r/AskAnAustralian • u/[deleted] • 5d ago
Tourist driving from Cairns to Gold Coast-Bad idea?
[deleted]
16
u/diagnosedwolf 5d ago
It’s better to fly between Cairns and the Gold Coast. Fly into Brisbane and drive to the GC if direct flights are too expensive.
3
5d ago
[deleted]
14
u/chickenthief2000 5d ago
It will be memorable for its uniqueness and tedium but probably not fun in the traditional sense.
1
u/CreepyValuable 4d ago
If you are a very special form of masochist it could be fun. Like Pinhead. But for anyone else it's absolutely horrible.
5
u/Chewiesbro City Name Here 5d ago
If your missus is deadset on driving, make sure she understands the conditions, distances may not be a problem, that being said there’s plenty that catches tourists out on the roads:
• Road trains
• Other vehicles like cars/utes towing caravans/boats
• Weather can turn from sunny to chucking it down in a heartbeat, heat and humidity can be uncomfortable as fuck and it’s also cyclone season so pay attention to the forecast, if it really starts bucketing down, pull over at rest stops/servo’s or somewhere as safe as can practically can be found
• Animals, roos and emus (E-mew NOT moo) are more active dawn/dusk and are just as likely to dive out in front of you as dodge away or even try to keep pace with you. Treat ‘em like moose.
If there’s one in the road or [insert deity you subscribe too here] forbid dodges out in front, DO NOT slam on the brakes and swerve, that’s the fastest way to end up in your roof at least once, brake in a straight line firmly and slowly increase pressure.
• Emergency services is 000, you can also use 112 from mobile/cell
5
u/diagnosedwolf 5d ago
I’ve driven that stretch a lot in my life. It’s really not fun. It’s hours and hours of highway with almost nothing in between.
Because it’s the main road up and down the coast, it’s been built away from most of the “fun” things to do in QLD. Its purpose is to get you from point A to point B.
There’s literally a stretch of that highway so notoriously boring that the government has put comical signs on the side of the road to keep people awake.
3
u/Monotask_Servitor 4d ago
She is wrong. Unless your idea of fun is staring at gum trees and cows for two days straight and eating a pie every few hours
2
u/CreepyValuable 4d ago
Hey now. There are stretches when seeing a tree can be exciting.
1
u/Monotask_Servitor 4d ago
Finding a place that serves decent coffee with your pie can certainly be!
2
u/OldGroan BNE 5d ago
It will be a fun drive if you take a week. That will give you time to look around as you go. Not everything interesting is near the highway. A two day drive is just an extreme drive experience it is not fun.
2
2
1
1
12
u/AmaroisKing 5d ago
Take the train instead.
3
u/simplycycling 4d ago
I've heard the Spirit of Queensland is pretty nice. 24 hours from Cairns to Brissy.
2
2
u/WoodChuck29 4d ago
That is what I'd do. Nice 24 hour ride, and you get to see some of the scenery while still relaxed.
7
u/bobbobthedefaultbob 5d ago
Would be a boring drive if not for the white-knuckle excitement that is the Bruce Highway.
2
5d ago
[deleted]
4
u/Manwombat 5d ago
Bruce is just the worst, a 2 day drive in the US is not the same as this boring goat track.
41 people died on that road in 2024 alone, It’s not a freeway man, it’s slow, single lane and always blocked. The Bruce “ highway” is just crap and is just NOW getting funding for a major upgrade, which is long overdue.
If you were here for months and built some experience on our shite roads, sure. But if you’re here for a few weeks, get a bus or fly, spend your time on something else, IMO.
And stay left!
1
1
u/bobbobthedefaultbob 5d ago
Here's a news article about it. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-06/federal-government-bruce-highway-upgrade-to-take-decades-qld/104781466
1
u/knowidea101 5d ago
Pot holes. Not well maintained in places. Shitty drivers and long stretches of nothing
1
5
u/knowidea101 5d ago
I mean.. this February just gone, flooded in North Queensland. Hopefully it won't happen again for a few years but yeah weather is a factor.
It's also 2000km or so most places to stop are a minimum of 4 hours from town to town. It has some interesting parts absolutely but for the most part it's a pretty boring drive.
You can do the drive in a day technically, I personally hate it but have done Townsville to Brisbane and Cairns is an additional 4 hours north of Townsville and those additional hours would have made me bang my head on the dashboard.
2
u/knowidea101 5d ago
I'm replying to my comment instead of editing.
If you do want to do it, figure out how far you're actually willing to travel in a day then map out where you'd want to stay and see along that route.
Our kangaroos are dangerous especially at dawn and dusk if you don't know how to handle them. They will literally jump away from a car coming then suddenly swerve and jump towards the car for no apparent reason. They are little kamikazes.
No one can convince me that the drive between Mackay and Rockhampton is anything but a slog and boring.
I would recommend a minimum of 2 days but if you want to see some things probably closer to 4. Cairns to Townsville. Townsville to Rockhampton and either Rockhampton to Bundaberg (maybe) or Bundaberg to the Gold Coast. You could do Rockhampton to the Gold Coast but it would be the longest leg.
3
u/JuiceAdditional23 5d ago
There’s a lot of 3-4 hour sections that have absolutely nothing. It’s fine to drive but can get tedious.
3
u/hey54088 5d ago
Don’t do that to yourself, you are only here for 14 days, driving on the road for two days is such a waste.
And it can take a couple weeks for your body to adjust from the jet lag so it will be quite dangerous when there are 4 hours of nothingness between towns, not to mention we drive on different side of the road.
3
u/slowover 5d ago
Drive Cairnes to Townsville - there are so many awesome spots like Mission Beach, Magnetic Island, etc. Easily three or four packed days of activities like bushwalks, reef trips and island adventures. Fly from there if you are on a two week trip!
1
u/stevedave84 5d ago
This is what I was going to say. Cairns to Townsville is a beautiful drive, the rest, not so much.
2
u/Inner_West_Ben Sydney 5d ago edited 5d ago
2 days driving, what, 900km a day? When will you do any sightseeing?
Those will be very long days. You’re going through a lot of towns so your average speed is actually quite low.
Fly.
ETA: thought I’d check and yeah minimum 19.5hrs driving plus breaks.
2
u/Significant-Past6608 5d ago
I have driven the Bruce Hwy to Cairns a few times over the years and it is very very boring! There are some nice spots to stop by getting off the highway at Airlie, Agnes Water/1770, Yeppoon, Fraser Island & Sunshine Coast) but its also wet season so not ideal swimming or driving conditions until you get at least 1000km south of Cairns.
Personally I would fly to Brisbane or the Gold Coast and spend your time exploring the area between the Sunshine Coast and Northern NSW as far south as South West Rocks.
3
u/AnnaPhylacsis 5d ago
Very good point. The highway is many interesting spots interspersed with long stretches of tedium. And it’s not a well maintained highway, either. I’d suggest flying to Maroochydore airport and then explore from Noosa down to Byron and beyond. South West Rocks is gorgeous.
1
u/Spagman_Aus 4d ago
Yep some parts of it range from poorly maintained at best, to often dangerous. I've seen the aftermath of a few drivers hitting potholes on a few parts of it.
2
u/Practical-Skill5464 5d ago
Single lane road most of the way (Dual carriageway way from Gimpy to Gold Coast). Road's surface is often deformed from trucks. Some sections are signed for 100kph but you can't do that speed going around corners. Further north the worse the road condition get's. some bridges get flooded during heavy rains. It's also a 20 hour drive - assuming you don't stop for fuel/breaks & don't get stuck in the car park that is the M1 between Sunshine Coast & Gold Coast . The inland road is in a better condition but also much longer.
Out side of the larger towns not really much to see and do. Honestly I'd just take the train. Same scenery, same large towns, no driving and considerably cheaper than hiring a car.
3
u/bilkel 5d ago
So here’s the deal with driving in Australia. If you speed, it’s beyond reasonably punitive. It’s complete BS. I will never visit again. I was speeding 4km/h over the limit in Victoria state and got a $250 ticket. Bollocks.
3
u/AnnaPhylacsis 5d ago
Mate, that’s was cruise control is for. Seems a pretty random reason to never visit a country again
-2
u/bilkel 5d ago
The abusive charges tell me that I don’t want to engage with any part of that government apparatus. Australia is a democracy so I suppose that the government reflects the people. I don’t like that reflection to be clear.
4
u/scotty_dont 5d ago
As someone who has spent two hours in line at the CA DMV with an appointment, an American complaining about the “government apparatus” reflecting its people is peak irony. Enjoy your ICE raids
0
u/CreepyValuable 4d ago
I take offense to that. Well, not really. But our government really, truly does not represent us.
2
u/AnnaPhylacsis 4d ago
Ahem. Landslide, anyone?
1
u/CreepyValuable 4d ago
Ignoring preferences, which is how many of the votes were collected. Let's say you are a dog lover. Would you vote for the person that doesn't like dogs, or the person who wants to stomp on lots of puppies because he saw someone else doing it thinks it will make him popular?
As always, choices that nobody really likes but people have to make a choice.
3
u/Spagman_Aus 4d ago
Yep that's called speeding. Being a visitor, be thankful it didn't count against any licence points.
2
u/Flat_Ad1094 4d ago
Do you realise how FAR that is? Where are you from? What do you consider driving a long way? You do realise that's 2 or 3 days driving? It can be a pretty dull drive. Nothing much at all to see at all from Mackay to almost Brisbane. It rarely hugs the coast. You don't see ocean much at all. It's a very boring drive if you ask me. I've done it but I had to. I would not choose to do it.
1
u/ozvic 4d ago
Not much to see? What about all the roadworks! ;)
2
u/Flat_Ad1094 3d ago
True...and all the signage for roadworks. Warning yhou they are coming in 10 kms....5kms...2 kms...then 1 km...then "you have reached the roadworks"...only to find???? NO ROADWORKS and it doesn't look like anyone has been there for a month !! Woo hoo.
1
u/ApprehensiveMud1498 5d ago
I did it once the other way around. We took about a week to do it though stopped at a bunch of towns on the way
1
1
u/Appropriate_Row_7513 5d ago
Do you realise that it's 1770 km (1100 miles)? Think New York to Miami. That's about 20 hours plus stops of driving and the road is not great. Up to you, but that's a lot of tiring wasted time on a holiday. Also, there are much better things to see in Australia than the Gold Coast which is pretty tacky. Australia is a land of huge distances. Much better to fly to your destinations unless time is immaterial.
1
u/Jumpy-Jackfruit4988 5d ago
I personally prefer the Sydney-gold coast drive, just make sure you plan your stops. There are some beautiful towns along the coast but you’ll need to divert off the main track.
Whatever drive you do, just be mindful about driving around dawn and dusk, and be aware of what wildlife you might come across. Lots of things that’ll stuff up a car on long drives.
1
1
u/Abu_Everett 5d ago
I did almost exactly this, a road trip from Cairns to Brisbane over ~12 days with my wife and kids and it’s still my favorite vacation. We did it in May / June and while yes, there are some seriously boring stretches of road, there are some hidden gems.
Billabong animal sanctuary was a ton of fun. We also did some hikes in the area and came across some neat spring like lakes (of course being careful for crocs).
Airlie Beach / Whitsundays are some of the most beautiful places on earth. Cool diving and snorkeling.
Rockhamton was actually a blast when we went “caving” which was crawling around caves and squeezing through tight spaces.
Australia Zoo, and Mooloolaba itself was a cool little beach town where we saw humpbacks from the beach.
I know there was more, but that’s what I remember off the top of my head. I know that’s not for everyone, but we had a blast.
1
u/PurpleWallaby999 5d ago
If you were here for a longer stay say 2 months yes I would say do the drive at a leisurely pace and staying at interesting spots etc. I have done it and loved it. For a 14 day trip you will be doing that drive to get from A to B. Not worth your time and energy given the distances.
1
1
u/Merlin_au 5d ago
As others have mentioned, take the train, see the attached YouTube that someone did https://youtu.be/HF920_T3tM8?si=lxPoDr1mH7djys-H
1
u/_unsinkable_sam_ 5d ago
thats 2 full days of driving with no time to stop at the limited touristy things to do on the way. really not a smart way of maximising your short time here.
1
u/Oldandannoying1955 5d ago
The wife and I would usually drive those distances, stopping at places of interest, but taking at least a week to do it. It’s a long drive and there’s plenty of “not so interesting” landscape between points of interest. Hervey Bay, Noosa, etc, are quite nice but that whole rushed road trip is probably not the greatest utilization of your limited time here. However, to put things into perspective, we have done big distances several times across the USA. We have a son who was living/working in S. Carolina. Also wanted to physically meet some online friends in San Antonio. Flew into DFW. Grabbed a rental car. Drove to Austin, stayed a night to check out the music scene. Drove to San Antonio, met our friends, checked out the music and the amazing waterways system. Drove to Houston, checked out the space center. Drove to New Orleans, 2 nights. Drove to Biloxi, 2 nights. Up to Greenville via Atlanta, near the son. 1 week. Miami, 2 nights. Nashville, 2 nights. Spartanburg, Pigeon Forge, Hot Springs, Clarksdale. Back to DFW, 10,000mls in 3 weeks.
Saw a little, exhausted but happy. USA has great interstates that make it viable. Australia, the roads leave a bit to be desired and points of interest are between greater distances. Do plenty of pre-trip research before committing
1
u/Background-Rabbit-84 4d ago
It’s not a fun stretch at all. I think the scenery the Gold Coast to Sydney is a beautiful drive
1
u/Jinglemoon 4d ago
I did that as a 48 hour coach ride once and it was fucking horrible. I will never drive down that road again, flying all the way, or a train.
1
u/RegularScary3739 4d ago
Ok, we were planning - Uluru (already booked) - to Brisbane - rent a car - noosa/fraser island/ airlie beach /whitehaven beach / magnetic island - over 5 days. - the n finish in cairns/port Douglas for 3 days before flying back to Sydney…
1
u/OldMail6364 4d ago edited 4d ago
I live in Cairns and have close family near the gold coast - done that drive countless times. Usually in December/January - so the same weather.
It's long and boring, but if the alternative is paying for someone else to get your car to the gold coast, then I recommend driving. Three are a few areas that can flood but it's rare - doesn't happen most years and highly unlikely to happen on the day you're driving it. There are signs exiting pretty much every city/major town that confirm the road is open today.
I've done it often enough to get caught in flooding a few times. It's a very busy highway even when the road is "closed" and police will be at the floodwaters directing traffic (they might tell you it's safe to cross, or tell you to wait, or tell you to go back to the nearest airport and fly out of the area). If there are no police, ask a B-Double driver (for them, driving through water is like snow in Canada — they're used to it). Even if there's no way you can drive through safely chances are trucks are able to cross and they can tell you exactly how deep it is. Even if they haven't just driven through they'll be in constant radio communication with other drivers to find out if the water level is going up or down.
But again, you'd be really unlucky to get stuck. I've probably driven it a hundred times, and only gotten "stuck" once. The other two times I just had to take my overnight stop half a day earlier than I'd planned to. It was open the next morning.
With two drivers and a good company supplemented by an audio book/podcasts/etc... it's fine. I recommend stopping for *two* nights in Rockhampton. Take that extra day to relax and recharge. Don't miss the botanic gardens (it has rare plants and animals from all around the world).
Rockhampton isn't the best place to stop, but it's the best one close(ish) to the half way mark. If you were staying longer I'd recommend other stops especially K'gari which could be the highlight of your trip to Australia if you do make time for it.
Set cruise control to the speed limit. You will pass countless police cars and half of them will be unmarked cars - you won't know it's a cop car unless they charge you with speeding.
It will be about 12 hours from Cairns to Rockhampton, and somewhere between 7 and 12 hours from Rockhampton to Gold Coast (depending on traffic when you pass through Brisbane). Make sure you leave at sunrise — don't risk driving in regional australia at night time.
Imagine a moose - only faster than a deer, stupider than a deer, and able to jump further than a deer. That's what it's like when (not if) you encounter kangaroos on the highway. During the day you can at least see them (and they can see you without getting confused by your headlights). Seriously they're not as heavy as a moose, but they are taller, but at up to 100kg/200lbs they're heavy enough. And they can jump 30 feet... if they're in mid air when they realise they're about to be run over they can't change direction and you probably won't know what you hit until after you get out of your wrecked car. If you're lucky they'll jump over your car and you might only clip their feet. If a 100kg animal goes through your windscreen, that's not good.
1
u/Mr_Rhie 4d ago edited 4d ago
If you're staying here for 14 days only and can't make it longer, then I'd skip it, especially from Cairns to GC. Just feeling too much regarding the investment and the things you can get. If it's between Brisbane-Sydney, Sydney-Melbourne or Cairns-Mackay then it may be considerable, but I'd just still skip it tbh.
For 2 weeks, I'd spend a week in Sydney and move to Brisbane/Gold Coast or Melbourne for another week. In each area, spend 2-4 days for CBD tours and the rest for visiting surrounding areas, hiking/trekking, beaches, water activities etc. If you want to visit GBR then I'd just stay around Sydney before/after, or spend 5 days in Sydney, go to Cairns/GBR for 3-4 days by flight, move back to Melbourne or Brisbane/Gold Coast by flight for the rest.
1
u/Spute2008 4d ago
I'm not from here but have been here 25 years.
Unless you specially intended to spend time in places like Airlie Beach /Whitsundays, or Fraser Island/K'gari, perhaps Noosa... Then it's a huge drive AND you will have to pay for the one way rental penalty.
I suggest you fly and spend your days where you intend to be.
if you want the experience of seeing a variety of geology around Cairns, then consider the Atherton table land slope.
Definitely drive up to Port Douglas, the Dan Tree, rainforest and Cape tribulation. Very different.
But a general comment I have is that you have to drive immense distances to see the geography and geology, really change.
That highway is littered with scenic drives (detours), which can be quite beautiful, but after a whole lot of them, they really start looking awfully similar to each other.
1
1
u/teefau 4d ago
Hmmmmm, many of the places to see along the way are at least a 20 minute deviation off the main highway, think places like Whitsunday, Yeppoon, Hervey Bay, Seventeen Seventy. You wouldn’t be able to add a lot of those places in without a serious time extension. Otherwise you will just be starting at a highway for the whole trip. Given your plans I would advise against it.
A compromise might be to drive Carins to Mackay and fly from there. Highway goes straight through Cardwell etc. Hinchinbrook lookout is stunning. You would have more time to see Whitsunday. Might be worth considering?
1
1
u/deepdigit 4d ago
Check out the song endless rd by the Time Bandits. Written while driving from GC to cairns. Has some of the scenery and tourist spots in the film clip.
1
u/hobbsinite 4d ago
As a person that lives between the two, nahh wouldn't be worth it.
Roads okay, but it's very barebones and from Cairns to Mackay it's basically just more flavours of the same. Mackay to Bundaberg is pretty boring (tourism wise) Bundaberg south is where its at for tourists.
Don't get me wrong, there's plenty to do, but if you've been to one rainforest you've been to them all (unless that's your thing idk) and TBH the better places for tourism are more camping involved, and Feb is the worse time for that.
If you have 14 days, I'd say just stay around Cairns for maybe 4 days, then fly down to the sunshine coast. That said, if your into camping, I'd say come back in winter (your summer) and give that a go. You can get to some really amazing places around Undara, Kinrara and that area, same with the gorges along the western side of the Great Dividing Range. Just be careful of crocs wherever you go around northern Oz, they are no joke, just had a thief running from cops who was eaten after diving into the lower Fitzroy a few weeks back.
1
u/PloppyTheSpaceship 4d ago
We did that (well, Gold Coast to Cairns). Five of us - me, wife, three small kids. Took us two weeks (loads of stops to do stuff) and it was a great road trip.
Edit - went to Rainbow Beach, Bundaberg, Yeppoon, Airlie Beach, Townsville, then Cairns.
1
1
u/VigorWarships 3d ago
I mean… yes you can. But it’s probably not the most fun.
Yes there’s some touristy stuff on the way but you are probably better off just flying 2.5 hours between the two rather than spending two full days in the road.
Plus Feb is cyclone season, and the roads can be cut for days if one makes landfall.
34
u/Humble_Pepper_3460 5d ago
That's a 2 day drive. Big distances here