If you are on a tight schedule the trip Melbourne to Sydney via the Hume Freeway/Hwy is the only option . Using the City Link Tollway, the Western Ring Road and the Hume Freeway, it is dual carrigeway for about 350 kilometres to beyond Albury, which is the first major city in New South Wales (NSW) and just over the State border from Wodonga, Victoria. You will need to purchase a day pass for City Link as it is a toll road. A day pass can be obtained by ringing City Link on 13 26 29, or online at Citylink and can be purchased prior to travel or up to 72 hours after.
After you turn off the Western Ring Road onto the Hume Freeway watch out for speed cameras at very regular intervals especially for the first 30 or 40 km. These are also time over distance cameras between as far as Broadford (but not north of Broadford) that do not just measure your speed at the cameras but also time your vehicle from camera to camera to determine average speed. Slowing down just to smile for the cameras won't work if you speed too much in between.
Before you get to Albury, there are service centres with food outlets and a petrol station on both sides of the freeway at Glenrowan. The nearby town was the scene of Ned Kelly's last stand. He was a notorious Bushranger (outlaw) in that area in the 1870/80's. For more information on touring 'Kelly Country' see the Inside page on Touring Kelly Country
There is a freeway through the town of Albury, on the Victorian/NSW border. It closely follows the main Melbourne to Sydney rail line.
All of the current roadworks are completed The only sections that are not freeway is a section of about 35 km from south of Woomargama to north of Holbrook, except for a small section which was and is dual carriageway between Woomargama and Holbrook and the town of Tarcutta. The towns of Tarcutta, Holbrook and Woomargama are still be single lane until bypassed by the end of 2012.
On the trip from Melbourne to Albury there are no towns as the Freeway bypasses them all. There are frequent rest stops with toilet facilities and quite a few roadside service centres where food is available. If you have time, take it easy on the first day and overnight at Albury (off the bypass), or go further say to Goulburn (off the freeway) and take it easy into Sydney on the second day.
Another option is to break the trip about half way, in Wagga Wagga, where there are a lot of motels. Turn off, to the left, onto the Olympic Hwy (Bells Rd) at the interchange about 16 km past Albury. The Olympic Way is a scenic route but is only single lane each way. It more or less follows the railway. It is about 100km to Wagga Wagga. If you go this way you will need to follow the Sturt Hwy east from Wagga Wagga, for about 45km, back to the Hume Hwy.
One underrated stopover location is Junee which is well of the main freeway. It is a railway and now prison town. Adjacent to the railway station, there are numerous double storey buildings including still operable hotels. There are two motels in Junee close to its town square which has to be seen to be believed, and there is also an interesting railway museum at the locomotive roundhouse about 1.5km south of the station building.
There are also a number of smaller towns north of Albury on the Hume Hwy such as Holbrook, Tarcutta and Gundagai that would be suitable overnight stops.
About 11 km north of the Murrumbigee River crossing at Gundagi is a roadside stop with several eating places and an Australian icon, the Dog on the Tucker Box.
The final sections of the Freeway into Sydney are also tollways but they have cash toll booths so take some coins to pay the tolls. Unless you have an ETAG avoid the ETAG lanes at the toll booths. Victorian and Queensland ETAGs operate on NSW toll roads although there is an additional surcharge.
The speed limit on the freeway is 110 kph; on non freeway sections it is mainly 100 kph except for towns and road works.
Watch out for Highway Patrol, radar and speed cameras both mobile and fixed. They are very strict on speed limits in Victoria and a bit easier in NSW. Fixed speed cameras in New South Wales are clearly marked. They are not clearly marked in Victoria.
Another alternative would be to turn off the Hume Freeway, onto the Barton Hwy, north of Yass and go via Canberra, spending a day or two in Canberra. This is about 60 km. Leaving Canberra you proceed north on the Federal Hwy rejoining the Hume Freeway just south of Goulburn which is about an 80 km drive. The road from Canberra back to the Hume Freeway is also a freeway.
An alternative route is from Melbourne to Canberra via Bairnsdale, Lakes Entrance, Cann River, Bombala, Cooma which is much more scenic, certainly from Bairnsdale onwards.
From Cann River to Bombala you travel through the lower Snowy Mountains and Australian eucalypt forest country to Bombala and then through the Monaro which is undulating high plains, currently very dry due to the drought. The Nimmitabel Bakery between Bombala and Cooma is well worth a stop for lunch. The trip to Canberra is a good 9 to10 hour trip. From Canberra you can go direct to Sydney which is all multi lane road and will take about 3 1/2 hours or you could go via Braidwood to Batemans Bay and then up the coast to Sydney. Canberra to Batemans Bay about 2 1/2 hours as there is a steep descent down the Clyde Mountain after Braidwood. From Batemans Bay to Sydney about 4 - 5 hours as the road is not a great road. The route through the mountains to Canberra and then via the coast is much more scenic but you would probably need 2 overnight stops.
Another alternative is from Cann River continuing along the coastal route, the Princes Highway (Route 1) through Eden to Batemans Bay then to Sydney. This would also require an overnight stop at either Eden, Merimbula or Narooma.
When using any of these routes it is recommended to book overnight accommodation in advance especially during school holidays and peak holiday times around Christmas/New Year.