The Hume Highway is not one of Australia’s most scenic roads trips, but it is one of the easiest and most popular road trips as it links Sydney and Melbourne. I have driven it many times, in both directions and always factor in a few stops along the way. Here are some of the best towns to stop at along a Hume Highway road trip.

A Brief History of the Hume Highway

In 1824 the Governor of New South Wales, Sir Thomas Brisbane, commissioned Hamilton Hume and William Hovell to lead an expedition to discover new grazing land and to resolve the mystery of where New South Wales’ western rivers flowed. The two explorers set off from Lake George in New South Wales and ended up at Corio Bay, now known as Geelong in Victoria. Following roughly the route taken, The Great South Road was born. In 1928 it was re-named the Hume Highway.

The Hume Highway has had a number of starting points over the years however, at this time it starts/finishes on Parramatta Road in Summer Hill in Sydney and starts/finishes at the Western Ring Road in Melbourne.

Driving The Hume Highway FAQs

Is it a Highway, Freeway or Motorway?

It is actually called all three in different parts.Overall the road is known as the Hume Highway. It’s the Hume Motorway between the Cutler Interchange and Berrima but the Hume Highway everywhere else in NSW. In Victoria it is known as the Hume Freeway.

What’s the Driving Distance between Sydney and Melbourne along the Hume Highway?

Today the Hume Highway is around 840 kilometres in length between Melbourne and Sydney.  It is dual carriageway. It is a main route linking Sydney and Melbourne and is a vital road freight route to transport goods. The other drive between Melbourne and Sydney is the Princes Highway along the coast.

How long does it take to drive from Sydney to Melbourne on the Hume Highway?

It is possible to drive the distance between Sydney and Melbourne in around 10-12 hours. So you can drive the Hume Highway in under one day. This depends on sticking to the 110 km per hour speed limit and the number of stops you make. And there are many interesting towns to visit along the way, so making a holiday of The Hume Highway is a realistic option. And in a number of them, there are small memorials dedicated to Hume and Hovell, such as at Euroa and Gunning.

How easy is the drive between Sydney and Melbourne?

The Hume Highway is a multilane highway, which is effectively a motorway the entire way. The road is maintained quite well, though you may encounter road works every now and then. It can be a little boring to travel however, there are many towns to visit but you need to exit the highway / freeway to stop at them. This is because they have been bypassed as the highway has been upgraded to make it a faster trip between the cities.

As well as many towns, there are service centres you can call in to to get petrol and food. There are many award winning bakeries in some of the towns plus coffee shops and restaurants. A couple of my favourites are the Glenrowan Providore – home to award winning gourmet pies. And the Gunning Coffee Shop with its yummy famous Lamb Burgers! At the service centres there are fast food restaurants. You definitely shouldn’t run out of petrol or starve while driving the Hume Highway with the services available. If travelling by night, you may be limited to stopping at the service centres as they are open 24 hours. You may want to take some of your own Australian iconic snacks on your Sydney to Melbourne road trip. Or is that Melbourne to Sydney road trip.

Glenrowan Providore is home to award winning pies!

Where Can You Stop Along the Hume Highway?

As you will read, there are many towns along the Hume Highway where you can stop for a rest or stay overnight. All towns have been by-passed as the Hume Highway is updated to make it quicker, so you will need to deviate off the Hume Highway to get to them. Most are only a few kilometres away from the Hume. Or you can stop at one of the Service Centres along the Hume Highway. You are able to get petrol at the service centres, along with using the toilets and buying food. There are also rest stops with toilets and somewhere to sit.

Sit amongst the trees on a rest stop along the Hume Highway

Transport Options to travel The Hume Highway

Being a road trip the best way to travel the Hume Highway is to drive the road yourself. Driving provides you with the best options to stop where you want and visit the places you want. There are also bus or coach services that travel between Sydney and Melbourne but you are limited as to where you can stop. If you don’t have a car you can rent one here.

Accommodation Along The Hume Highway

Accommodation is available along The Hume Highway. However, you will need to visit one of the towns along the highway. Accommodation can be found by driving through town and seeing what is available. Or you could stay in a caravan park or free camp. If you want to book a hotel room in advance check out options on Booking.com. If I am not in a hurry I often make my road trip between Sydney and Melbourne 2 days. I often stop on the border in Albury as it has loads of accommodation. A favourite motel, with clean and comfortable accommodation is the Hume Inn, opposite Noreuil Park in South Albury.

Best Towns to Stop at Along The Hume Highway

For the purposes of writing this blog I am travelling south down the The Hume Highway starting in Sydney and ending in Melbourne. If you are travelling from Melbourne to Sydney I suggest you read this blog backwards!

Sydney

To find out what to do and see in Sydney read my blogs Sightseeing Sydney Harbour and things to see and do in Sydney. On leaving Sydney on this Hume Highway road trip you will bypass a number of towns that are part of the Sydney Metropolitan Area sprawl. These include Campbelltown, Camden and Picton. 

The Southern Highlands

First stop heading south down the Hume Highway could be in the Southern Highlands. Here you will find many notable towns including Mittagong and Bowral, where cricket enthusiasts will find the Donald Bradman Cricket Museum. This museum not only highlights ’The Don’s’ cricket career but has loads of cricket history and memorabilia. The cricket oval adjacent to the museum may even have a game of cricket to watch! You could easily spend a few hours at the museum discovering all things cricket.

Consoling cricketer at the Cricket Museum, Bowral

Goulburn

Next stop on this Hume Highway road trip could be the city of Goulburn. As you are arriving, you will see the massive Goulburn Gaol, but don’t let that deter you. This city is the centre of a rich agricultural area where some of the finest wool comes from. The main street – Auburn Street – is worth a drive through and possibly a stop in one of the coffee shops. There are a number of architectural and historical buildings you could visit, including the courthouse and the train station. But a visit to see to the Big Marino that celebrates all things wool is a great photo opportunity!

The Big Marino, Goulburn, NSW

Gunning

Gunning could be your next stop. This town has an extremely wide main street from the time of horses and bullock-drawn wagons. It also has a couple of good coffee shops – including a place I often stop at, the Old Hume Cafe with its famous lamb burger.

Yass

Further down The Hume Highway is Yass. This town has a historic main street with well-preserved 19th century pubs. It is a popular stop. You may want to visit Cooma Cottage, the home of Hamilton Hume until his death in 1873. It is located east of Yass, close to the intersection of the former routes of the Hume and Barton Highways.

You will see the names of a number of smaller towns you could stop at, such as Bowning, Bookham and Jugiong on your way to Gundagai. Gundagai is famous for the statue of the ‘Dog on the Tuckerbox’. You will see signs for the turnoff to the statue as you drive along The Hume Highway. The statue isn’t in the actual town but north of the town. The statue is inspired by a bullock driver’s poem, Bullocky Bill, which celebrates the life of a driver’s dog which would guard the driver’s tucker box (lunch box).

The Dog on its Tucker Box at Gundagai

A few kilometres down the highway is the actual town of Gundagai with its wide main street and historical buildings. This is not the original location of the town. It was originally located on the river flats beside the Murrumbidgee River but after a flood in 1852 which destroyed the town and drowned 89 people, the town was relocated to where it is today. There is plenty of food on offer in the cafes and pubs and also lots of accommodation if you want to stay the night.

On leaving Gundagai you will cross Sheahan Bridge over the Murrumbidgee River on your way to Tarcutta. Before getting there though, 38km south of Gundagai, is the Sturt Highway turn off to Adelaide. Though we aren’t going there today.

Tarcutta

Tarcutta is located almost exactly half way between Sydney and Melbourne and is a popular stop and change-over point for truck drivers. There is a great park to sit and eat in with a playground. There is a memorial to truck drivers who have died along The Hume Highway. It is well worth a walk around to pay your respects.

The Truck Memorial at Tarcutta

Holbrook

Holbrook could be your next stop. Once called Germanton until anti-German sentiment during World War 1 led to the town being renamed after Lt Holbrook who was awarded the Victoria Cross. The town has a great park with good facilities to rest. In the park you will find a partial reconstruction of HMAS Otway, an Oberon class submarine. You can climb on and explore the submarine. Holbrook also has a great bakery, the Holbrook Bakery up the road from the park which is often busy due to its fabulous baked goods. The pies are yummy as are the cakes. Maybe walk off your meal by exploring the main road. You will discover many old buildings and a small museum to visit. If there on the right Sunday of the month, you may be lucky enough to get a ride on Holbrook’s miniature railway!

HMAS Otway Submarine at Holbrook

Albury and Wodonga

Albury and Wodonga are popular stops while driving the Hume Highway. Their history is linked to Hume and Hovell as the two explorers crossed the Murray River here. Before you get there, you may want to eat and drink at the Ettamogah Pub, situated 15 kilometres north of Albury on the Hume Highway. The look of the pub is based on cartoons by Ken Maynard. Inside has lots of character and some great food and drink – after all, the word ‘Ettamogah’ is Aboriginal for ‘place of good drink’. Check if this is open as I heard there was a problem with the name and it may have closed!

The towns are on the New South Wales and Victorian border – Albury in New South Wales and Wodonga in Victoria. When I get off the Hume Highway I usually go to Albury. Albury is a large town with a popular of around 57,000 people and is a hub. There is a great park along the Murray River where you can swim. It is also. home to the very popular A popular River Deck Cafe – a great cafe come restaurant for breakfast, lunch or take-away. You could head up to the lookout for great views over Albury. Or visit Albury Train Station which has the longest platform in Australia.

Longest Platform in Australia at Albury Train Station

Albury has plenty of accommodation. Most advertise on their front boards whether they have a vacancy or not. It is easy to walk in off the street and get a room. If you want to book a hotel room in advance I suggest you compare and book through Booking.com. One place I often stay is the Hume Inn, a very comfortable and clean hotel.

As you cross the Murray River you leave New South Wales and are in Victoria. It is a bit hard to get a photo of the border signs as there is no where to stop.

Wangaratta

About 60km south of Albury you will find Wangaratta, the largest centre in the north-east of Victoria. It has a population of over 17,000 people and so is a large town with lots of services for you to enjoy during your stay. The town came to being after Hume and Hovell passed through the area on their 1824 expedition and the town was founded when the surrounding area was opened for farming.

Wangaratta is also the junction for the Great Alpine Road. If you take this road you will find yourself in the Victorian Ski Fields. Also nearby are the popular wine and other produce areas such as Milawa.

Glenrowan – Ned Kelly Country

Not far from Wangaratta is the town of Glenrowan, made famous for being the last stand of Ned Kelly and his gang. The town is dominated with Ned Kelly statues and an interactive museum and show where you can learn all there is to learn about Ned Kelly. You can easily spend a couple of hours here if you walk over the bridge to visit the scenes of the last stand. They are well signposted with historical facts. See the actual capture site, the lock up and the train station where he was held before he was taken to Melbourne for trial. Whether you love or hate Ned Kelly the town of Glenrowan is a great place to visit.

Ned Kelly dominates Glenrowan

Benalla

Benalla is some 200km north of Melbourne and well worth a visit. The town is located quite a way off the Hume Freeway and exploded during the gold rush in the 1850s. It has associations with the Ned Kelly ‘gang’, as the courthouse was the venue for a number of their trials. There is also a memorial to the Australian war hero Sir Edward ‘Weary’ Dunlop. There is also a beautiful rose garden to explore.

Euroa

Euroa could be your next stop. It is on the Seven Creeks and often floods if there has been a lot of rain. It is famous for a Ned Kelly gang bank robbery. The bank is still there today if you wish to visit. There is also a memorial to Hume and Hovell who passed through the area on their expedition. There is a great rest stop along the river which is not far from Euroa’s RSL and VC (Victoria Cross) Park. The park honours the three Euroa residents that were awarded the VC during the First World War.

VC Park honouring Euroa residents who won VCs

Melbourne

There are some small towns to visit as you head towards Melbourne. They come and go very quickly as you drive the last couple of hundred  kilometres of the Hume Freeway. Then you reach the last bypass – the Craigieburn Bypass. Not long now and you will be off the Hume Freeway and on the Metropolitan Ring Road and in Melbourne. Find out what to see and do in Melbourne here. And maybe include some day trips from Melbourne on your agenda.

Are You Ready for a Hume Highway Road Trip?