As a country so geographically vast, it’s fortunate that Australia is home to its fair share of world-class road trips. From scenic coastal jaunts along spectacular floating bridges to awe-inspiring drives through the desert, our home state of NSW boasts a very impressive range of road trip routes. And while the long-held assumption is that road trip meals means pies and Maccas, new data has shone a spotlight on the excellent foodie offerings along some of the country’s most popular drives.
To determine the best road trips for food lovers across Australia, car insurance company ROLLiN’ analysed Australia’s most popular car journeys, and ranked them all based on food-related factors including number of stops, quality of stops and the customer ratings at each human-refuelling station along the way.
According to the data, NSW is home to some of the very best road trips for food lovers, with the ‘Legendary Pacific Coast’ road trip (the journey from Sydney to Brisbane) taking the top spot, the Grand Pacific Drive coming in fifth place and the coastal drive from Sydney to Melbourne ranking sixth.
First up, let’s talk about the winner. Spanning 1,000 km from Sydney to Brisbane, the ‘Legendary Pacific Coast’ road trip scored 76.9 out of 100 in the total foodie trip score – with 658 total food stops, 6.4 food stops every 10 kilometres, and 116,420 Instagram posts. The route weaves through the Hunter Valley (passing some of Australia’s best wineries), past the iconic dunes of Port Stephens, then up the coast past the foodie meccas of Yamba and Byron Bay.
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The next NSW route to make the list was the Grand Pacific Drive, which starts in the Royal National Park, crosses the stunning Sea Cliff Bridge and continues through Wollongong, Shellharbour and Kiama all the way to Shoalhaven, for a total length of 140 kilometres. Our top picks along this particular route include Rosie's in Coledale for on-point fish and chips, and The Milton Hotel for a top-tier pub feed and Milk Haus for a gorgeous farm-to-table lunch.
RECOMMENDED READ: Here’s our guide to the ultimate South Coast NSW road trip
According to the data, the popular Sydney to Melbourne coastal drive is the sixth-best in the country, with a ‘total foodie road trip score’ of 63.1 out of 100. The 1,050-kilometre drive (often called the Grand Pacific Drive or the Sapphire Coast route) features 654 food stops, with an average of 6.2 food stops per kilometre. With so many city dwellers tackling this journey every year, the review numbers are through the roof – with 370,973 total user ratings of the foodie stops along the way. To make the most of the journey’s abundant foodie offering, we’d recommend splitting up the journey over a few days – Bannisters by the Sea makes for an excellent food-forward overnight stay a few hours into the journey.
Want more foodie road trip inspo? These are the best road trips in Australia for food lovers
- Legendary Pacific Coast (NSW-QLD)
- Epicurean Way (South Australia)
- Great Barrier Reef Drive (QLD)
- Cape to Cape (WA)
- Grand Pacific Drive (NSW)
- Coastal Sydney to Melbourne (NSW to VIC)
- Great Ocean Road (VIC)
- Tasmania’s Southern Edge (Tasmania)
- The Great Alpine Road (VIC)
- Great Beach Drive (QLD)
You can check out the full study (and plan your next road trip accordingly) here.
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