Britz campervan hire Great Ocean Road: the self-drive way

The sensible move is to collect the van, stock it properly, then make your first night Geelong, Torquay or Anglesea rather than charging straight into the cliff road at dusk. Melbourne to Torquay is about 105 km and usually 1 hr 30 min to 2 hr, depending on city traffic and how long you spend learning which cupboard the frying pan lives in.

Do the boring jobs early: groceries, drinking water, LPG, phone charging, and a bottle-o stop if that is your style. The coast gets busy from Christmas to late January, Easter, long weekends and school holidays; powered sites can vanish faster than a sausage at a grey-nomad happy hour.

• Do: aim for a first-night powered site if you are new to the van — plug in, test the fridge, top up water, relax.
• Do: fill fuel around Melbourne, Geelong or Torquay; prices and hours are generally better than tiny coastal servos.
• Don't: pick up late and drive the Lorne to Apollo Bay bends in the dark, in rain, with tired kids and a reversing camera you have not trusted yet.

The famous section is sealed, scenic and slower than the map suggests. The B100 between Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay and Port Campbell is not 4WD country; it is 2WD-friendly bitumen with bends, short pull-outs, cyclists, tourist buses, cliff drops and the odd impatient ute appearing in the mirror.

A britz motorhome Great Ocean Road run is perfectly doable, but drive it like a coastal road, not a freeway. Expect average moving speeds of 50-70 km/h on the twistier bits. You will see B-doubles and timber trucks inland around Colac, Camperdown and the Princes Highway, but this is not road-train country; still, give heavy vehicles room and do not park with your tail hanging into traffic.

• Vehicle height: most campervans and motorhomes sit around 2.7-3.4 m; watch low branches in older caravan parks and picnic areas.
• Vehicle length: use long-vehicle bays at Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and bigger lookouts where signed.
• Do: pull into safe bays to let locals pass — it buys goodwill and lowers your blood pressure.
• Don't: trust every gravel shortcut through the Otways after rain; hire agreements often restrict unsealed roads, and clay can turn silly quickly.

The trick is not to see everything; it is to see enough without spending the whole trip hunting for parking. Torquay and Bells Beach are your surf-country warm-up. Aireys Inlet has the lighthouse and easier van-sized pauses. Lorne is good for coffee and a leg stretch, while Kennett River often delivers koalas if the crowds remember to look up instead of blocking the road.

Past Apollo Bay, the road ducks into the Otways. Maits Rest is a short rainforest walk that suits most travellers, and Cape Otway adds lighthouse history plus a fair chance of wildlife. Then comes the limestone run: Gibson Steps, Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, Port Campbell and the Bay of Islands. The Britz campervan Great Ocean Road sweet spot is two nights before Port Campbell and one night after, so you are not doing the Apostles in the midday bus swarm.

• Best early stop: Bells Beach or Point Addis, but check signage and do not overnight in day-use car parks.
• Best wet-weather stop: Maits Rest rainforest boardwalk; bring a rain jacket, not heroic footwear.
• Best sunset base: Port Campbell or Princetown, close enough to return to Twelve Apostles after the crowds thin.
• Don't: feed parrots, koalas, rosellas or anything else with eyes. It is bad for them and usually illegal.

Along this coast, camping rules are patchy by council area, national park and reserve. In plain English: you cannot just sleep in any beach car park because the view is a cracker. Holiday parks give you showers, laundry, dump access and powered sites; national park and reserve campgrounds are usually simpler, often unpowered, and may require online booking.

Typical powered holiday park sites often land around $45-$90 a night in peak periods, less outside holidays, while basic unpowered bush-style sites can be cheaper. Prices change, so treat that as a planning range, not a promise. If your van is not fully self-contained, prioritise sites with toilets and obey local signs; fines for illegal camping can run into the hundreds.

• Powered comfort: Torquay, Anglesea, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and Warrnambool have proper holiday park options.
• Unpowered atmosphere: Johanna Beach and some Otways campgrounds feel wilder, with fewer comforts.
• Free or low-cost: some inland reserves and forest camps exist, but check current access, fire bans and whether your rental allows the approach road.
• Don't: run generators late, dump grey water on the ground, or assume a public toilet means camping is allowed.

This is not the Nullarbor, but do not get cocky. Main-route fuel gaps are generally manageable — often 30-80 km between towns — yet small servos can close earlier than you expect, especially outside summer. Fill at Geelong or Torquay, top up at Apollo Bay if needed, and relax again at Port Campbell or Warrnambool.

Dump points and potable water are the bits new self-drivers forget until the cassette light starts blinking like a bad decision. Public dump points are commonly found around larger centres such as Geelong/Torquay, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and Warrnambool, but access can change with works, locked gates or council rules. Holiday parks are the simplest solution if you are doing every second night powered.

• Water: refill from marked potable taps only; not every beach tap is drinking water.
• LPG: swap or refill options are easiest in Geelong, Torquay, Apollo Bay and Warrnambool; do not leave it until a tiny hamlet at 6 pm.
• Weather: summer can push 35°C inland, while winter days may sit around 8-15°C with sideways rain.
• Fire season: Total Fire Ban days change what you can cook with outside; check VicEmergency before heading into forested areas.

You can technically drive Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles and back in a long day, but that is sightseeing by punishment. For a self-drive campervan trip, 4 days is the minimum that still feels like a holiday. Five or six days lets you add Cape Otway, Warrnambool, Port Fairy or an inland return through volcanic plains without arriving at camp in the dark every night.

If you are comparing britz campervan hire great ocean road options, match the van to your camping style: a compact camper is easier in beach-town parking, while a larger motorhome gives more comfort when the weather turns feral. Once your dates are firm, check availability online early for summer, Easter and public holiday periods.

• 3 days: rushed, but possible if you sleep near Apollo Bay and Port Campbell.
• 4 days: workable for Torquay, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and Warrnambool.
• 5-6 days: best balance for walks, weather delays, dump stops and a proper morning coffee.
• 7+ days: add the Grampians, Ballarat or a slower Big Lap-style wander west.