The The Pacific Coast Way is a 14-day, 1,700 km drive from Brisbane to Cairns by campervan. Any 2WD campervan is fine - it's rated easy. Best in Autumn (Mar-May) or Spring (Sep-Nov). Budget from about A$2,000 per person, plus roughly A$408 in fuel.
There are few drives that pack in as much of Australia as the Pacific Coast Way. In a fortnight behind the wheel of a campervan you’ll travel from the glassy high-rises of Brisbane to the rainforested edge of Cairns, unrolling 1,700 kilometres of the Queensland coast one golden beach at a time. It is the country’s holiday coast distilled - sand islands and coral reefs, surf towns and cane fields, koalas in the headlands and cassowaries in the ferns - strung along a single, fully sealed highway that any 2WD van can handle with ease.
Two weeks is the sweet spot. Enough time to sail the Whitsundays, wander the world’s oldest rainforest and still spend your last morning drifting over coral, without ever feeling rushed. The towns are close, the caravan parks are plentiful and well run, and the ocean is never far from your pillow.
Breakfast on the Noosa River, an afternoon on the squeaking silica of Whitehaven Beach, and a fortnight later, snorkelling the Great Barrier Reef. That’s the arc of this drive.
Why drive the Pacific Coast Way?
Because nowhere else in Australia lines up this many icons on one easy road. You can trade the surf breaks of Agnes Water for the sails of Airlie Beach, the koalas of Magnetic Island for the platypus creeks of the Atherton Tablelands, all without leaving bitumen or booking a single relocation fee. It’s the quintessential east-coast beach holiday, only with your bed, kitchen and itinerary rolling along beside you.
The freedom is the point. A campervan lets you chase the good weather north, linger an extra day when a place gets under your skin, and fall asleep to the sound of the reef-fed Coral Sea most nights of the trip.
Hire your campervan from Brisbane
From A$2,000 per person for 14 days. Compare the main operators:
Sort the essentials
The van, things to do along the way, and cover for the road - compare and lock each one in.
- 01Campervan
Hire a van from Brisbane
Book - 02Experiences
Tours & activities in Pacific Coast
Book - 03Insurance
Cover for your road trip
Book
Affiliate links - we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes the price you pay.
Day by day
1,700 km total · about 30 hours behind the wheel across 14 days.
- 1
Brisbane to Noosa
140 km · 2hRoll north out of Brisbane and let the Sunshine Coast reel you in. Break the drive at Australia Zoo, where the Irwin legacy still puts on one of the best wildlife shows in the country, then coast into stylish Noosa for your first salt-air sunset. Settle in beside the Noosa River as the pelicans come home to roost.
Highlights Australia Zoo · Noosa Main Beach · Hastings Street
Stay Noosa River Holiday Park · from A$50/nightcheck availability
- 2
Exploring Noosa
20 km · 0.5hSpend the day where the bush tumbles down to the sea. Walk the coastal track through Noosa National Park to Hell's Gates, keeping an eye on the headland pandanus for dozing koalas, then cool off in the calm of Tea Tree Bay. Book a first surf lesson on Main Beach or simply browse the boutiques on Hastings Street with a gelato in hand.
Highlights Noosa National Park · Tea Tree Bay · Hells Gates
Stay Noosa River Holiday Park · from A$50/nightcheck availability
- 3
Noosa to Hervey Bay
190 km · 2hPoint the van north to Hervey Bay, the calm-water gateway to World Heritage-listed Fraser Island. If you're travelling between July and November, this is one of the finest places on earth to watch humpback whales, and the sheltered bay makes for buttery-smooth boat trips. Stock the fridge and rest up before tomorrow's sand-island adventure.
Highlights Hervey Bay Esplanade · Urangan Pier · Whale watching
Stay Discovery Parks - Hervey Bay · from A$40/nightcheck availability
- 4
Fraser Island (K'gari)
Leave the campervan behind and join a 4WD tour onto K'gari, the world's largest sand island and a place of deep significance to the Butchulla people. Barrel along the hard-packed sand of 75 Mile Beach, sink into the astonishing blue of Lake McKenzie, and drift down the clear ribbon of Eli Creek through the rainforest. It's a full, sandy, sun-drunk day you won't forget.
Highlights 75 Mile Beach · Lake McKenzie · Eli Creek
Stay Discovery Parks - Hervey Bay · from A$40/nightcheck availability
- 5
Hervey Bay to Agnes Water & 1770
220 km · 3hTrace the coast north to the twin towns of Agnes Water and Seventeen Seventy - the last surf beaches before the tropics take over. Take a lesson on the mellow beach break, then paddle out for a sunset kayak tour where Captain Cook made his second Australian landing in 1770. The pace here is unhurried and the sky puts on a show every evening.
Highlights Agnes Water Beach · Town of 1770 · Sunset kayaking
Stay Agnes Water Beach Holidays · from A$40/nightcheck availability
- 6
Agnes Water to Airlie Beach
600 km · 7hToday is the big haul, so brew the coffee early and settle into the rhythm of the Bruce Highway as the cane fields roll by. By late afternoon you'll pull into buzzy Airlie Beach, the launch pad for the Whitsundays, where the marina bars fill up and the lagoon glows at dusk. Reward the long drive with a swim and a sundowner over the water.
Highlights Airlie Beach Lagoon · Airlie Boardwalk · Whitsunday marina
Stay BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort · from A$50/nightcheck availability
- 7
Sailing the Whitsundays
Trade wheels for a keel and sail out among the seventy-four Whitsunday Islands. Step onto Whitehaven Beach, where seven kilometres of pure silica sand squeak underfoot and the swirling tides of Hill Inlet paint the shallows turquoise and cream. Snorkel the fringing reef, then let the trade winds carry you home.
Highlights Whitehaven Beach · Hill Inlet · Great Barrier Reef snorkelling
Stay BIG4 Adventure Whitsunday Resort · from A$50/nightcheck availability
- 8
Airlie Beach to Townsville
275 km · 3.5hCruise north to Townsville, the sunny garrison city guarding the dry tropics. Hop the ferry across to Magnetic Island, where granite headlands hide quiet bays and the Forts Walk delivers wild koalas in the treetops and a big blue view over the Coral Sea. Back on the mainland, stroll The Strand as the heat softens into evening.
Highlights Magnetic Island · Forts Walk · The Strand
Stay BIG4 Townsville Gateway Holiday Park · from A$40/nightcheck availability
- 9
Townsville to Mission Beach
235 km · 3hHead into the wet tropics, where the rainforest finally reaches the reef at laid-back Mission Beach. This is prime country for the endangered southern cassowary, so drive slowly and scan the verges for the big blue-necked birds. Thrill-seekers can freefall onto the sand on a tandem skydive; everyone else can just wander the palm-fringed shore.
Highlights Mission Beach · Cassowary spotting · Beach skydiving
Stay Mission Beach Hideaway Holiday Village · from A$40/nightcheck availability
- 10
Mission Beach to Cairns
140 km · 2hA short, scenic run brings you into Cairns, the tropical capital of the far north and the end of the Pacific Coast Way. Ditch the driving and unwind by the saltwater Esplanade Lagoon, then wander the boardwalk as flying foxes stream out over the mudflats at dusk. Settle into your base for a few days of rainforest and reef.
Highlights Cairns Esplanade Lagoon · Cairns Night Markets · The Pier
Stay BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut Resort · from A$50/nightcheck availability
- 11
Daintree & Cape Tribulation
220 km · 3hDrive north into the Daintree, the oldest surviving rainforest on the planet, and cross the river by cable ferry into a green, dripping other-world. At Cape Tribulation the forest spills straight onto the beach, the one place where two World Heritage areas meet. Keep your eyes peeled for cassowaries and take a guided walk to feel just how ancient this place is.
Highlights Daintree Rainforest · Cape Tribulation · Mossman Gorge
Stay BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut Resort · from A$50/nightcheck availability
- 12
Atherton Tablelands
200 km · 3hClimb the range into the cool, green Atherton Tablelands and chase the waterfall circuit. Swim beneath the perfect curtain of Millaa Millaa Falls, seek out the platypus at Yungaburra's dawn viewing platform, and picnic among the volcanic crater lakes. It's a refreshing change of altitude and pace from the coastal heat.
Highlights Millaa Millaa Falls · Lake Eacham · Curtain Fig Tree
Stay BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut Resort · from A$50/nightcheck availability
- 13
Kuranda by rail & Skyrail
60 km · 1hMake a loop into the hills to the village of Kuranda, riding up on the historic Scenic Railway as it winds past Barron Falls and through hand-cut tunnels. Float back down over the rainforest canopy on the Skyrail cableway, stepping off at the boardwalks to peer into the treetops. Between them, browse the craft markets and cuddle up to the local wildlife.
Highlights Kuranda Scenic Railway · Skyrail Rainforest Cableway · Barron Falls
Stay BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut Resort · from A$50/nightcheck availability
- 14
Great Barrier Reef finale
Finish the trip the only way you should - out on the Great Barrier Reef. Cruise to the outer pontoons or the Frankland Islands, pull on a mask and drop into a swirling world of coral gardens, giant clams and drifting turtles. It's a fitting last chapter to a fortnight that began in a city and ended at the edge of a living wonder of the world.
Highlights Outer Great Barrier Reef · Snorkelling & diving · Green Island
Stay BIG4 Ingenia Holidays Cairns Coconut Resort · from A$50/nightcheck availability