The Great Ocean Road in an EV: A Road Trip Guide
There's a moment on the Great Ocean Road that sells people on electric cars for good. You ease off for a lookout above the Twelve Apostles, the air-con hums softly, and you notice the only sound left is the Southern Ocean below — no engine, no vibration, just the coast. This is the drive that turns EV-curious into EV-converted, and it's easier to do than you'd think.
The Great Ocean Road runs roughly 240 km along Victoria's southwest coast, from the surf town of Torquay to Warrnambool, taking in the Twelve Apostles, the Otway rainforest, and a string of seaside towns that were made for a slow weekend. It's one of the world's great drives — and, as it happens, one of the most EV-friendly routes in Australia. If you've been on the fence about going electric, this is the trip that makes the case for you.
Why the Great Ocean Road is the perfect first EV trip
Most people's fear of an EV road trip is range. The Great Ocean Road quietly dismantles that fear, for three reasons.
First, the quiet. A combustion engine is a constant, low-grade drone you stop noticing until it's gone. On a road that hugs cliffs above the ocean and winds through fern-filled rainforest, silence isn't a gimmick — it changes the drive. Wind the windows down and you hear the surf; put the air-con on and all that's left is a soft hum. You arrive at each lookout calmer than you left the last one.
Second, the speed. This is not a highway. Between the cliff-edge bends, the lookouts, the koala-spotting pull-overs and the town limits, your average speed rarely creeps above 80 km/h — and slow, steady driving is exactly where EVs are most efficient. The range figure that looks marginal on a freeway run stretches a long way here. You'll likely reach Apollo Bay with plenty of battery to spare.
Third, the stops make sense. Because the chargers along this route sit in the towns you'd want to stop in anyway — not out at a lonely highway servo — "charging" becomes "having a coffee at Lorne" or "a scallop pie in Apollo Bay." The car tops up while you're doing the thing you came to do.
The route, stop by stop — and where to charge
Here's how the drive unfolds from Torquay, with the charging picture at each key town as it stands in 2026. Availability changes, so always check live status before you rely on a specific charger.
| Town | ~From Torquay | Charging | Good to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| Torquay | Start | Strong — Chargefox ultra-rapid at RACV Resort, plus fast chargers in town and Evie nearby | The best place to start full. Charge over a beach walk or breakfast. |
| Lorne | ~45 km | A fast charger at the Visitor Centre, plus slower AC (bring a Type 2 cable) | Worth an hour regardless — Erskine Falls, the pier, the foreshore. |
| Apollo Bay | ~90 km | Evie DC, destination and Tesla chargers at accommodation | The natural overnight stop. Charge overnight where you sleep — public plugs here are limited and can queue. |
| Port Campbell | ~185 km | Chargers in town; the safe harbour near the Twelve Apostles | The stretch from Apollo Bay to here is the sparse part — leave Apollo Bay full. |
| Warrnambool | ~240 km | Reliable fast DC — Chargefox at Flagstaff Hill, chargers at the Breakwater and Deep Blue | The first proper fast charging west of Geelong. A great second overnight. |
Between the headline towns, the sights are the whole point: Bells Beach and the surf coast out of Torquay; the lighthouse at Aireys Inlet; the redwoods and waterfalls of the Otways; Cape Otway; and the golden light on the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge at sunrise or sunset. New public chargers are also arriving through 2026 at Anglesea, Aireys Inlet and Winchelsea as local councils invest in the route — so coverage is only getting better.
The one stretch to plan for
Being honest about the tricky bit is what makes the rest relaxing. Torquay to Apollo Bay is genuinely easy — you can often do it without charging at all. The part that needs a little thought is the western leg: Apollo Bay across Cape Otway to Port Campbell and the Twelve Apostles, where chargers thin out. The fix is simple: leave Apollo Bay with a full battery (ideally charged overnight at your accommodation), and you'll cruise the whole western stretch with room to spare.
A few other real-world things seasoned owners have learned on this road:
- Popular chargers can be single-plug. The Evie at Apollo Bay, for instance, is often one connector — so it can be occupied when you arrive. Check live availability before you commit, and have a backup in mind.
- Bring a Type 2 cable. Several destination and town chargers are AC-only and don't have a lead attached.
- Pre-condition the battery if it's a cold Otways morning — a warm battery charges noticeably faster.
- Move on at 80%. Charging slows right down past 80%, so on a busy day it's both faster for you and kinder to the queue to unplug and go.
Plugroo tip. The single most useful habit on this drive is checking a charger's live status before you head to it — is it working, is it free? Plugroo shows every network along the route in one view, with live community check-ins and price comparison, so you're never driving to a charger that turns out to be occupied or out of service. Sort your western-leg plan in the app before you leave Apollo Bay.
A relaxed two-day itinerary
You can drive Melbourne to Warrnambool in a day, but you'd miss the entire point. Two days is the sweet spot, and it turns charging into sightseeing rather than waiting.
Day 1 — Melbourne to Apollo Bay (~185 km). Start with a top-up and breakfast at Torquay's RACV Resort, then take the coast slowly: Bells Beach, the Aireys Inlet lighthouse, a walk and a coffee at Lorne, and on to Apollo Bay for the night. Dinner at the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse, and plug in at your accommodation overnight so you wake up full.
Day 2 — Apollo Bay to Warrnambool (~150 km), then home. Leave full, detour to Cape Otway and Maits Rest in the rainforest, then time the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge for the soft afternoon light. Charge and overnight in Warrnambool — the Deep Blue hot springs are the perfect reward — or loop back to Melbourne via the inland route through Colac and Geelong, where fast chargers are plentiful.
EV-curious? Try it before you buy
If you don't own an EV yet, this is the ideal trip to test-drive the whole lifestyle rather than a car park lap at a dealership. Peer-to-peer services let you rent a Tesla, Polestar or BYD for a weekend, so you can find out for yourself whether the quiet, the low running costs and the town-hopping charging rhythm suit you — before you spend a cent on ownership.
And if the drive does convert you (it usually does), the running-cost maths tends to seal it: charged at home, an EV costs roughly a fifth of what petrol does per kilometre. Our guides below cover the numbers, the range realities, and how to buy well — new or used. You can start mapping the route's chargers right now at plugroo.com.au.
Plan your Great Ocean Road charging with Plugroo
Every charger along the route in one view, live check-ins so you know it's working, and price comparison to top up for less. Built for Australia — free to download.
Key takeaways
- The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia's most EV-friendly drives — and the trip most likely to convince a hesitant buyer.
- Low average speeds (rarely above 80 km/h) make EVs very efficient here, so range anxiety is minimal.
- Chargers sit in the towns you'd stop in anyway — Torquay, Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell and Warrnambool — so topping up doubles as sightseeing.
- Torquay to Apollo Bay is easy; the western leg to Port Campbell is the sparse stretch, so leave Apollo Bay with a full battery.
- Check live charger status before you go, carry a Type 2 cable, and move on at 80% on busy days.
- Two days beats one — overnight in Apollo Bay and/or Warrnambool and let the car charge while you rest.
- Don't own an EV yet? Rent one for the weekend and try the whole thing before you buy.
Find your next charger with Plugroo
All of Australia's networks in one view, live check-ins, and a smart pick for where to charge next. Free to download.
Sources & further reading: Visit Melbourne and RACV EV road-trip itineraries; Chargefox and Evie network location data; council charging-rollout announcements for the Surf Coast and Great Ocean Road; first-hand EV road-trip write-ups of the route; Plugroo platform database. Charger locations and availability change — check live status in-app before you set off.
Last updated: June 2026 · Author: Plugroo Team