There’s a particular kind of quiet that settles over a car when everyone in it is actually enjoying the drive. No bickering over the aircon, no “are we there yet” on loop, just the hum of the tyres and someone humming along to a song from the front seat. That’s the trip I’m chasing this long weekend, and I’ve picked Victoria’s Great Ocean Road and the Otways hinterland to chase it in.
Living in Melbourne means this is the road trip that’s always within reach, yet somehow always gets postponed. A long weekend is the perfect excuse to finally do it properly: coastal cliffs, rainforest waterfalls, a working farm gate or two, and enough food stops to keep things interesting for the adults while the kids are busy with their own entertainment in the back.
Keeping the family safe on the road
Before any of the fun stuff, the basics matter. A few things you should always run through before you pull out of the driveway:
Plan around rest, not just distance. The drive from Melbourne to Apollo Bay is only a few hours, but with kids it’s smarter to treat it as a series of twenty minute legs with proper stops, rather than one long haul. Lorne, Kennett River and Apollo Bay all make natural breaks.
Check the road conditions, especially through the Otways. The Great Ocean Road hugs cliff edges and winds through dense forest, so it pays to check for closures or fallen debris after recent weather before setting off.
Fit anyone under 4’9″ with the right car seat or booster, every time, no exceptions. It sounds obvious, but on a long trip it’s tempting to loosen the rules for comfort. Don’t.
Keep a physical first aid kit and phone charger in the car, since coastal signal drops out in patches along this stretch.
Reduce driver distraction wherever possible. This is where the right gear actually earns its keep, not just for entertainment but for safety. A properly mounted screen for navigation means the driver isn’t fumbling with a phone propped against the dash. Try using the Laser 10″ Portable CarPlay Touchscreen for exactly this reason. It mounts cleanly to the windscreen or dash, runs off the car’s 12V supply, and puts maps, calls and music on one hands free 10.26 inch display, so the driver’s eyes stay where they should.
Entertained on the drive
This is where most family road trips either hold together or fall apart. A good approach has always been layered entertainment, because different ages and different moods need different tools.
For the littlest ones who get overstimulated easily, the Laser Portable DVD Player has become a genuine sanity saver. No ads, no algorithm suggesting the next thing, just their favourite movie on loop from a DVD or USB drive. Paired with the Laser Wired On Ear Headphones, the back seat goes quiet while the movie plays, which frankly might be the single best trade made as a parent.
For the slightly older kids, the Laser Handheld Retro Console with its 50 preloaded games has turned “how much longer” into “just one more level.” It’s small enough to live in a door pocket and charges fast enough to top up during a lunch stop.
And when everyone needs a reset, whether that’s a servo stop or just a change of pace mid drive, the Laser Karaoke Microphone comes out. It sounds like chaos on paper, and it is, but it’s the good kind. Bluetooth connected, its own built in speaker, and somehow it turns a tired car full of kids into a very off key but very happy one.
After the drive: the adventure that lies ahead
Once you roll into the Otways region, the entertainment shifts from screens to the outdoors, which is really the whole point of the trip.
Kennett River is where we start, mostly because the wild koalas hanging in the trees along Grey River Road are a guaranteed win with kids. This is also where the Laser Mini Digital Camera for Kids comes into its own. Handing a child their own compact, rechargeable camera turns them from passive tourists into active documentarians of the trip, and the photos they take of a koala mid yawn are somehow always better than the ones I take.
Apollo Bay is your base for the weekend, close enough to the Otway rainforest for a family friendly walk to Maits Rest, a boardwalk loop through ancient myrtle beech and towering eucalypts that’s flat enough for little legs and short enough not to test anyone’s patience.
For the food lovers in the group, the Otway Harvest Trail links up small producers along the coast, and a stop at a local dairy or berry farm makes for a proper afternoon snack rather than another servo pie. It fits the kind of story driven, ingredient led travel I always gravitate towards, where the meal is as much a part of the memory as the view.
If the weather holds, Erskine Falls just outside Lorne is worth the short detour on the way home, a genuinely dramatic waterfall reached by an easy set of stairs.
Distance: Melbourne to Apollo Bay is roughly 190km via the Great Ocean Road, around 3.5 hours with no stops, longer with them (and there should be stops).
Best time to go: Shoulder season, spring or early autumn, avoids peak holiday traffic on the coast road while keeping the weather mild enough for waterfall walks and beach stops.
Where to stay: Apollo Bay has a good spread of family friendly cabins and holiday parks within walking distance of the beach.
Packing checklist for the drive:
- Car seats and boosters, fitted and checked
- First aid kit and phone charger
- Laser 10″ CarPlay screen for navigation and hands free calls
- Laser Portable DVD Player and headphones for the youngest
- Laser Handheld Retro Console for the older kids
- Laser Mini Digital Camera so they can capture their own version of the trip
- Laser Karaoke Microphone for rest stop resets
Road conditions: Check VicRoads or the RACV site for any closures along the Great Ocean Road before departing, particularly after storms.
There’s something satisfying about a trip that asks so little logistically and gives back so much, a few hours in the car, a coastline that never quite stops being impressive, and a car full of kids who arrived entertained rather than exhausted. That’s the whole idea behind this one.
