Australia is a country that lends itself very well for road trips. Here is a guide to help you decide where to go, plan and actually go. From dreaming to doing.
Can you drive all the way around Australia?
It is possible to circumnavigate the continent of Australia by car. Know in the country as the Big Lap. Highway 1 crosses all Australian states except Tasmania and the route is roughly 15.000 km long.
In this article we’ll discuss how long you should take for such a road trip, where to go, safety, money and much more.
What is the best road trip in Australia?
Most Australians consider the Big Lap as the best road trip in Australia, however it depends on your time, budget, location and goals it the Big Lap is the best for you. Consider doing a section, a half or something else entirely if you decide the full lap is not fitting for you.
So why is it that so many Australians consider the Big Lap as the ultimate overlanding goal on the continent? Probably because over 80% of the population lives within 50km of the coast, so doing a lap where you stick to the seaside gives the feeling of visiting everything.
Some would argue that the best bits are the places that are empty, remote and hard to visit but this depends on your style of travel and the thing you enjoy to do while traveling.
Are the city hopper who loves to discover the best restaurant, visit all the museums and enjoy a sunset with a drink in your hand while the waiter tells you the specials? Then why even consider visiting the outback?
Photo by Ellena McGuinness on Unsplash
Can you drive around Australia on sealed roads?
Highway 1 is a network of sealed roads. The road quality varies throughout the journey as well as the amount of lanes. In popular urban areas it is a 4 lane freeway whereas in the remote locations it is just a single lane road.
So the urban explorer can happily take the sedan that is standing on the driveway for this epic adventure. There is no need to let others tell you what you should and should not visit, take or do. Even if you would like to do a trip into the outback or some remote location, consider doing that with a tour company instead of changing vehicles and your travel goals.
Do you need a 4WD to drive around Australia?
You do not need a 4WD to drive around Australia because highway 1 is a network of sealed roads. Some overlanders would argue that the best part of the drive can only be reached via rough terrain and therefor you need a 4x4. These are optional detours for those interested.
We’ve discussed what kind of car you need when you are the city hopper kind of person. But what if adventure runs through your veins? Than you definitively need a 4x4 to be able to explore some of Australia’s outback. Like a trip to Cape York, Kimberly or Fraser Island. Check out the best Australian offroad adventures here.
I’m not gonna lie here, if you don’t already have a 4wd on your driveway they it is going to be expensive to get a vehicle and fit it with all the equipment you need on top of the money you will be spending daily to keep the car rolling. We’ll discuss how much you’ll need for your daily maintenance later in this article.
Getting a decent 4WD if you have no experience with them is gonna be a journey, but you’ll learn so much along the way that it is going to be worth it if you ask me. Especially when you can finally reap the rewards when you are sipping a cold drink on a remote beach where there is nobody except you.
How much will it cost to get a 4wd?
That really depends on how much you are able to spend. But getting a decent second hand adventure truck for something around A$ 7000 should be possible (depending on where you live and the market). But if you would rather get a new Toyota Landcruiser then be ready to rob your bank account from a shitload of money. To each their own, but I would rather buy a second hand car and use the money that is left over for traveling longer and further than owning a brand new car.
Photo by Deepak Choudhary on Unsplash
How far is it to drive around Australia?
A simple lap around Australia without any detours is 15.000 kilometres or 9,200 miles. A half trip on each coast is roughly 10.500 kilometres. Any traveler doing the big lap will add between 30-300% kilometres to their trip.
Because who wants to drive from city to city and not take any detours to visit National Parks, beaches, wine farms and everything else there is to see. Off course, you could decide on doing a big detour like visiting Uluru, which would add at least 2800 km detour just getting there and back. But even a smaller trip to Litchfield National Park, which you should not skip, add 300 km to the clock which is 2%.
How many kilometres you will drive in the end is hard to say, it really depends on the amount of time you have.
How long does it take to do the big lap?
The Big Lap, circumnavigating the Australian continent, takes at least 3 months however the recommended amount of time is 1 year. The world record for the fastest lap around Australia was set in 2017 at 6 days, 8 hours and 52 minutes.
Nobody is here to dictate you how long you should take, but more is always better! We all have jobs to take into account, mortgages to pay and family to reckon with. But we all know that life is short and maybe this time you should act like it. Ask your employer for a break, quit, rent out your house and hit the road. I’m here to promise you that you won’t regret it.
What is the best direction to travel around Australia?
The choice between which direction, clockwise or anti-clockwise, to take while traveling around Australia depends greatly on where you start from and what time of the year you will leave. Try to be in the North between April and September for the dry season.
Australia knows five different climate zones, from Tropical to Arid and from Temperate to Alpine. Some of the areas get extremely hot in summer and are best to be avoided around those times. Getting stuck in the tropical zone during wet season not only means a lot of rain but also very hot days and nights and frequent road closures.
Try planning your trip around these extremes, however in my experience on a trip like this it is impossible to be at each place at the best possible time. Check out this article from Expedition Australia to learn more about the climate zones.
How much does it cost to drive around Australia?
Most people spend between A$ 50 and A$ 140 per person per day driving around Australia. It depends mostly on travel style and speed. This does not include buying and preparing a vehicle or purchasing camping equipment which will add another A$ 8000 - A$ 250.000 to the budget.
Daily costs
Daily costs can vary just as much as preparation costs because it all depends on your budget and style. If you love wild/free/bush camping then you won’t spend as much on hotels saving quite a bit compared to a city hopper. If you like to treat yourself once in a while with a fancy spa day than add those in to your budget, for others a stay on a campsite with running water already feels like a luxury.
Another thing that heavily influences how much you spend per day is the speed that you travel with. Petrol is always a big part of the budget, but traveling faster makes everything more expensive. That is not inherent to the speed but to human psychology. After a long day of driving you are tired and have less mental capacity to make decisions. Therefor something that is easier, finding a hotel online compared to finding a safe wild camping spot. Most people will end up in the hotel and eat at the hotel or a restaurant near by because they are also too tired and it takes too long to cook themselves. All things that will add to your budget.
If you don’t have enough time to complete a full lap, it is much better to cut the trip in half and enjoy that half than race through the full circumnavigation.
Preparation costs
I can read your mind, you are thinking A$ 250.0000 for a car and camping equipment?! Well, there are some people out there who prefer to travel in an expedition truck and those things are expensive especially in Australia where the market for ex-army trucks is small. And have you looked at the price of a new Toyota Landcruiser?
If you are on a budget, consider cycling. Yes, one with pedals. It is really the only budget way of traveling. Or a postie bike, it has been done before so why not? Although I would go for a motorcycle, because they are just too much fun to ride. Anyway, choose a vehicle that fits your style and budget.
Cutting the trip in half
Maybe you don’t have the time because you cannot get off work for that long. So why not cut the trip in half? Or even in 4? I’m not here to tell you how you should to the big lap, it is your adventure. And let me remind you that getting out there is better than sitting on your couch saving or waiting for some magical perfect movement (retirement even?) to get the time that you need.
The truth is that there is never a perfect time, doing the big lap is a choice and when you do one thing you cannot do the other. For example, I left to ride my motorcycle from Europe to Indonesia at age 29. I just got out of a relationship and was renting a shared apartment with friends. To me it was the perfect timing but to others they might have said: what about your career? You should start dating again, don’t you want kids? Off course those were questions I was asking myself too, but I chose to live my life now and not wait to fulfil my dreams someday.
Can you drive through the middle of Australia?
You can drive through the middle of Australia by following the Stuart Highway which runs from North to South for 2.834 km (1,761 mi). The road is fully sealed and can be driven by any type of car. Driving from East to West can be done following the Outback Highway but this is a 4wd road trip only.
Driving through the middle poses a great opportunity to cut your trip in half, because you can leave the other half for another time, or maybe because you live on one of the sides and it would be easier to do shorter trips to discover that half of the country. It also means that you don’t have to miss Uluru, because on the Big Lap it is a big detour so many people skip it. Depending on where you live and what type of vehicle you have you can either do the Stuart Highway or the Outback highway.
Is the Australian outback safe?
The Australian outback is a unique place and therefor has unique risks involved with traveling through it. It is not inherently safe because it is an empty place with no cellphone reach, no water and no habitation for hundreds of miles. Without the right precautions the outback can be lethal but with them it is a safe place to be.
I’m not going into detail right now on what you should and shouldn’t have while traveling through the outback, that is another article in and off itself. But make sure that you are able to solve these questions with gear before you get out there: What do you do when your vehicle get’s stuck - rescue gear What do you do when your vehicle breaks down - tools for simple fixes like a flat What do you do when your vehicle breaks beyond repair - emergency communication equipment What do you do when you have to wait for help for hours/days - have enough water What do you do when you get lost - have a double navigation system in place
Otherwise, don’t drive at night and keep an eye out for deadly critters. Australia has quite a lot of them….
Conclusion
Doing the Big Lap, a circumnavigation of the Australian continent, is a dream of many and might actually be the ultimate Australian road trip. Planning such a trip might seem daunting when you do it for the first time, but it is a lot of fun I promise. And doing the trip after saving and researching is going to feel even better. I’m trying my best to convince you do take the plunge because I’ve lived some of my best years on the road and I want you to experience that too. I hope that this article helped you in any way to make that decision.
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Leave a comment down below? Are you planning of doing the Big Lap?
FAQ
Most of these questions have been answered in the article above, some are related questions that did not fit in with the main article but might interest you. Feel free to browse through.
How long does it take to do a lap of Australia?
The Big Lap, circumnavigating the Australian continent, takes at least 3 months however the recommended amount of time is 1 year. The world record for the fastest lap around Australia was set in 2017 at 6 days, 8 hours and 52 minutes.
How long does it take to drive Highway 1 Australia?
Know in Australia as the Big Lap, highway way circumnavigates the continent. The road crosses through all Australian states except Tasmania and is roughly 15.000 km long. It takes at least 3 months complete a lap however the world record is 6,5 days.
How far is the big lap around Australia?
A simple lap around Australia without any detours is 15.000 kilometres or 9,200 miles. A half trip on each coast is roughly 10.500 kilometres. Any traveler doing the big lap will add between 30-300% kilometres to their trip.
How much money do you need to drive around Australia?
Most people spend between A$ 50 and A$ 140 per person per day driving around Australia. It depends mostly on travel style and speed. This does not include buying and preparing a vehicle or purchasing camping equipment which will add another A$ 8000 - A$ 250.000 to the budget.
What do I need for the big lap?
You need some money and a vehicle of choice to start your Big Lap. There are many different ways to do it from dirt cheap to crazy expensive. Choose your style and budget and start planning or start traveling. In the end you don’t really need anything except the right mindset.
Can you drive across Australia?
You can drive across Australia by following the Stuart Highway which runs from North to South for 2.834 km (1,761 mi). The road is fully sealed and can be driven by any type of car. Driving from East to West can be done following the Outback Highway but this is a 4wd road trip only.
Can you drive around Uluru?
Yes, there is a public road that goes around Uluru, although it is a quite a distance. To get up close you will have to walk. Combine both to get the full experience of the place.
How long does it take to drive around Uluru?
It only takes about 10 minutes to drive around Uluru. However, when you stop for pictures or to go for a hike it will take you anywhere between 1 and 4 hours to soak up the experience. There is no need to rush this once in a lifetime trip.
What is the best vehicle to travel around Australia in?
The best vehicle to travel around Australia in is the one you have or the one you can afford. If you are keen on exploring the Australian outback you will need a 4x4. The best 4wd car is the Toyota Landcruiser.
Can you drive around Australia in a 2WD?
It is possible to drive around Australia in a 2WD because highway 1 is a network of sealed roads. Some overlanders would argue that the best parts of Australia can only be reached via rough terrain and therefor you need a 4x4 but that is up to you to decide.
How long would it take you to drive across Australia?
You can drive through the middle of Australia by following the Stuart Highway which runs from North to South for 2.834 km (1,761 mi). The road is fully sealed and can be driven by any type of car. It takes about 14 days to complete when you visit all the tourist stops.
Is there a ferry from Australia to New Zealand?
There is no ferry service between Australia and New Zealand because the journey would be 4 days at sea and the seas are very rough in that part of the world. Shipping your vehicle is the only option to get to the other island.
Is New Zealand connected to Australia by road?
New Zealand and Australia are both islands and are 2325 km or 1444 miles apart from each other. It is not technically possible to build a bridge that long so therefor the islands are not connected by road.
Is there a bridge from Australia to New Zealand?
New Zealand and Australia are both islands and are 2325 km or 1444 miles apart from each other. It is not technically possible to build a bridge that long so therefor the islands are not connected by road.
Can we go to Australia by road from India?
It is possible to drive from India to Indonesia, political closures of countries may block the route. However, there is no ferry service from Indonesia to Australia and you will therefor have to ship your vehicle from Indonesia to Australia by container ship.
Is it possible to drive from England to Australia?
It is possible to drive from England to Indonesia, political closures of countries may block the route. However, there is no ferry service from Indonesia to Australia and you will therefor have to ship your vehicle from Indonesia to Australia by container ship.