Road Trip Series, Part 2: Driving an EV from Melbourne to Sydney

1 day ago

4 min read

Welcome to Drive-Electric's road trip series. We look at the three most popular road trips in Australia and recommend the journey, the vehicles and how you should prepare for each trip. Today it's Melbourne to Sydney, Australia's busiest interstate route, and its best-charged too.

The Hume Highway is Australia's busiest interstate route, and it's also the country's most thoroughly charged.

If Melbourne to Adelaide was the gentle introduction, Melbourne to Sydney is where EV road tripping stops feeling like a novelty and starts feeling completely normal. Here's the real route, real charging stops, and where to actually stop for the night.

Key Facts

Distance: approximately 872 to 880km via the Hume Highway (M31)
Total drive time: around 9 to 10 hours without stops
Recommended trip length: two days, one overnight stop
Charging stops needed: three to four, depending on your car
Terrain: gently undulating, dual carriageway motorway standard for almost the entire route, genuinely the easiest driving of the three trips in this series
Do this: overnight in Albury-Wodonga rather than pushing on to a smaller town, it's a proper twin city with plenty of accommodation and sits at a sensible point in the drive either direction.
Don't do this: rely on a single charger at any one stop without checking the app first. This is the busiest EV corridor in the country, and popular stops can occasionally have a short wait on long weekends.

A quick disclaimer before we get into it: charging networks change. Everything below reflects what's operating as of the time of publication, but always cross-check live availability in the Chargefox, Evie or NRMA app before you leave.

The Route, Day by Day

Day One: Melbourne to Albury-Wodonga (around 300km)

Your first stop out of Melbourne is Euroa, about 164km in, a genuine EV road trip institution at this point with Chargefox, Evie and Tesla Supercharger options all within a short walk of each other. From there, continue through Barnawartha before crossing into Albury-Wodonga, the twin border city that makes a genuinely excellent overnight stop, good food, plenty of accommodation, and full charging coverage to have you topped up for the morning.

Day Two: Albury-Wodonga to Sydney (around 570 to 580km)

This is the longer day, but the Hume makes it easy. Head to Tarcutta or continue on to Gundagai, one of the most important charging stops on the entire route, sitting almost exactly halfway between the two cities, with NRMA, Chargefox and Tesla options all present. From Gundagai, continue through Yass (with the option to divert into Canberra if you want a change of scenery) before reaching Goulburn, home to Australia's largest Tesla Supercharger site, a 20-stall V4 station near the Big Merino that's open to any CCS2-compatible car, not just Teslas. From Goulburn it's a straightforward run into Sydney.

Stop	Approx. Distance from Melbourne	Networks Available
Euroa	~164km	Chargefox, Evie, Tesla Supercharger
Albury-Wodonga (overnight)	~300km	Multiple, full coverage
Tarcutta	~438km	Evie, bp pulse
Gundagai	~480km	NRMA, Chargefox, Tesla Supercharger
Yass	~600km	NRMA, Tesla Supercharger
Goulburn	~685km	Tesla Supercharger (20 stalls), NRMA, Chargefox
Sydney	~880km	Multiple

Tesla vs Everyone Else on This Route

This is arguably the best-resourced corridor in the country for any EV driver, Tesla or not.

Tesla's own network is exceptionally strong here, Euroa, Gundagai and the newly expanded Goulburn site (the largest Supercharger location in Australia) give Tesla drivers an easy, well-spaced run the whole way.

Non-Tesla drivers are genuinely well catered for too. NRMA has invested heavily in the Gundagai and Goulburn sites specifically, and Chargefox and Evie fill in the gaps at Euroa, Barnawartha and Tarcutta. Worth knowing: NRMA's Gundagai site was undergoing a relocation and upgrade as of late 2025, with a new site targeted for early 2026, so it's worth checking current status in the app before you rely on it specifically.

The Tesla Supercharger at Goulburn opening to all CCS2 vehicles has also taken real pressure off the older NRMA sites during that transition.

Should You Do This Trip: The Verdict

Do this if: you want proof that EV road tripping in Australia has genuinely arrived, this is the most reliable, best-resourced corridor in the country, and the flat, dual-carriageway driving makes it low effort behind the wheel too.

Don't do this if: you're travelling over a major long weekend without checking charger availability first. It's still the busiest EV corridor in Australia, and popularity occasionally means a short queue at the most convenient stops.

EV road trip Melbourne to Sydney: FAQs

Can you drive an EV from Melbourne to Sydney? Yes, easily. The Hume Highway is Australia's best-resourced EV charging corridor, with fast chargers roughly every 100km and multiple networks covering every major stop.

Where's the best overnight stop between Melbourne and Sydney in an EV? Albury-Wodonga, around 300km from Melbourne, is the recommended stop. It's a substantial twin city with plenty of accommodation and full charging coverage, making it a sensible break point either direction.

Is Goulburn really the biggest Tesla Supercharger site in Australia? Yes, as of its recent expansion Goulburn has 20 V4 Supercharger stalls near the Big Merino landmark, and the site is open to any CCS2-compatible EV, not just Teslas.

How many charging stops do you need between Melbourne and Sydney? Most EVs need three to four stops across the two-day trip, with Euroa, Gundagai and Goulburn being the most commonly used.