You don't have to get wet to enjoy a day beside the sea. Australia's magnificent coastline has some of the most scenic coastal driving routes in the world.
Great Ocean Road (Vic)
No list of Australia's best coastal drives would be complete without starting with our best-known one, the Great Ocean Road. Just because it's famous doesn't mean you shouldn't do it – although in summer drive it mid-week rather than on a weekend, if you can, to avoid being part of a crowd. It's a 275-kilometre run, from Geelong to Warrnambool, and best done slowly – so you can savour every cliff-top view, stretch the legs on seaside walks and rainforest hikes, explore museums, browse the boutiques and linger over long lunches in seaside cafes or fish and chips on the beach. visitgreatoceanroad.org.au
Bunurong Coastal Drive (Vic)
Not all great coastal drives have to take days. Bunurong Coastal Drive, between Cape Paterson and Inverloch east of Melbourne, is a short and sweet 14 kilometres. Technically it should only take 15 minutes or so to travel between the two towns on the way to Wilsons Prom. But it won't, because it's just not possible to drive this cliff-hugging seaside stretch without pulling over again and again to admire the view. basscoast.vic.gov.au
Grand Pacific Drive (NSW)
On the southern outskirts of Sydney, this one-day coastal drive to Wollongong is one of country's most impressive, particularly from an engineering point of view. Much of the 70-kilometre-long road, which was originally built to service the coal mines that honeycomb beneath the Illawarra Escarpment, was carved into the claystone and sandstone cliffs 40 metres above the crashing surf and was notorious for slipping into the sea at inopportune moments. The solution was to build a new cantilevered road that curves around the cliffs, 50 metres out to sea. It's called Sea Cliff Bridge and it opened in 2005, paving the way to one of the world's best new coastal drives. Combine it with a hills and valley drive south to Berry and through Kangaroo Valley and the Southern Highlands, and you've got all the makings for a perfect weekend. grandpacificdrive.com.au
Great Eastern Drive (Tas)
This 400-kilometre route, which snakes along the eastern coast of Tasmania, offers a great taste of everything you go to Tassie to find: Hobart's thriving art, convict history in Port Arthur and Maria Island, dramatic coastlines on Tasman and Freycinet peninsulas, impossibly beautiful beaches like Wineglass Bay and the Bay of Fires, rugged mountains, pristine patches of rainforest and some of the island's best food and wine. greateasterndrive.com.au
Bass Coast (Tas)
Tasmania's northern coastline often gets overlooked by many travellers in their rush to get to the wild and wet west or history laden south, which is good news for road-trippers who prefer their roads traffic-free. If you arrive by ferry at Devonport you can turn left and head east to the boulder-strewn white sand beaches of the Bay of Fires, or right towards the windswept north-western tip – but whichever way you choose, the main route across the top of the island is a spectacular seaside drive. It's around 500 kilometres east to west, if you do the whole thing. discovertasmania.com.au
Captain Cook Hwy (Qld)
It doesn't matter how many times you drive the road between Cairns and Mossman in far-north Queensland, you'll never tire of the views. Here, the dark dense Daintree tumbles down mountainsides to spill into the sea, just a stone's throw from the Great Barrier Reef. It's only an hour or so to drive (75 kilometres), but between the beaches, rainforest boardwalks and mist-filled gorges, there's so much to see and do you'll probably drive it more than once. www.drivenorthqueensland.com.au
Great Ocean Drive (WA)
It's not as long – or as famous – as the other Great Ocean Road 3000 kilometres or so east, but the 40-kilometre stretch of curves that curl along the coast just to the west of Esperance is so beautiful it's almost impossible to believe that the colours – snow-white sand and turquoise seas – are real. Get your camera out, there are guaranteed picture-perfect views around every bend. visitesperance.com
Bowman Scenic Drive (SA)
Another sensational waterfront whirl which proves a good drive is not necessarily a long drive is this dramatic 10-kilometre stretch of road that sweeps around the beaches and dunes south of Beachport, around halfway between the Victorian border and Adelaide. The fishing's legendary, as are the local lobsters (which you can buy ready to eat in local fish shops), and the Pool of Siloam, a salt lake seven times saltier than the sea, will, if you believe the locals, cure just about anything and everything if you float in it for long enough. southaustralia.com
York Peninsula (SA)
Wherever you go on South Australia's slender, boot-shaped Yorke Peninsula west of Adelaide, you're more than likely to have sensational sea views. But the very best are on the South Coast Road that runs along the base of the peninsula, between Innes National Park/Marion Bay and Edithburgh. Toe to heel (look at a map, and it will make sense) is a little over 100 kilometres, and beyond the endless ocean views there's lighthouses, beaches, tearooms and jetties to visit and explore. yorkepeninsula.com.au
Eyre Peninsula (SA)
If you like your beaches long and lonely, your roads deserted and your seafood fresh, you'll love the Eyre Peninsula – that triangle of land poking into the Southern Ocean on the eastern edge of the Great Australian Bight. This is where the outback tumbles into the sea over knife-edged cliffs, and lookouts all boast there's-nothing-between-you-and-Antarctica scenes. Spend a week or so tracing the shoreline from Whyalla south to Port Lincoln and then up the west coast to Ceduna. Buy oysters direct from the farm and fish straight off the boat, or catch your own at any one of the historic wooden jetties that you'll find in every town. And don't miss the sculpture-studded Elliston Coastal Drive, 12 cliff-top kilometres of great ocean views. exploreeyrepeninsula.com.au
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