canberra to melbourne car

Driving Canberra to Melbourne is a straightforward Hume Highway run of roughly 660 km, usually 7–8 hours with a coffee stop or three.

Stick to the M31/Hume and you’ll avoid tolls; only if you duck into inner Melbourne via CityLink will the e‑tag brigade sting you.

At a sensible cruise, expect about 7.5 L/100 km in a modern petrol car—so roughly 50 L for the trip, or around A$100 if fuel is about A$2/L.

Speed limits top out at 110 km/h, roadworks do pop up, and the constabulary adore speed cameras, so play nice.

If you fancy scenery, detour via the Alpine Way or the Great Alpine Road, but budget extra hours and a few more servo snacks.

Pack water, download maps (coverage fades), and remember: the Hume is long, straight and honest—like a country pub meal, but with fewer chips.