Fastest driving route from Canberra to Brisbane

Coast road is fine to Coffs, but sucks from there to Brisbane – at least up until you hit the Gold Coast. My favourite is the New England (starting up through Cowra, Wellington) but avoid Dubbo which can get a bit clogged by slicing off just after Wellington on dirt roads through to Dunedoo – it’s signposted (kind of).

Permanent Visitor said :

Do you go via Newcastle and then Singletone, or the Putty Rd, or otherwise? I guess I’ll try the New England Hwy, but wondering what is the quickest way to get onto it…?

Via Newcastle and Singo, although they had some roadworks on the F3 in October, don’t know if they’re finished yet.

james270 said :

Newell Hwy has just had its speed limit dropped from 110 to 100K/h. The conspiracy theorist in me suggests that there may well be more than the usual ammount of police patrolling the Newell at the moment:)

OH NO! They didn’t did they? How disappointing. Another attempt to blame speed. I so hope that there are more accidents (no injuries of coure) on that road to prove that the RTA is a bunch of public service beauracratic morons.

To answer the post, the fastest way isn’t necessarily the shortest.

I personally would go inland personally (although 100km/h? eerk to the RTA). It is probably longer but faster given limited towns and speed changes.

For the coastal route, the M7 doesn’t completely bypass Sydney, there is still 8km of Pennant Hills Road to traverse and during off-peak it takes the same time to take the old Cumberland Hwy. You also have a significant amount of roadworks and during holiday season the RTA temporarily close overtaking lanes on single-carriageway parts of the Pacific Hwy.

If you were to use the New England Hwy route, I would go through Goulburn, Taralga, Bathurst (Kelso), Ilford, Bylong, Denman, Scone. Some dirt (about 60km I think) but basically straight up through the ranges with about 30km of winding roads here and there. Thunderbolts Way if you decide to go coastal to Karuah is 80km shorter than the New England to Uralla but logging trucks a plenty. Putty Road has more than 50km of nasty winding road south of Singleton. Need to plan for that if you go that way.

MrPC said :

Consider Metroad 9 through Sydney (or the M7) and go via Windsor straight up the back route to Singelton, then the New England Highway from there.

Is that using Putty Rd? And which Hwy is quickest to use to get to the Putty? The M2, or 61 from Colebee, or the M9 at Campbelltown?

neanderthalsis said :

I do the Canberra to Bris run 3 or 4 times a year, the latest being in October. The New England Hwy is fastest and has the least traffic (once you clear sydney). It averages out at a 14 hr run. I have done the coast road often enough, too much traffic, poor road conditions on parts of the pacific and I have done the western inland route through Dubbo, lots of heavy vehicles carting cattle, wheat etc. They’re all around the 1250km mark and easy enough to do in one day if you share the driving (or are a long distance driving machine with pure caffeine pulsing through your veins)

Do you go via Newcastle and then Singletone, or the Putty Rd, or otherwise? I guess I’ll try the New England Hwy, but wondering what is the quickest way to get onto it…?

Consider Metroad 9 through Sydney (or the M7) and go via Windsor straight up the back route to Singelton, then the New England Highway from there.

We go to visit rels at Ballina once every year or two. If you want to take your time and stay over on the way, there are some great bits of driving roads along the way.

Earlier this year we decided to take the New England but wanted to avoid Sydney, so turned left at Campbelltown, through Penrith, up to Windsor then along the best bit of twisty, mountain road I have had the pleasure to drive on, the Putty Road up to Singleton.
Then again at Armidale, turned left and headed towards Dorrigo and Belligen but kept on that road (another twisty route with great mountain range views) all the way to Grafton.

Definitely not boring and you get to see some parts of our great country the masses don’t see.

fnaah said :

Not bad sloppery! Ex-wifey and I did it in 13 in our 200SX. Had some issues with enormous swarms of grass parrots near Cowra, after that it was a pretty smooth cruise.

Cheers. We had one of those trips where everything seems to go right. Nice new large car, bugger all traffic, clear day, no cops to be seen. It’s surprising how you can eat up the distance with the cruise set on 120.

Since moving to Brisbane ~4 years ago I have done either the Pacific Highway route, or inland via Wellington, Tamworth, Stanthorpe etc… Done the drive more times than I care to remember. Latest trip was in November, 14 hours on the dot from Central Brisbane to Kambah, my spiritual home, in one day. One the way hone it was the inland route, and closer to 16 thanks to a heap of roadworks. As a guide, during school holidays, avoid the Pacific highay like the plague (one year they closed all the overtaking lanes for the summer holidays) and take one of the inland routes. Any other time the Pacific is fine, as long as you don’t hid Sydney in peak hour.

I have always taken the Newell Hwy through Cowra, Dubbo, Moree, then the Cunningham Hwy from Goondiwindi to Warwick and on to Brissy. I’ve found this the fastest inland route, managing it in around 14.5 hrs (I drive straight through, without any overnighters – thank God for Red Bull!). I’ve driven this route about a dozen times from 2005, but haven’t taken the coastal route as I’ve always wanted to avoid Sydney.

I note that Google Maps says that my route takes 16 hrs 21 mins, which makes me wonder how accurate their times are. They state the Pacific Hwy route takes about 15 hrs 39 mins.

If anyone has an approximate time for the Pacific Hwy route I would to hear from you. If there are no or only minimal roadworks then it may well be faster than the inland route nowadays…?

there is lots of construction north of newcastle on the pacific highway which means slowing to 80kms/h for a good chunk all the way to coffs (we went there in july) The M7 makes a huge difference to the trip, not having to go through sydney but the F3 is still crazy from sydney-newcastle.

We are also driving to gold coast in january and would be interested in a comparison.

Sister, hubby and two young kids did the trip from Brisbane to Canberra and back again just last week. Both trips were coastal, going and return trips were over nighters at coffs and used motorways through Sydney. They commented on how surprisingly easy it was considering the young’uns in the back. No mention of major delays or road works so assume there were very little or none.

Double demerits kick in this Friday, too, I think.

I’d say the fastest route is to drive to the airport. Job done.

If you do go via Sydney make sure you time your trip well. Best to avoid the F3 around peak hour, Friday evenings and mornings on public holidays if going north and afternoon if going south. That can save you lots of time in bumper to bumper traffic.

We always go the Boorowa/Cowra/Molong/Dubbo/Narrabri/Goondiwindi/Warwick route, usually at night. Look for cops this side of Cowra on that long straight good piece of road with the 100 kph limit, otherwise they are nowhere to be seen.

Once between Moree and Narrabri in daylight at 130+ kph, an oncoming copper waved at me to slow down, and kept driving.

Went the Pacific Hwy a couple of years ago, and even with the M7 it was a little longer. Door to door N Canberra to N Brisbane – a tick over 15 hours.

I do the Canberra to Bris run 3 or 4 times a year, the latest being in October. The New England Hwy is fastest and has the least traffic (once you clear sydney). It averages out at a 14 hr run. I have done the coast road often enough, too much traffic, poor road conditions on parts of the pacific and I have done the western inland route through Dubbo, lots of heavy vehicles carting cattle, wheat etc. They’re all around the 1250km mark and easy enough to do in one day if you share the driving (or are a long distance driving machine with pure caffeine pulsing through your veins)

Not bad sloppery! Ex-wifey and I did it in 13 in our 200SX. Had some issues with enormous swarms of grass parrots near Cowra, after that it was a pretty smooth cruise.

Newell Hwy has just had its speed limit dropped from 110 to 100K/h. The conspiracy theorist in me suggests that there may well be more than the usual ammount of police patrolling the Newell at the moment:)

The inland route is tops, especially during the day. But just realise you may encounter a few long-haul trucks if you drive at night, and a few roos at dusk. Otherwise, it’s a great drive and loads faster and easier than the Pacific Highway.

This one.

(Sorry, no meaningful contribution here.)

Google’s time estimator lies.

Barton – Lachlan Valley Way – Mitchell – Newell – Gore – Warrego (ie Canberra – Cowra – Molong – Dubbo – Gilgandra – Coonabarabran – Narrabri – Moree – Goondiwindi – Millmerran \Warwick – Toowoomba – Brisbane) is a twice yearly trip for me (hooray for regional friends and family), it normally takes about 15hrs through if you make minimal stops and obey speed limits, maybe 12 if someone were to risk a police-free speedrun on what are mostly straight flat roads.
Otherwise, take it slow, take in some small country towns, maybe overnight at Moree.

I did a road trip to Brisbane back in June… I went up via the Pacific Highway and back via the New England HIghway. I recommend neither. The Pacific Highway is whole lot of roadworks and the New England is one lane and boring as all hell most of the way.

The quickest way that I know of is to go through Sydney, get on to the Pacific Highway and then turn off just after Raymond Terrace and go through Stroud, Gloucester, Nowendoc, Walcha, Uralla to Armidale along The Bucketts Way and then use the New England from there.

The Bucketts Way is a lot better now that they have surfaced it and the scenery is very good.

We did Brisbane to Canberra in about 14 hours going that way and only stopping for fuel… I strongly recommend not driving to Brisbane and back in one weekend though. It sucks. Take your time and enjoy yourself.

Did it 6 years ago up the Newell Hwy in 12 hours neat. Once you get past Dubbo, it’s just straight and fairly flat, with a few towns. Watch out for cops, though.

We did the coast route – via sydney, lunch at Newcastle, dinner & overnight stay at Port Macquarie and then onto Brisbane the next day. We did this with a toddler and I have to say how surprised I was that we actually all had a really lovely trip. Hubby is not much of a driver, but the coast at least has some scenic views that kept him alert and interested.

That said, we went during school (not holidays) so I daresay the traffic would have been much lighter than it would be now.

Yass Harden Young Forbes and Newell Highway with a 110kph limit and not too many trucks the rest of the way. Set the cruise control to the legal limit and relax… Roos and emus (esp through the Pillaga make night driving not so relaxed.)

Overnight in Coonabarabran (or camping in the beautiful Warrumbungles) with a night visit to the private telescope just out of town for some great star gazing that you’ll never get here.

Or if you are further along then camping or hire a cabin up in the Mt Kaputar mountains just east of Narrabri – the rock is brilliant and up top there are actually snowgums and you can see 11% of NSW in 360 degrees views.

Through to Gundi, then depending on time/sightseeing constraints, either via Warwick/Stanthorpe (watch the police) or Pittsworth/Toowoomba.

I enjoy the coast route now and then but there are so many major roadwork sections still that it is very slow – especially near Kempsey and especially at Christmas it’s a dice with one-a-year drivers and death. But if you are after a beach holiday, Flynns Beach Resort at Port Macquarie is on my list for a few days stop over.

Enjoy the break and take it easy on the drive.

Which inland route are you talking about? You could go via Richmond, Singleton and Armidale; or via Cowra, Bathurst, Mudgee and Armidale; or via Cowra, Dubbo, Narrabri and Tenterfield. I can’t offer any wisdom on their respective efficiencies, but I’d especially like to know about the Newell Hwy option, which couldn’t possibly be the quickest route, but is one I’ve always wanted to use…

We actually made better time going far west (i.e., up the Newell Highway) than the New England route – fewer towns, probably. This was discovered when all the border crossings bar St George were flooded, New Years 08. The Pacific Motorway around Gosford’s a disaster (at least, it was this time last year, and NSW don’t exactly have any money, or credibility to borrow it for road building), and dodging Sydney and the associated traffic is a) slow, and b) an enormous PITA.

I find Google Maps to be pretty accurate with it’s time — and it says the Pacific Highway is the fastest, at 15hrs, 28 mins from my place in Kingston. New England Highway and then Newell highway for times:
http://img.skitch.com/20091215-1mkwgcm1gw3cmdcswcpxnr4jf9.png

The Newell Highway

Google Maps says to go via Sydney and up the coast, so I’ll share my experience with the SydneySurfers Paradise part.

Coming back from a conference on the Gold Coast in August I rode my motorbike from Surfers to Mortdale in Sydney in about 14 hours, covering 980km. Stopped only for fuel and food. Map link here.

The home stretch from Singleton to Mortdale sapped my will to live.

I took the inland route because I’d been told that the Pacific Hwy roadworks in progress were ghastly and extensive. I certainly saw enough of them between Surfers and Grafton. It sucked.

The trip up there was longer but far more pleasant. Offtopic here though because I spent two days on it and went via Parkes and Coonabarrabran

i have always driven to Coffs using the Pacific Hwy and it gets faster every year. Now the Western Sydney orbital and the freeway north of newcastle is finished it’s shaved a good couple of hours off traveling.