The best road trips to take from Brisbane

Brisbane might just be the perfect Australian city from which to kick off a road trip. The Queensland capital is buttressed by rainforest-covered mountains in the west, and lies close to the wide, sandy beaches of the Gold Coast in the south and the Sunshine Coast in the north. It also marks the starting point of the Bruce Highway, which runs a whopping 1,679km all the way up to Cairns, in the state’s far north. 

Given our thirst for travel, visiting just one destination on holiday doesn’t always cut it anymore. So why not rent a Hertz car with us and earn some miles while you put some miles on it? Here are five of the best road trips to take from Brisbane, ranging from drives lasting a few hours to week-long (or longer) odysseys.

Mount Glorious

Brisbane’s suburbs sprawl in every direction except directly west, where from the CBD you can get onto Waterworks Road and be in the bush in no more than 20 minutes. This lovely ascent into the mountains wends through eucalypt woodlands and rainforests, before passing through the sleepy settlement of Mount Nebo and onto Mount Glorious .  

Stop at the winsome Maiala Day Use Area for a picnic (and a terrific rainforest hike, if you’ve packed your sneakers), before driving another 15 minutes to the far side of the mountain to take in the stunning views at Wivenhoe Lookout. Ask any local in the know and they’ll tell you this route is one of the best Brisbane road trips around. 

Drive time: half day return 

Springbrook National Park

Avoid the busy M1 Brisbane-Gold Coast highway and instead potter southwest out of the city on Beaudesert Road before joining the Mount Lindesay Highway, which traverses undulating bush and farmland. 

Make a pit stop at Tamborine Mountain (named after the Indigenous finger lime tree, not the instrument) to check out its gift shops, wineries, brewpubs and delightful botanic garden, before travelling on to Springbrook National Park . This spectacular rainforest-covered plateau makes up a quarter of the World Heritage-listed Gondwana rainforests and features bush walks, waterfalls and cracking views towards the Gold Coast. 

Drive time: one day return 

Sunshine Coast Hinterland

This brilliant back route not only bypasses the traffic-clogged highway between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast, but also takes in some of southeast Queensland’s most picturesque countryside. Heading northwest out of town, travel through the farming communities of Samford and Dayboro before climbing over Mount Mee to Woodford.  

Continue across a bucolic plateau sprinkled with dairy farms from Bellthorpe to Maleny, making a stop at this achingly pretty country town to treat your passengers to a beer at the award-winning Brouhaha brewpub . Next, head further north along Route 23, with its dramatic views of the coastline, through Montville and onto Mapleton for a paddock-to-plate lunch at the Mapleton Public House . 

Drive time: one day return 

Birdsville  

Queensland’s tropical coast is so picture-perfect, it’s easy to forget about the state’s almost 933,000sqkm of the outback. But the towns out here are fascinating and full of history, and the roads leading to them are smooth and easy to navigate. 

Birdsville , in the far west near the state’s border with the Northern Territory and South Australia, is perhaps most iconic thanks to its celebrated Birdsville Hotel and access to Big Red, a 30m high sand dune that looks out across the Simpson Desert. Other highlights along the way include Toowoomba, Australia’s second largest inland city; Roma, famous for its cattle sale yards and Queen’s Arms Hotel; and Charleville, home to the Cosmos Centre, Bilby Experience and WWII Secret Base, which taps into the town’s wartime past.

Drive time: between five to seven days 

Cairns and Port Douglas  

Chasing the very best road trip from Brisbane? This might just be it. The Bruce Highway from Brisbane to Cairns is considered one of Australia’s greatest drives – not so much for the highway itself, but the places you’ll encounter along the way. Now known as the Pacific Coast Way, the 1,764km trip takes in beautiful beach locales such as Noosa, Yeppoon, Airlie Beach and Palm Cove; buzzy northern cities like Townsville and Rockhampton; and stunning landmarks such as the Great Barrier Reef and Paronella Park. 

Pacific Coast Way ends in Cairns , but it’s worth adding on the extra 65km to reach beautiful Port Douglas . And if you have a four-wheel drive, consider making time for the Great Beach Drive, which connects the Sunshine Coast with K’gari (Fraser Island), the largest sand island in the world.

Drive time: between five to eight days 

Hero image: Getty Images