Eco-Friendly Road Trip Locations and Activities in Victoria

Australia is built for road trips, making it the perfect way to explore and take in the beauty this country has to offer. When travelling around Victoria, it’s important that you’re taking steps to preserve the natural beauty and environment of locations such as Wilsons Promontory, The Great Ocean Road, the Grampians and many more regions of Vitoria. There are many eco-friendly destinations around Victoria that are a must see on your next road trip adventure!  

Here are some eco-friendly road trips through the main regions of Victoria that should be on everyone’s travelling bucket list!

Gippsland  

The first region where you can plan your next eco-friendly road trip is the Gippsland. The Gippsland region is located in the East of Victoria, around 3 hours away from the centre of Melbourne. It’s the perfect for a weekend road trip getaway from the city for both inland forests and coastline beaches adventures! 

There’s no better eco-friendly mode of transport than going on walks…no emissions made by vehicles, and you can explore nature up close on off the beaten tracks. The Gippsland region has lots of nature walks and hikes to explore such as the Mt Oberon Summit Walk, Cape Conran Nature Trail and the Genoa Peak Walk to name a few. To learn more about walks and hikes, read our Best Hiking Trails in Victoria article.  

Visit Raymond Island, in the centre of the Gippsland region and a 4-hour drive from Melbourne. Raymond Island is the best koala-spotting location, perfect if you want to see Australian native wildlife in the wild. 

The Yanakie Caravan Park is a 3-hour drive from Melbourne. It is also just 5 minutes from the entrance to the Wilsons Promontory National Park, a perfect place to stay overnight in a campervan and spend your days exploring the national parks scenery. They have both unpowered and powered sites. 

High Country  

The second region where you can plan your next eco-friendly road trip is the High Country. The High Country is located in the north-east of Victoria and the main attractions are the amazing national parks, Victoria’s highest mountains, snow resorts and vineyards.  

Explore the Pedal to Produce cycling routes in Milawa, a 3-hour drive from Melbourne. Here you can ride your Pedal to Produce bikes to farm gates and fill your baskets with fresh local produce direct from the framer who grew it. This is a great eco-friendly and sustainable activity to support the local farmers and enjoy some of Victoria’s best local produce.  

Following from the Pedal to Produce in Milawa travel another 2 hours to Hotham Heights and explore Australia’s winter wonderland and one of the major ski resorts! Hotham Heights is a 5.5-hour drive from Melbourne. Put the Snowshoe to Cheese Fondue experience on your bucket list while in Hotham Heights. This is one alpine nature experience that offers an intimate and sustainable adventure in the High Country of Victoria. Start your snowshoe tour journey weaving through the snow gums to a hidden eco-village and enjoy a warming glass of Glühwein and a French cheese fondue.  

Grampians  

The third region where you can plan your next eco-friendly road trip is the Grampians. The Grampians is located in the north-west of Victoria. The region is known for its sandstone mountains, wildflowers and native Australian wildlife, being echidnas and wallabies.  

Want to stay in eco-friendly accommodation, the Grampians Eco YHA hostel is a 3-hour drive from Melbourne and is the perfect location for people travelling on a budget, especially backpackers. The hostel has free Wi-Fi, its own fresh eggs from on-site hostel chickens and an herb garden. It is close to all the attractions of the Grampians National Park, including Reid’s Lookout, Aboriginal rock art and stunning waterfalls!  

Explore the outdoors and visit Lake Bellfield, only a 5-minute drive from the Grampians Eco YHA hostel. Lake Bellfield ids an eco-friendly location as the lake only allows electric motors as it is a local water supply. There are lots of recreation activities to do such as swimming kayaking, fishing, picnicking and electric boating.  

Great Ocean Road  

The fourth region where you can plan your next eco-friendly road trip is along the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Road starts from Torquay, a 1-hour drive out the centre of Melbourne and ends in Allansford. There are many eco-friendly and sustainable locations and activities to discover along the 20km stretch of road.  

At the start of the Great Ocean Road is Southern Exposure, who organise nature-based adventure programs. Some of those include surf school, mountain biking, kayaking and more! If you’ve always wanted to learn how to surf, they have surf schools in Torquay, Anglesea and Lorne. They are also Eco Certified by Ecotourism Australia!  

Have you ever seen a platypus; a remarkable mammal only found in Australia? If you haven’t, make sure to do the “Paddle with the Platypus” Otway Eco Tours. Experience a guided canoe tour paddling in Lake Elizabeth, a natural habitat of the platypus. You’ll also go for a stroll amongst 150-year-old ferns and possibly seed our native koalas as well! 

Explore the beautiful outdoors on nature walks and hikes along the Great Ocean Road. The Great Ocean Walk is one of the most popular walks where you adventure through national parks, deserted beaches and scenic marine sanctuaries. Other walks along the Great Ocean Road include the Surf Coast Walk, The Great South West Walk and many more! 

Eco-friendly road trips around Australia are possible when travelling to locations that are sustainable and making sure that you as travellers are proactive in your ecotourism research for your travels. With so many eco-friendly destinations and activities, Victoria is the place to explore for your next road trip holiday!  

The Travellers Autobarn hire location in Victoria is in Melbourne. Now that you know more about eco-friendly road trips in Victoria, it’s time to start your booking today! 

To learn more about eco-friendly road trips around other states in Australia, check our our Eco-Friendly Road Trips Around Australia article.