Western Australia · Attraction
Great Ocean Drive
Forty kilometres of coastal drama
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
The Great Ocean Drive is a 40-kilometre circular route that loops west and south from central Esperance, hugging a coastline of white-sand beaches, granite headlands, hidden rock pools and open ocean lookouts. It is one of the most scenic coastal drives in Australia and can be completed in under an hour by car, though most visitors stop repeatedly along the way.
The route begins in town along the Esplanade and heads west, passing West Beach, Blue Haven Beach and Salmon Beach before reaching Observatory Point, where elevated views take in the full sweep of Esperance Bay. Further along, Twilight Cove offers calm water for swimming and a granite island accessible by sandbar, while Nine Mile and Ten Mile Lagoons are popular for snorkelling.
At Eleven Mile Beach the drive turns inland, passing the Pink Lake reserve before looping back into Esperance on the Pink Lake Road. A dedicated walking and cycling path follows the coastal section from the town foreshore all the way to Twilight Cove, covering roughly 10 kilometres one way.
Between June and October, southern right and humpback whales are often spotted from the clifftop lookouts, sometimes only a hundred metres offshore. Dolphins are a year-round presence in the bay, and the beaches along the route are generally uncrowded even in the summer peak season.
Scenic views
Lookouts near Great Ocean Drive.
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