Apollo campervan hire Great Ocean Road: sleep beside the bends, not in a tour bus

Yes, you can technically drive Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles and back in a day. You can also eat a meat pie over your lap at a servo and call it fine dining. For an Apollo campervan Great Ocean Road trip, 3 nights is the sensible minimum; 5 to 6 nights lets you stop before your passenger starts reading the map in a hostile tone.

The classic self-drive run from Melbourne to Torquay, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and Port Fairy is about 385 km one-way if you include the scenic coast. Return inland via Colac or the Princes Highway and the full loop lands around 670 to 760 km depending on detours.

• 2 nights: rushed, but possible if you only care about Torquay, Apollo Bay and the Apostles.
• 3-4 nights: best for first-timers in a campervan.
• 5-6 nights: better for Otway waterfalls, beach camps and grey-nomad pacing.
• Do: book powered sites early from December to late January.
• Don't: assume you can sleep in any beach car park; councils patrol the busy towns.

The Great Ocean Road is sealed from Torquay to Allansford, so you don't need 4WD. That's the good news. The other news: between Lorne and Apollo Bay it twists like a dropped garden hose, with cliff edges, cyclists, tourist cars braking for koalas, and the occasional delivery truck using more lane than you'd personally prefer.

Apollo motorhome Great Ocean Road driving is about patience, not horsepower. Allow 2 hours for the 92 km Torquay to Apollo Bay leg if you stop in Lorne, more if the weather is feral. In a larger motorhome, pull over at signed bays and let locals pass; they know every bend and you don't.

• Road surface: sealed main route; side roads into the Otways may be narrow, steep or unsealed.
• Rental caution: check your hire conditions before taking forest tracks to places like Blanket Bay or remote Otway camps.
• Height: watch low branches in older caravan parks and picnic areas; many vans sit around 2.7-3.2 m high.
• Do: use low gear on Otway descents to save brakes.
• Don't: park across standard car bays at lookouts; use long-vehicle spaces where signed.

This is not the Nullarbor, where the horizon offers 40 different ways to be alone. The Great Ocean Road is popular, regulated and busy, especially from Christmas through Easter. Most towns restrict overnight sleeping outside caravan parks or approved campgrounds, and fines commonly sit in the roughly $100-$300 range depending on the council and offence.

For your first Apollo campervan hire Great Ocean Road night, Torquay or Anglesea is easy: short drive from Melbourne, proper amenities, powered sites and shops nearby. After that, Apollo Bay, Princetown, Port Campbell and Port Fairy make useful van-sized stepping stones.

• Powered sites: best after a hot day when you want air-con, charging and a proper shower.
• Unpowered sites: fine for 1-2 nights if your battery, fridge and water use are sensible.
• Free camping: limited near the coast; only use signed/legal sites and obey stay limits.
• National parks: book where required, use designated sites only, and take rubbish out.
• Do: arrive before dark; reversing a long van by torchlight is character-building in the worst way.

Fuel is easy by outback standards — you're not crossing the Tanami — but don't let the short distances make you lazy. A campervan may use around 12-14 L/100 km; a larger motorhome can sit closer to 14-18 L/100 km once loaded with water, food and two camp chairs you swear you'll use.

Fill in Melbourne, Geelong, Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell, Warrnambool or Port Fairy. Prices can jump in smaller towns and on weekends, so topping up at half a tank is boring but clever. Water fills and dump points are commonly found at visitor centres, caravan parks and council facilities; check current signage because access can change after works or peak-season crowding.

• Longest normal coastal gap: often under 100 km between fuel stops, but don't push it late evening.
• Fresh water: refill every 1-2 days if showering aboard.
• Toilet cassette: dump only at marked dump points, never in public toilets or bushland.
• LPG swap/refill: larger towns and some servos handle it; don't wait until dinner is half-cooked.
• Do: carry a 10-15 m drinking-water hose if supplied with your van and keep it separate from the sullage hose.

The road itself is the main attraction, but campervan timing matters. Stop too often and you'll reach camp in the dark; stop too little and you've basically hired a moving lounge room to stare out of.

Torquay gives you surf culture and supermarket stocking. Lorne is a good lunch-and-leg-stretch stop, though parking a longer motorhome in peak summer can feel like trying to dock a ferry at a bottle-o. Apollo Bay works as the natural midpoint, while the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and Gibson Steps are best early or late when the bus crowds thin.

• Bells Beach: sealed access, good for a quick look; parking can fill on surf-event days.
• Teddy's Lookout, Lorne: steep approach but sealed; take care in larger vehicles.
• Maits Rest: easy rainforest walk near Apollo Bay, usually manageable for van parking.
• Twelve Apostles: large visitor car park with longer bays; allow wind and sudden rain.
• Do: keep a jumper handy even in summer; coastal wind can make 19°C feel like punishment.