Hop in your car after touching down and head to the Queensland Museum Tropics in the centre of this coastal city. Wander along the tree-lined Strand, a 2.2-kilometre promenade with spectacular views of the sparkling Coral Sea and Magnetic Island. Don’t leave without trying the seafood casarecce pasta with Townsville prawns, calamari, chilli, garlic and parsley extra virgin olive oil at award-winning restaurant Jam.

Just a 90-minute drive inland from Townsville lies the gold mining town of Charters Towers, founded in the late 1800s. Its streets are lined with heritage-listed buildings, including the post office, city hall and historic Miner’s Cottage, where you can try your hand at gold panning. Stop in at Cattleman’s Rest Steakhouse Restaurant for a prime cut and bed down at Kernow, which has a tennis court, driving range and 3.4-kilometre walking track.

Ingham, two-and-a-half hours north of Charters Towers, is a town steeped in history and a rich Italian heritage courtesy of the immigrants who worked on sugarcane plantations and settled here in the 1920s. After touring Mercer Lane’s storied mosaic murals and sampling homemade cannoli from JK’s Delicatessen, drive about an hour north-west to Girringun National Park and Wallaman Falls – Australia’s tallest perpetually flowing waterfall, with a plunge of more than 250 metres.

Planning your next road trip? LSH Auto Australia, the nation’s leading Mercedes-Benz retail group, has a range of luxury, electric vehicles so you can travel in style. Visit LSH Auto’s Mercedes-Benz Brisbane to check them out.

Plan to do little in Mission Beach, a 90-minute drive north of Ingham. This idyllic collection of four villages is linked by three stretches of sand spanning 14 kilometres. Accommodation ranges from luxury resorts, such as The Elandra, to secluded retreats including Mission Beach Hideaway Holiday Village. Explore the surrounding fan palm rainforest – one of the largest in the country – or spot the native cassowaries that strut around this coastal town and give it the title of “cassowary capital of Australia”.

Roughly two hours north-west of Mission Beach is the inland township of Atherton. Browse the diverse art at the Tableland Regional Gallery, grab a burger and a beer at the Art Deco Barron Valley Hotel and explore The Crystal Caves which showcases a huge collection of crystals and prehistoric fossils.

This beachy city – an hour northeast of Atherton by car – is touted as the gateway to Tropical North Queensland for good reason: it’s at the geographical heart of incredible destinations such as the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Wet Tropics region and earth’s largest coral reef system, the Great Barrier Reef. After a day of adventuring through the wild, check out the city’s Calypso Club, a buzzy rum bar and seafood kitchen on the Esplanade where you can order oysters served with a finger-lime vinaigrette or mud-crab-and-snapper croquettes, washed down with a Mojo Moscato.

Planning your next road trip? LSH Auto Australia, the nation’s leading Mercedes-Benz retail group, has a range of luxury, electric vehicles so you can travel in style. Visit LSH Auto’s Mercedes-Benz Brisbane to check them out.

The two-and-a-half-hour detour north from Cairns to the Daintree – the world’s oldest intact tropical lowland rainforest – is well worth it. Formed over 135 million years ago, it’s home to the greatest diversity of plants and animals found in Australia. Start at Mossman Gorge, on the southern edge, with a stroll or a swim in the crystal-clear waters. The Daintree is also the ancient home of the Kuku Yalanji people so don’t miss out on an immersive First Nations walk with the Tour Specialists.

Take the hour-long journey to Port Douglas and take in the quiet splendour of Four Mile Beach, a 6.5-kilometre stretch of golden sand. As well as swimming in the turquoise water, you can hire a kayak and venture out to Thala Beach Nature Reserve for the chance to spot turtles, dolphins and dugongs. Enjoy a glass of wine and a bucket of prawns while watching the sunset at the Tin Shed, a restaurant overlooking the Coral Sea, or head to the Court House Hotel, where there’s live music five nights a week.

Travel two hours and 40 minutes inland from Port Douglas to Mt Mulligan Lodge, a luxury property on a 28,000-hectare heritage site, where decadent meals such as Moreton Bay bug and crustacean risotto are all included. Barramundi fishing and walking tours of the region are also available; learn about the area’s ancient history and spot wildlife on tracks including Lodge Loop (6.5 kilometres), Railway (2.9 kilometres) and Geraldine Rock (1.2 kilometres). Before getting on the road, refuel with a hearty breakfast of ’nduja beans, buffalo mozzarella and fried egg on sourdough.

Relax at this low-key tranquil beach with a stay at Alamanda Palm Cove, which features soothing spa treatments such as full-body massages and facials and is a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Mount Mulligan. During the day, get up close to crocodiles and koalas at Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures then view the lush rainforest from 545 metres above sea level in a Skyrail cable car. Fuel up with brunch from 10am – including spiced pear, Mungalli quark, almond, thyme and molasses sourdough toast – at the award-winning beachfront restaurant Nu Nu, before tackling the 25-minute drive to Cairns Airport.

Planning your next road trip? LSH Auto Australia, the nation’s leading Mercedes-Benz retail group, has a range of luxury, electric vehicles so you can travel in style. Visit LSH Auto’s Mercedes-Benz Brisbane to check them out.

10 Places To Stop on a Drive Down The Sapphire Coast