In short
- Hervey Bay is about 292 km from our Hendra yard by OpenStreetMap's routing, roughly 3 hours 45 minutes without stops: the Bruce Highway almost all the way, then the Maryborough–Hervey Bay road to the coast.[1]
- The Gympie bypass, open since 16 October 2024, takes the highway around Gympie on a 26 km four-lane road signed at 110 km/h.[2]
- Plan at least one proper break: the Queensland Government recommends stopping for at least 15 minutes every 2 hours.[3]
- K'gari's tracks are sand and only suitable for high-clearance 4WDs with low range, reached by vehicle barge.[8] Rentzy cars must not go on a vehicle ferry or barge, including to North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah). Keep the car on the mainland and visit the island by tour, flight or as a walk-on barge passenger.
- Unlimited kilometres: no kilometre limit and no charge per kilometre.
What's the route from Brisbane to Hervey Bay?
North on one road, then east at the end. From 238 Nudgee Road, OpenStreetMap's car routing takes Southern Cross Way to the Gateway Motorway, joins the Bruce Highway and follows it north past the Sunshine Coast, Gympie and Maryborough, then turns off for Hervey Bay on the Maryborough–Hervey Bay Road and Booral Road, finishing on Boat Harbour Drive at Urangan. It comes to about 292 km and 3 hours 44 minutes in clear traffic.[1]
The first part, as far as the Sunshine Coast turn-offs, is the same as a coast day trip, and Brisbane to the Sunshine Coast covers that section's traffic.
| Stage | What to expect |
|---|---|
| Hendra to the Sunshine Coast turn-offs | Gateway Motorway, then the Bruce Highway (M1)[1] |
| Around Gympie | The bypass from Woondum, south of Gympie, to Curra: 26 km of four-lane divided highway at 110 km/h, replacing the old route through town at 80 and 60 km/h[2] |
| Curra to Maryborough | The Bruce Highway (A1) continues north[1] |
| Maryborough to Urangan | Off the highway onto the Maryborough–Hervey Bay Road, Booral Road and Boat Harbour Drive[1] |
Do you still drive through Gympie?
Not any more, unless you choose to. The Department of Transport and Main Roads opened the Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra) Section D, the Gympie bypass, to traffic from 16 October 2024. It's a 26 km, four-lane divided highway between the Woondum interchange, south of Gympie, and Curra.[2]
TMR says the new road avoids 53 intersections, including nine with traffic signals, and 106 property accesses, and is signed at 110 km/h where the old highway was 80 km/h, and 60 km/h through Gympie.[2] If your maps app or an older guide sends you through the town centre, the bypass is the through route now; Gympie itself is still a sensible place to stop for food or fuel.
Where and how often should you stop?
At nearly four hours of driving, this trip needs breaks. The Queensland Government recommends stopping for at least 15 minutes every 2 hours, getting a good night's sleep beforehand, avoiding driving at times you'd normally be asleep, and never driving more than 10 hours in a day.[3] It also warns that being awake for more than 17 hours affects your driving about as much as a blood alcohol concentration over 0.05, and that microsleeps of up to 10 seconds can happen without warning.[3]
Rest areas along the highway are open for you to stop at any time. Transport and Main Roads no longer runs Driver Reviver sites itself: some have moved to visitor centres or community groups, and where the free refreshments have stopped, the rest area stays open, and a shop, café or service station is an alternative.[4]
- Leave early, so the first two hours are done before the day gets hot.
- First stop around the Sunshine Coast hinterland or Gympie, two hours in.
- Second stop at Maryborough, before the last stretch to the coast.
- Plan every break around one driver. Only the hirer named on the booking may drive the car: Rentzy doesn't add second or additional drivers.
Our long drives and fatigue guide has the warning signs to watch for and how to plan rest stops.
What's there when you arrive?
Urangan, where the routing ends, is home to the Urangan Pier, which Fraser Coast Regional Council describes as 868 metres long. Council finished rehabilitating it in 2025, along with a new rock revetment wall on the Urangan foreshore.[7]
Whales are the big draw in the second half of the year. The Queensland Government says humpbacks turn south in July and August, and about a quarter of the population enters Hervey Bay on that southern migration, which makes for whale watching between August and October, often with mothers and newborn calves.[5] Queensland Parks adds that most sightings are on the eastern side of the bay, close to K'gari's west coast, between July and October, in the sheltered waters of the Great Sandy Marine Park.[6] Whale-watching trips go by boat, so book a tour and leave the car parked.
Can you take the car to K'gari?
No. K'gari, about 300 km north of Brisbane and 15 km off the coast of Hervey Bay and Maryborough, has only sand roads, and Queensland Parks says its tracks are suitable only for high-clearance 4WDs with low range; all-wheel-drive vehicles aren't recommended. Vehicles cross by barge, from Inskip Point near Rainbow Beach or from River Heads, east of Maryborough, and every vehicle needs a vehicle access permit bought in advance.[8]
Queensland Parks lists the other ways over: daily passenger flights from Hervey Bay, commercial tours that leave from Hervey Bay (as well as Rainbow Beach, the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane), and the vehicle barges, which also take walk-on passengers.[8] A tour with its own 4WD is one way to see the island's beaches and lakes in a day.
Day trip or weekend?
At close to eight hours of driving there and back, Hervey Bay works far better as an overnight trip than a day trip. A weekend lets you drive up on the first morning, see the pier and foreshore, take a whale-watching or island tour the next day, and drive home rested.
If you're after a shorter hinterland day on the same highway, Maleny and Montville is a much shorter drive, and Noosa sits in between.
Sources
- OpenStreetMap (OSRM routing): Directions: 238 Nudgee Road, Hendra to Hervey Bay (Urangan) (car) (read 5 November 2026)
- Queensland Government — Department of Transport and Main Roads: Bruce Highway (Cooroy to Curra) Section D (read 5 November 2026)
- Queensland Government — Department of Transport and Main Roads: Driving tired (read 5 November 2026)
- Queensland Government — Department of Transport and Main Roads: Driver reviver and rest areas (read 5 November 2026)
- Queensland Government (qld.gov.au) — Department of the Environment, Tourism, Science and Innovation: Whale watching (read 5 November 2026)
- Queensland Government — Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service: Great Sandy Marine Park: Whales (read 5 November 2026)
- Fraser Coast Regional Council: Urangan Pier reopens as coastal protection works wrap up (read 5 November 2026)
- Queensland Government — Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service: K'gari: Getting there and getting around (read 5 November 2026)
Written by the Rentzy team at Rentzy Car Rentals. Rentzy prices, fees and rules in this guide come from our published terms and update with them; rules set by others (roads, tolls, licences, transport) are from the official pages above, as read on the dates shown. Something out of date? Tell us.
