🏄 Bells Beach, Easter & the Great Ocean Road — The Ultimate 2026 Campervan Road Trip

Easter 2026 is shaping up to be something special on Victoria's Surf Coast. The Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach — the iconic WSL Championship Tour event at the spiritual home of Australian surfing — runs its waiting period from 1–11 April. Easter long weekend (3–6 April) falls right in the middle of it.

You don't need to be a hardcore surf fan to love this. There's world-class surfing happening live in front of you, a festival atmosphere in Torquay, and one of Australia's greatest road trips right on the doorstep. Throw in 10+ days in a campervan and you've got the makings of a genuinely epic Easter escape.

Pick up your campervan from a Melbourne depot — and you're on the Surf Coast within an hour.

🤙 About the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach 2026

Image from ripcurl.com/au/blog/the-ultimate-guide-to-the-rip-curl-pro-bells-beach have a look for full details. 

This isn't just any surf contest. The Rip Curl Pro is the oldest professional surfing event in the world — now in its 63rd year — and it opens the 2026 WSL Championship Tour season. It also marks 50 years of professional surfing globally. Big deal.

The waiting period runs 1–11 April, meaning competition will happen on the best surf days within that window. The call is made each morning at 7.30am via the WSL and Rip Curl social channels — so keep an eye on those when you wake up.

The pre-event buzz kicks off on 31 March with a free open day at Bells Beach featuring live music from Spiderbait and Wolfmother from 4pm, plus all-day Championship Tour warm-up sessions in the Bowl. It's a great first day on the road.

• Event: Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach 2026 (WSL Championship Tour Stop 1)
• Waiting period: 1–11 April 2026
• Pre-event open day: 31 March — free entry, live music from 4pm
• Festival pass: $40 adult / $25 concession (gate entry)
• 3228 postcode residents: free entry with ID
• Torquay live screen: Rip Curl Torquay Store, 1–7 April

For the full event guide including shuttle info and side events in Torquay, visit the link above or surfingvic.com.

 

🌊 Night 1: Geelong — The Gateway Gets a Glow-Up

First night, don't rush it. Drive down from Melbourne, settle into Geelong, and get your road-trip head on. Geelong has transformed dramatically over the past 20+ years — it's not the old industrial port city most Australians remember. The waterfront is genuinely beautiful now, Little Malop Street is a serious food and cocktail destination, and there's real energy here.

👉 Read our full Geelong spotlight blog to discover why it's worth a proper stop

Campground: Geelong Holiday Park — just 7 minutes from the CBD, 20 minutes to Torquay. Powered sites, pool, great base for the Surf Coast.

🏄 Days 2–5: Torquay & Bells Beach — Stay for the Surf

Base yourself in Torquay for a few nights. This gives you maximum flexibility to be at Bells Beach when the call goes out. The 7.30am announcement dictates the day — when it's on, it's on. Drop everything and get down there.

Torquay is a proper surf town: good coffee, great food, the Australian National Surfing Museum, and the Surf World precinct. Factor in some beach time at Torquay Main Beach and Jan Juc too — you're not just watching surf, you're living the vibe.

• Attend the Rip Curl Pro — check WSL socials at 7.30am each day for the heat schedule
• Australian National Surfing Museum — Surf World complex, Torquay (surfworld.com.au)
• Torquay Main Beach — safe swimming and learner surf conditions
• Jan Juc — local favourite, rockier and less crowded
• Torquay foreshore markets — check local listings for Easter weekend dates

Campground: Torquay Foreshore Caravan Park — classic spot, right in town, walking distance to the beach and shops. Book well ahead for Easter — this one fills fast.

 

🌿 Days 5–6: Anglesea to Lorne — The Road Starts Getting Good

The Great Ocean Road officially begins at the Arch near Torquay, but the scenery really starts singing around Anglesea. Swing into Anglesea Golf Club — it's on the national park boundary and kangaroos wander the fairways freely. Worth a slow drive-through even if you don't play.

Then it's on to Lorne — one of the prettiest towns on the coast. Lorne has the Mediterranean feel you'd expect from a place that's been a Victorian holiday staple for over a century. Erskine Falls is a short drive inland and a genuinely lovely walk. Teddy's Lookout gives you sweeping coastal views with minimal effort.

• Anglesea Golf Club — kangaroos on the course (free to drive through and watch)
• Split Point Lighthouse, Aireys Inlet — scenic coastal stop
• Erskine Falls — short walk, beautiful waterfall in the Otways hinterland
• Teddy's Lookout — quick stop, big views over the gorge and coast
• Lorne foreshore walk and beach — classic holiday town atmosphere

Campground: Lorne Foreshore Caravan Park — five areas, right in town, river and ocean backdrop. Book early for Easter school holidays — one of the most popular stops on the GOR.

 

🐨 Days 6–8: Kennett River to Apollo Bay — Koala Country & Otway Rainforest

Kennett River is arguably the best spot on the Great Ocean Road to see wild koalas without even leaving your vehicle. Drive slowly up Grey River Road and look up — they're almost always there, wedged in the forks of the manna gums. Dolphins are often spotted offshore, and the campground itself is a gem.

Apollo Bay is the ideal base for the Otways. It's a proper town — good supermarket, excellent fish and chips, a brilliant Saturday foreshore market — and within striking distance of the rainforest, waterfalls and the start of the Great Ocean Walk.

• Kennett River — slow drive up Grey River Road for koalas, king parrots and kookaburras
• Kennett River Holiday Park — one of the most loved on the GOR if you want a night here
• Great Otway National Park — Cape Otway Light station, Mait's Rest rainforest boardwalk
• Otway Fly Treetop Walk — 600m canopy walkway and optional zip line (otwayfly.com.au)
• Lake Elizabeth — kayak tour for platypus sightings at dusk 🦆
• Apollo Bay Saturday Foreshore Market — local produce, crafts and fresh seafood

Campground: Marengo Family Caravan Park — 2km from Apollo Bay, beachfront, adjacent to Marengo Reef Marine Sanctuary. Dog-friendly. Right at the start of the Great Ocean Walk. Or try the Apollo Bay Recreation Reserve — right in town, under 1km to the shops, dog-friendly year-round.

 

🏛️ Days 8–9: The 12 Apostles & Shipwreck Coast

The section between Apollo Bay and Port Campbell — through the Otway hinterland and out onto the Shipwreck Coast — is the most dramatic part of the drive. Give it time. The Twelve Apostles are the headline act but they're surrounded by an extraordinary coastline: Loch Ard Gorge, the Grotto, London Arch, Bay of Islands.

Go early morning or late afternoon. Midday is crowded and the light is harsh. The Twelve Apostles are best at sunrise or sunset — and in a campervan you have the flexibility to be there first.

• The Twelve Apostles — go at sunrise or sunset for the best light and fewer people
• Loch Ard Gorge — dramatic inlet with a famous shipwreck story
• The Grotto & London Arch — easy walks, extraordinary rock formations
• Bay of Islands Coastal Park — less visited, equally stunning
• Port Campbell Discovery Walk — short, rewarding cliff-top trail

Campground: Great Ocean Road Tourist Park, Port Campbell — short walk to the beach, campfire sites, dog-friendly (Feb–Dec). Close to everything. Or try Princetown Recreation Reserve — recently upgraded, powered and unpowered, dog-friendly, and beautifully positioned near the Gellibrand River estuary.

 

⚓ Day 9–10: Warrnambool & Port Fairy — End of the GOR

Warrnambool is the unofficial end of the GOR touring route. Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve — a huge volcanic crater lake just outside town — is genuinely one of the best spots in Victoria to see emus, koalas, kangaroos and waterbirds in a single stop. Plan an hour at minimum.

Port Fairy is the jewel. A tiny National Heritage-listed fishing village with gorgeous 19th century bluestone buildings, a proper working harbour, and enough good food to keep you there longer than planned.

• Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve — volcanic crater wildlife reserve, no charge for entry (parks.vic.gov.au)
• Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village, Warrnambool — heritage shipwreck museum
• Port Fairy historic precinct — Griffin Street, Caledonian Inn, the Wharf
• Griffiths Island walk, Port Fairy — short loop, shearwater colony at dusk in season

 

🗺️ The Return: Skip the Highway — Go via the Victorian Goldfields

Here's the bit most people don't do — and should. Instead of taking the Princes Highway straight back to Melbourne, head north from Warrnambool or Port Fairy and loop back through the Victorian Goldfields. It adds roughly a day but it's genuinely another trip within the trip.

The route: Warrnambool → Hamilton → Ballarat → Daylesford → Hepburn Springs → Melbourne. Around 5–6 hours of driving but with no rush, two nights works beautifully.

⛏️ Ballarat — Gold Rush History at Its Best

Sovereign Hill Pioneer Village - a MUST visit. 

Ballarat is Australia's Goldfields capital and Sovereign Hill is the headline act — a full-scale recreation of the 1850s gold rush township where you can pan for gold, go underground in a real mine, and watch the extraordinary "Blood on the Southern Cross" sound and light show in the evenings.

• Sovereign Hill — full day experience, evening show worth booking (sovereignhill.com.au)
• Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka — the Eureka Stockade story
• Lake Wendouree — black swans, lakeside walk, art gallery nearby
• Ballarat Wildlife Park — Tasmanian devils, crocs, koalas

Campground:NRMA Ballarat Holiday Park — walking distance to Sovereign Hill, heated indoor pool, full facilities. Award-winning park.

 

🌿 Daylesford & Hepburn Springs — The Perfect Final Night

An hour north-east of Ballarat, Daylesford and Hepburn Springs are Victoria's spa country — mineral springs, artisan food, day spas, boutique stays and a seriously good café scene. It's the perfect decompression stop before driving back to Melbourne.

• Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa — soak in natural mineral springs (hepburnbathhouse.com)
• Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve — free access, taste-test the different springs
• Daylesford town centre — galleries, bookshops, excellent brunch options
• Lake Daylesford — lakeside walk, beautiful in autumn light 🍂

Campground:Daylesford Mineral Springs Caravan Park — peaceful, set among the trees, close to the springs and town. A lovely final night.

 

📅 Quick Itinerary at a Glance

• Night 1 — Geelong (Geelong Holiday Park)
• Nights 2–4 — Torquay (Torquay Foreshore Caravan Park) — Bells Beach & Rip Curl Pro
• Night 5 — Lorne (Lorne Foreshore Caravan Park)
• Nights 6–7 — Apollo Bay (Marengo Family Caravan Park or Apollo Bay Recreation Reserve)
• Night 8 — Port Campbell or Princetown (Great Ocean Road Tourist Park / Princetown Recreation Reserve)
• Night 9 — Warrnambool or Port Fairy
• Night 10 — Ballarat (NRMA Ballarat Holiday Park)
• Night 11 — Daylesford (Daylesford Mineral Springs Caravan Park)
• Day 12 — Drive back to Melbourne (~1.5 hrs), return campervan

 

💡 Practical Tips

• Book campgrounds early — Easter on the Great Ocean Road is peak season. Torquay and Lorne especially fill up fast.
• Check the WSL call every morning at 7.30am when you're in Torquay — heats are weather-dependent and can be called at short notice.
• The GOR is a slow road. Factor in more time than you think — there's always another lookout worth stopping at.
• The Ballarat loop adds roughly one full day. If you have the time, do it. It makes the trip circular rather than retracing your steps on the highway.
• April is autumn on the Surf Coast — pack layers. The weather changes fast.

 

👉 Book Your Great Ocean Road Campervan

Ready to lock in your Easter adventure? Compare campervans for pickup from Melbourne on DriveNow — filter by your dates and use the Grid view to compare prices and specs side by side.

👉 Compare campervans from Melbourne on DriveNow →

 

🌿 Responsible Travel on the Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road and the Otway National Park are precious ecosystems — and popular ones. A few things to keep in mind:

• Stay on marked trails and lookout platforms — the coastal cliffs are actively eroding.
• Leave no trace at campgrounds — pack out everything you pack in.
• Wildlife is wild. Don't feed koalas, kangaroos or any roadside animals.
• The GOR passes through Wadawurrung Country. We acknowledge the Wadawurrung People as the Traditional Custodians of this land, waters and skies, and pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.

Images supplied by Visit Victoria, Cruisin Motorhomes and S. Richardson.