Cairns.

If you go north from Airlie Beach, you’ll pass Bowen, a little town with lovely beaches. After it, there is the modest town of Ayr, where – if you like scuba diving – you can explore the famous S.S. Yongala Shipwreck. Ellen did this dive and really liked it 🤙🏽

Passing Ayr, Townsville is another great destination for families and is the launching point to visit Magnetic Island. We think visiting the island is not a must, yet if you have 2-3 days to spend, go ahead. Magnetic Island offers beaches, hikes, 4×4, and natural koala encounters.

Wallaman Falls is another spot in this part of Queensland, which we highly recommend visiting. Getting there from Townsville takes 2.5 hours and the overnight in the camping is… special. You can just go to the lookout of the EPIC waterfall or do the demanding hike to the bottom, as we did!

Aaand, there is more! If you keep going north, you’ll get to Mission Beach, a pretty sandy beach and a good place to see the cassowary. We went to Etty Bay, where there’s a little beach and we saw these cassowaries.

In case you prefer waterfalls and pools, serve yourself with Milla Milla waterfalls – a place we skipped but really wanted to go. Instead, we visited Babinda Boulders, and Josephine Falls.

Cairns to Cape Tribulation

Approx drive time: 3 hours

Distance: 170 km

And finally, the last part of this Australia East Coast road trip: the wild area of Cape Tribulation. If Cairns is synonymous with green and water, Cape Tripulation is synonymous with wild nature and rainforest. We found cassowaries crossing the road, suspicious pools where we swam while looking out for crocodiles, and also, picturesque beaches where the reef meets the rainforest.

To get Cape Tribulation, you’ll need to first cross the Daintree River on a ferry and after, continue driving. Once there, you can walk on several boardwalks, visit the beaches – without swimming this time – and try some delicious ice cream at the Daintree Ice Cream Company.

Before heading back to Cairns, you could stay in Port Douglas as we did and then spend half a day at Mossman Gorge.

Mossman Gorge is an Indigenous centre that preserves the Daintree Rainforest and offers a good experience to visit the area, with well-maintained facilities. There is a very recommendable loop track of 3 km, that goes around the rainforest crossing Mossman River. You can also cool off with a swim in one of the natural pools.

That’s all folks! This was our longest van trip in Australia and we hope we gave you some tips about what to visit and how to organise you Australian East Coast road trip 🤙🏽. We absolutely loved our weeks here and would like to help in case you have any doubt about it. Let us know in the comments! ☺️