What is the best Great Ocean Road itinerary for a road trip? The best Great Ocean Road itinerary runs three to four days from Torquay to Port Fairy, covering Bells Beach, Lorne, Apollo Bay, and the Twelve Apostles, perfect for Mustang owners planning an Australian road trip along Victoria’s coast.
Before you set off, you should stay prepared and ensure your spare is ready. Designed specifically for Mustang models from 2015 onwards, the DriveSava spare wheel kit is your ultimate life-saver.
Day one: Torquay to Lorne, VIC, Australia The official start of the road is Torquay, about ninety minutes from Melbourne. From here, the coast is close by almost immediately. Bells Beach is worth a quick stop for surfing history, and Anglesea is a good spot for coffee. Further along, Aireys Inlet features the Split Point Lighthouse, familiar to anyone who grew up watching Australian television. Lorne is the natural overnight stop, offering excellent food and some of the tightest, most enjoyable corners on the entire route.
Day two: Lorne to Apollo Bay This stretch is where the road earns its reputation among drivers. Wye River and Kennett River sit right on the coastline, where the road narrows through a mix of cliff edges and rainforest. Keep an eye out for koalas around Kennett River; they are often right at the roadside. If time allows, the Great Otway National Park inland from Apollo Bay is worth the detour for its waterfalls and a completely different driving feel compared to the coastal sections.
Day three: Apollo Bay to Port Campbell This is the section most people are actually chasing. The road climbs into the Otways before dropping back to the coast near the Twelve Apostles, which are best visited in the early morning or late afternoon for the best light and to beat the crowds. Loch Ard Gorge is a short walk down to a genuinely stunning beach named after an 1878 shipwreck, and London Arch is famous for the section that collapsed into the ocean in 1990. The Grotto and the Bay of Islands are quieter but just as worthwhile.
Day four (Optional): Port Campbell to Port Fairy With an extra day to spare, push on to Port Fairy. It is one of Australia’s best-preserved historic port towns and offers a relaxed way to close out the trip before you head back inland.
Fuel up regularly. Some stretches between towns are longer than they look on the map, and not every town has a service station. Wildlife is most active at dawn and dusk, so this is not a road to be pushing hard on after dark.
Mobile reception is patchy through large sections, particularly across the Otways, so plan ahead rather than relying on your phone. The road itself rewards patience over pace; it is narrow, popular with cyclists and tourist coaches, and definitely not the place for overtaking on blind corners. Save the enthusiasm for the sections that open up.
Accommodation along the route books up quickly over summer and Easter. If you are travelling during peak season, it pays to lock in places to stay well before you leave rather than hoping something turns up in Lorne or Apollo Bay on the day.
A trip like this is as much about preparation as it is about driving. Most Mustangs do not leave the factory with a proper spare wheel, often coming with just a tyre repair kit or nothing at all. On a remote, winding coastal road with patchy reception and long gaps between towns, that is not a position you want to find yourself in.
This is exactly the gap Pony Parts set out to fill. The DriveSava Mustang-specific spare wheel kit is built to suit the car properly rather than being a generic aftermarket fix, meaning it fits perfectly without eating into boot space or compromising your existing setup. Don’t let a flat ruin your road trip, stay prepared.
