Seven days from Canberra: the capital, the Riverina, and the slow way home
Do the city properly, then point the van west. River towns, country pubs, and no long drives.
Most people leave Canberra too quickly. They see the War Memorial and Parliament House in a day and move on, and they never find out that the city is small enough that a few slow days go a long way — or that an hour west of it the country opens up into river towns and the Riverina.
Seven unrushed days from the LGM Canberra branch does both: the capital done properly, then a slow loop out through Gundaroo, Wagga Wagga, and Tumut. The longest single drive is 1 hour 35 minutes. Two days are entirely local. This is a trip with a lot of slow lunches in it.
The roads are major highways the whole way and the fuel coverage is total. Nothing here is remote — it’s a trip about taking your time in a part of the country most people only ever drive through.
Canberra is small enough that a few slow days go a long way. An hour west, the country opens up.
The trip at a glance
Here’s what the week looks like before we go day by day.
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Day 1 — Canberra arrival. Lake Burley Griffin.
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Day 2 — Canberra city day. Local only.
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Day 3 — Canberra to Yass. 60 km, 50 min.
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Day 4 — Yass to Wagga Wagga. Split via Cootamundra.
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Day 5 — Wagga slow day. Local only.
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Day 6 — Wagga to Tumut. 125 km, 1 hr 35 min.
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Day 7 — Tumut back to Canberra. Split via Yass.
Total drive distance over the week: around 555 km. The longest single leg is 1 hour 35 minutes. Day 4’s longer drive splits into two roughly 75-minute legs with a Cootamundra lunch stop. Two days are entirely local.
Day 1 — Canberra arrival
DRIVE · Local — pickup and short drive to the caravan park
Collect the motorhome from the LGM Canberra branch and settle in at the Canberra South Motor Park or Alivio Tourist Park. Both are an easy run into the centre.
Spend the afternoon at Lake Burley Griffin — the walking and cycling paths around it are the best way to get the scale of the city — and have dinner at the Kingston Foreshore. An easy first day to set the pace.
Day 2 — Canberra city day
DRIVE · Local — under 20 km
The capital, properly, with no driving pressure. Mt Ainslie lookout first thing for the view straight down the land axis to Parliament House. The Australian War Memorial in the morning — it’s one of the great museums in the country and deserves more than the rushed hour most visitors give it.
The National Gallery in the afternoon. Parliament House at sunset, walking up over the grass roof. This is a full day, but none of it involves the motorhome moving.
Day 3 — Canberra to Yass
DRIVE · Canberra → Yass · 60 km · 50 minutes
A short 50-minute drive north-west to Yass. The detour worth making today is Gundaroo — a tiny heritage village with one of the best country pubs in the state, the Cork Street, where a long lunch is the entire afternoon’s plan.
Stay at the Yass Caravan Park or near Gundaroo. The pace shifts here from capital to country, and it’s meant to.
Day 4 — Yass to Wagga Wagga
DRIVE · Yass → Wagga Wagga, split via Cootamundra · 185 km total · Two legs with a Cootamundra stop
The longest driving day, broken in two. Yass to Cootamundra first, around 95 km and 1 hour 15 minutes — Cootamundra is the birthplace of Don Bradman, and the modest little house museum is worth the coffee stop even if you’re not a cricket person.
Then Cootamundra to Wagga, around 90 km and 1 hour 15 minutes. Stay at the Wagga Beach Caravan Park, which is walking distance to town and the river.
Day 5 — Wagga slow day
DRIVE · Local — under 20 km
Wagga is bigger and better than its reputation. The surprise is Wagga Beach — an actual sandy river beach on the Murrumbidgee that you can swim at, in the middle of town. The Botanic Gardens are good, the main street has a real food scene, and the Museum of the Riverina tells the regional story well.
Optional afternoon run out to the Junee Licorice and Chocolate Factory, 35 km return — it’s in a restored 1916 flour mill and it’s better than it sounds. Otherwise, a slow Wagga day.
The surprise is Wagga Beach — an actual sandy river beach on the Murrumbidgee that you can swim at, in the middle of town.
Day 6 — Wagga to Tumut
DRIVE · Wagga → Tumut · 125 km · 1 hour 35 minutes
The longest single leg of the week — still only 95 minutes — south-east into the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. The country changes again here: hills, pine forests, the start of the high country.
Tumut is a river town at the edge of the Snowies. Stay at the Tumut Riverglade Caravan Park. An optional late-afternoon drive into the Brindabella Valley gives you the kind of sunset the rest of the trip doesn’t.
Day 7 — Tumut back to Canberra
DRIVE · Tumut → Canberra, split via Yass · 165 km total · Two legs with a Yass lunch stop
The return, broken at Yass for lunch, around 90 km and 1 hour 10 minutes from Tumut, then the final short run to the LGM Canberra branch, around 60 km and 50 minutes.
Back by mid-afternoon. Seven days that started in the national capital and ended in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains, with a swim in the Murrumbidgee and a few too many country-pub lunches in between.
Practical notes for the trip
Fuel and route
The Hume Highway and the Sturt Highway are major routes with service stations every 30 to 50 kilometres. Every town on this itinerary — Yass, Cootamundra, Wagga, Tumut — has full fuel availability.
Our fuel info page links the federal government’s fuel availability site for the national picture. For this route, fuel is never a planning concern.
Vehicle suitability
All LGM vehicle sizes are suitable. Canberra is a motorhome-friendly city with wide roads and plenty of parking. Wagga and the country towns all have generous caravan-park space. Roads throughout are sealed highways.
Best season
Year-round. Autumn is Canberra’s signature season — the city’s exotic trees turn and it’s genuinely beautiful. Winter is cold but clear and very quiet, and Tumut and the Snowy foothills get a dusting of snow from June, which adds something to the back half of the trip.
What to book in advance
This itinerary is rarely under booking pressure outside major Canberra event weekends — check the Canberra calendar, major sporting events and large conferences, and book ahead if your dates clash. Otherwise the parks on this route can generally be booked closer to the date.
The Aussie Winter Wander Sale — 25% off May to July
Canberra’s a year-round trip, which means the 25% off is the reason to stop deferring it. Every May, June and July booking from the LGM Canberra branch is discounted as part of the Aussie Winter Wander Sale.
The sale runs 15 May to 25 May. After that, full price returns. If you live in Canberra and have never actually done the trip west — most locals haven’t — this is the nudge.