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Australia knows its road trips. In a country this ridiculously vast, the only way to really see everything is to do it on your own set of four wheels. Our nation's abundance of gorgeously scenic drives, bizarre roadside curios, small town bakeries and secret nature spots makes any kind of long road trip more than the average drive. But when you're faced with endless highway stretches and many, many hours on the road, there's one very important concern for all self-respecting foodie travellers: where on Earth does one find some decent food? Turns out, you can forget roadside Maccas and sad chips from the servo, because new data has revealed that there are road trip routes you can take across Australia that have food (and that's genuinely good food) as their focus.
To determine the best road trips for food lovers across Australia, car insurance company ROLLiN’ analysed Australia’s most popular car journeys, and ranked them all based on food-related factors, like the number and quality of food stops, and the customer ratings at each human-refuelling station along the way.
First up, let’s talk about the winner. Spanning 1,000 km from Sydney to Brisbane, the Legendary Pacific Coast road trip scored 76.9 out of 100 in the total foodie trip score, with 658 total food stops and 6.4 food stops every ten kilometres. The route weaves through the Hunter Valley (passing some of Australia’s best wineries), past the iconic dunes of Port Stephens, then up the coast past the foodie meccas of Yamba and Byron Bay
Next up, South Australia's Epicurean Way proved itself to be paved with foodie delights. 142 of them, to be exact. Scoring 74.5 out of 100, this beautiful road trip takes travellers through a series of amazing food and wine regions, including McLaren Vale, Adelaide Hills, and the Clare and Barossa Valleys. There are 6.8 food stops every ten kilometres, and 71,319 user ratings. Cheese, grapes and artisan producers abound a' plenty here.
Rounding up the top three is the glorious Great Barrier Reef Drive. Starting in Cairns, this 140-kilometre journey follows the coast north to Port Douglas and then over to the Great Barrier Reef, where travellers can live out their Little Mermaid dreams. We suggest making a pit stop at Mossman Gorge to swim in croc-safe waters, or take a guided Dreamtime walk through the ancient Daintree Rainforest. From there, continue cruising up to Cape Tribulation, where two immense World Heritage-listed wonders (the reef and the rainforest) meet together in perfect harmony. Plus, with 177 road stops and 10.3 food stops every ten kilometres, this trip is an excellent choice for any hungry seekers, with Port Douglas and Cairns both full of excellent culinary options.
The 10 best road trips in Australia for food lovers:
- Legendary Pacific Coast, NSW-QLD
- Epicurean Way, SA
- Great Barrier Reef Drive, QLD
- Cape to Cape, WA
- Grand Pacific Drive, NSW
- Coastal Sydney to Melbourne, NSW-VIC
- Great Ocean Road, VIC
- Tasmania’s Southern Edge, TAS
- The Great Alpine Road, VIC
- Great Beach Drive, QLD
You can check out the full study (and plan your next road trip accordingly) here.