A ROADTRIP GUIDE FOR AUSTRALIA (FROM PERTH TO MELBOURNE)

Three weeks are dedicated to exploring this part of Australia, which runs from Perth to Melbourne and runs through the end of the west coast and almost the entire south coast. More than 5,000 km in which we begin to fall in love with this country. If you are also thinking about a similar adventure here we leave you our guide of a roadtrip through Australia, from Perth to Melbourne, with useful information, route, places to visit, budget, a few tips and our top10.

Our van route through southwest Australia It allowed us to live incredible experiences: not only did we know such emblematic places as the Twelve Apostles and others less well known but equally amazing, but we also saw with our own eyes how kangaroos jumped freely along the beach of Lucky Bay, like a koala half a eucalyptus tree fell at its own pace, or as a small dingo approached looking for food at a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere in the Nullarbor. Every day has been different and we have all enjoyed ourselves as dwarves, if you want to know more you just have to read the articles, divided into stages: from 1 to 6.

Here you have some general information about the roadtrip:

• Starting point: Perth
• End point: Melbourne
• Total days: 22
• Total kilometers: 5,423
• Type of vehicle: rented camper van (Euro Tourer style in Apollo or Deuce 2 in Mighty).

Theroute to tour the entire part of the southwestern australia, from Perth to Melbourne, has no loss. The route usually takes you along coastal roads, where most of the population of Australia is usually concentrated and also the main points of interest. Here we leave you a map with our tour, divided into 6 stages:

We tell you the details of each stage, with the links to the articles to access our experience in each of the places visited.

♣ STAGE 1: Perth - Albany

• 802 km
• 4 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 2: Albany - Esperance

• 606 km
• 4 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 3: Esperance - Haslam (Nullarbor)

• 1,562 km
• 3 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 4: Haslam - Adelaide (Eyre Peninsula)

• 1,148 km
• 4 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 5: Adelaide - Porland

• 783 km
• 3 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

♣ STAGE 6: Porltand - Melbourne (Great Ocean Road)

• 522 km
• 3 days
• READ THE ARTICLE

Making a van route through Australia is not exactly cheap, especially for rent. But taking into account that you are traveling in a small house, you can save on the other aspects: nothing of accommodation and cooking yourself to avoid always eating out. Here we summarize thebudget per total person base based on a trip for two people of 3 weeks, from Perth to Melbourne:

* Be careful because prices can vary a lot in high season and low season. We travel in high season (February) and it cost us around 1,800AUD (about € 1,200, or € 600 per head).

If you want to see more detailed, read our article "Budget: 3-week trip through Southwest Australia by van".

Before planning the trip you have to take into account where you will pick up and where you will deliver the van, sometimes doing it in offices in different cities means having to pay a one-way rate. However, there are some companies that do not apply it, but be careful and check the conditions well!

You also have to keep in mind that usually the price includes basic coverage, which usually has a franchise amount (between 2,700 and 5,000 AUS), which will be the maximum you pay in case of an accident. There are always options to hire aextended coverage package, for example we with Apollo hired one of 30AUD a day that eliminated the franchise. These packages also usually include some extras, such as sheets, avoid paying the administrative fee of the franchise, etc.

The prices They vary a little depending on the season and the route you want to do, but the rental of a Hitop van can leave for about 75-90AUD a day in high season. We made the reservation through the Motorhome Republic website that compares all van rental companies in Australia and proposes the best rates. We rented with Cheapa Campa a Hitop for 22 days paying 1.800AUD (about € 1,200), not including the extended insurance price.

The three-week tour of Australia gives to see many cool things! But in our top10 we give you the classification of what we liked most personally:

• See swimming at the striped blankets a few meters from the shore at Hamelin Bay.
• Enjoy the Greens Pool and the views from the Elephant Cove.
• See how a green river ended up mixing with the ocean in the Ocean Beach Lookout.
• Walk the Eleven Mile Beach Road.
• Watch the sunrise at Lucky Bay and its kangaroos on the beach.
• The Nullarbor in general (with its straight roads, its vintage roadhouses, its decorated trees, its sunsets, the Bunda Cliffs, its unsuspected little animals ...).
• Enjoy a few moments of peace at Locks Well Beach, one of the wildest places we have ever seen.
• See a mom and a dolphin calf in the port of Whyalla.
• Stop at Mount Gambier, a very interesting town (Blue Lake and Umpherston Sinkhole).
• All viewpoints of the Great Ocean Road (impossible to choose only one :-p).

Up to here our guide of a roadtrip through Australia, from Perth to Melbournein a van. We hope it has helped you and you know, if you have any questions, leave us a comment!

* Photocredit main image: Shutterstock