Last updated on July 25th, 2023 at 06:44 am
The Big Banana, a must stop on your Pacific Highway Road Trip
The East Coast stretches, well, all along the East Coast of Australia! From Melbourne up to the tip of Cape York Peninsula. The most well-worn section of the Pacific Highway is the road between Sydney and Brisbane. Now you can drive it in one day which can take around 10 hours. But there is so much to see and do along this stretch of road. If you have the time it would be well worth your while to spend a few days or even longer enjoying your road trip of the Pacific Highway between Sydney and Brisbane. Here are my suggestions of what to see and do on your road trip between Sydney and Brisbane.
Table of Contents
Driving The Pacific Highway FAQs
Where Does the Pacific Highway Start and Finish?
The Pacific Highway links the cities of Sydney and Brisbane. It starts and finishes in these cities. Starting in North Sydney, NSW and ending in Brisbane, Queensland, although it is officially known as the Pacific Motorway once it crosses the Queensland/New South Wales border.
How far is the drive between Brisbane and Sydney?
The drive between Brisbane and Sydney along the Pacific Highway is a little over 900 km.
How long does it take to drive between Sydney and Brisbane?
As long as you stick to the recommended speed limit, and along with upgrades to the Pacific Highway, the drive between Sydney and Brisbane will take you about 9 hours.
Can you complete the drive between Brisbane and Sydney in a day?
Yes. You can quite easily complete the drive between Brisbane and Sydney in a single day. However, there are plenty of places to stop at along the way. If you are slow travelling your way around Australia, you could take a week or two to drive up or down the coast.
How easy is the drive between Brisbane and Sydney?
With upgrades to the Pacific Highway, the drive between Sydney and Brisbane is pleasant and simple with the entire route now being dual carriageway. As you now by-pass many of the towns, there are plenty of service centres to pull in to to get petrol and food. You could stock up on some Australian iconic snacks to take with you on the drive rather than buying food.
What’s halfway between Sydney and Brisbane?
Coffs Harbour roughly marks the halfway point between Brisbane and Sydney. If you are looking for somewhere to break the trip, try an overnight stay in Coffs Harbour.
What Transport Options are available to travel the East Coast of Australia?
There are bus services between the two cities but the best option for travelling the East Coast of Australia is by car. A car will provide you with the flexibility to stop and to deviate when and wherever you want. If you don’t already have a vehicle then consider renting one. To discover what vehicles are available and their cost check out DiscoverCars.com.
When is the best time to drive along the Pacific Highway?
I don’t think there is a best time to drive along the East Coast of Australia. The Pacific Highway is always open, well mostly, except for when there are bushfires threatening, flooding or road works. If you are chasing good and warm weather then the warmer months of late Spring, Summer and early Autumn will be your best options.
Best Places to Stop Along the Pacific Highway Road Trip
For the purposes of writing, we are driving Sydney to Brisbane. If you are travelling from Brisbane to Sydney, you will need to read this Pacific Highway road trip backwards! An alternative to travelling the Pacific Highway is to head inland and drive along the New England Highway.
This map reproduced from my guide Live Work and Play in Australia
Sydney
This road trip of the East Coast of Australia starts in Sydney. If you would like to know what to see and do in Sydney before your road trip here are a couple of suggested reads: One Day Walking Itinerary of Sydney Harbour and What to See and Do in Sydney.
Leaving Sydney, you will travel north along the Pacific Highway. Your first stop could be at Gosford on the Central Coast some 80km north of Sydney. There are some beautiful beaches here; it could be a great weekend escape from Sydney. The Entrance is a popular weekend escape also with its magnificent surrounding water-ways where you can spend your days on pristine surf beaches, hire a boat or go fishing on Tuggerah Lakes. Terrigal is famous for its boutique shopping, upmarket restaurants and its position right on the surf beach. All great places to visit.
Newcastle
Newcastle, some 45 minutes away is the second largest city in New South Wales. It is an industrial town and home to the Newcastle Steel Works. There are some beautiful beaches here with historic ocean baths and numerous coastal walks that make for some of the best things to do in Newcastle. It is a good stopping off point for a visit to the Hunter Valley, a major wine producing area.
Merewether Beach, one of the best beaches in Newcastle
Beach-side Towns along the Coast
From Newcastle you could head to Nelson Bay and Port Stephens where there are more beautiful pristine beaches and waterways to enjoy. Port Stephens is off the main highway but this huge port houses many bays and beaches. A great de-stressing area. If you have your own transport you could travel from Nelson Bay at the south end of the port around to the Great Lakes at the north. There you will find the Myall Lakes National Park where you might see kangaroos and koalas in their natural habitat.
Forster is another place Sydney-siders go for a weekend. Some 312km north of Sydney, this area draws large numbers of visitors to experience dolphin cruises, sailboarding, fishing, scuba diving as well as beautiful beaches.
Port Macquarie is another place to lie on a beach and relax for a while. And from here there are multiple holiday destinations – Crescent Head, Kempsey, South West Rocks, Nambucca Heads and Bellingen.
Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour is home to the Big Banana which you might want to have your photo taken in front of. Come on, be a tourist.
If you wanted to turn this road trip of the East Coast along the Pacific Highway driving between Sydney and Brisbane into a 2 day itinerary then Coffs Harbour is a popular stopping place. As well as the Big Banana there is a harbour and hinterland to explore. There is plenty of accommodation here and if you need a place to stay get rates and availability of options from Booking.com.
More Coastal Towns
Heading on up the coast are the towns of Grafton and Yamba at the mouth of the Clarence River, which has become one of the hippest towns on the coast. Check out the beaches, restaurants, cafe’s and day spas. For the nature lovers don’t miss out on the World Heritage listed coastal rainforest at the Iluka Nature Reserve.
You are about 10 hours north of Sydney now and will encounter Lismore and the surrounding area, a hidden jewel between the rainforest and the sea. The area is also known as the Rainbow Region as it contains nearly one third of New South Wales’s forest reserve where you can explore heritage-listed rainforests and national parks. Many stop at Nimbin, hippy capital of Australia.
Byron Bay
Byron Bay Lighthouse – the most Easterly point in Australia
The coast road from Ballina to Byron Bay is spectacular. At Byron, as it’s affectionately called, you will encounter a collection of souls from backpackers, alternative living hippies and wealthy Aussies who call this area home. Byron Bay locals and visitors mostly don’t wear shoes but I suggest you do to undertake the Cape Byron walk which will take you the lighthouse where you could dolphin and whale watch. Also take in the fact that you are visiting the most eastern point of Australia. Another photo opportunity. Or maybe just enjoy relaxing on the beach or sitting in one of the organic food cafes. Maybe learn to surf.
Byron Bay also hosts a couple of music festivals which brings an influx of visitors. There is the Blues Festival held in early April each year and Splendour in the Grassin October.
Murwillumbah
From Byron you may like to stop at Murwillumbah which is slightly inland and is in the Tweed Valley. This town has old buildings and wide roads to enjoy. Mount Warning dominates the skyline behind Murwillumbah and is a world-heritage listed area of some 2210 hectares. It was named by Captain Cook in 1770 as he sailed the coast. Many like to climb to the top of Mount Warning and take in the views but check whether it is open or not. Many like to be there for dawn breaking to experience the first rays of sunlight that touch Australia each day.
The Gold Coast
Me and my bestie Bugs Bunny at Movie World on the Gold Coast
The Gold Coast is one of Australia’s holiday hot spots. The region stretches some 42km long South-East Queensland’s sun-drenched coastline and some 100km out to the Gold Coast Hinterland where you will find the Natural Arch and walk through rainforests. The Gold Coast area strip of hotels and high rise buildings has rolling surf beaches, non-stop entertainment for all ages and is home to theme parks – Movie World, Dreamworld and Seaworld which are fun to visit. You might want to try your luck at Jupiter’s Casino or be entertained at the Outback Experience. Or feed the birds at the Currumbin Wildlife Park. As there is so much to see and do on the Gold Coast you might want to turn your time here into a week long holiday.
Brisbane
It is about an hour’s drive north up the road from the Gold Coast to Brisbane, Australia’s third largest city and the end of this road trip up the East Coast of Australia along the Pacific Highway. Read my post for some inspiration on what to see and do in Brisbane here.
If driving back to Sydney and you don’t want to hug the coast, take a road trip along The New England Highway.
Are You Ready to take a Road Trip along the Pacific Highway from Sydney to Brisbane?
So there you go, a drive along the Pacific Highway can be as epic as you want it. It could be a quick A-B drive or can be turned into a few days or longer holiday. No matter which you choose this well worn track is one of Australia’s great road trips. If you have travelled along this well worn route I would love to hear in the comments.
That banana 🙂 Some beautiful things to see on a road trip along the Pacific Highway.
The Big Banana is one of the best places to visit. It is a great place to enjoy a banana split!
This looks like a great area to do a road trip through, with lots of unique stops and fun locations for photos!
Yes it is a great road trip, probably the most popular in Australia as it has unique stops and lots of great beaches to visit.
This looks like such a scenic road trip! Would love to do it one day 🙂
It is very scenic and I hope you can do it one day. I’m sure you will love it.
I have lived in Australia and roamed around all these places. But I liked this name “The big banana” :). I hope I am able to visit Australia again soon.
The Big Banana is a fun place. I hope you can visit Australia again soon to visit it.
The big banana! What an interesting attraction. Australia is SO high on my bucket list. This sounds like an incredible road trip. Thanks for sharing!
Australia loves big things. As well as the Big Banana, there is the Big Crayfish, the Big Merino to name a couple. I hope you get to Australia soon and can add a tick to your bucket list.
I hope to do this trip before long? Is summer too hot? Would spring or Autumn be better?
Summer time will be hot and also very busy as many Australians take their holidays then. Spring and Autumn offer nice weather too and won’t be so busy as kids will have returned to school. I hope you get to do this trip very soon.
I’ve never been to Australia, but every time I read about traveling there, it makes me want to visit! I love road trips, and this looks like an awesome route – I definitely want to check out Byron Bay 🙂
The Pacific Highway from Sydney to Brisbane is one of the most popular road trips in Australia to undertake. It offers so much. I do hope that one day you will be able to travel it.
This is a really great guide, I will definitely be using this when I plan a trip along the Pacific Highway.
I’m about to do this road trip – again – shortly myself!