The salty waters at this 500-metre-long, horseshoe-shaped beach provide good luck and good times to all who enter. Located on Phillip Island, it's a sweet coastal setting where visitors can find solace in the gentle waves or venture further out to hit the surf.

A quick drive beyond Daylesford and a short descent along a bushwalking trail in Glenlyon lies your new swimming spot of choice. Here, Loddon River drops to the gorge below in a cascading waterfall, creating an idyllic spot that feels far removed from the city.

They say that good things come to those who wait. And while six hours may seem like a long time, it's well worth the road trip for the swimming spot of your dreams. So round up a few mates, organise a tent and get ready to hit the beach.

Every bit as tranquil as it sounds, Ladies Bath Falls is a picture-perfect swimming spot tucked away within Mount Buffalo National Park. In the early 20th century, it was a popular pit-stop along the climb up Mount Buffalo.

If you've been hankering for something a little special, it might be time to make the pilgrimage to Briagolong State Forest. Two and a half hours east of the CBD, Blue Pool is worth any distance of travel, promising a great stop during a coastal road trip.

Throw down your towel and get ready to frolic amongst this lunar-shaped beach and its sandy shores, which are less of a secret than some others on this list, but gorgeous all the same. 

The former prospecting region at Pound Bend boasts sediment-rich river banks, and is now the perfect spot for lazy Sunday tubing and other water-based shenanigans.

According to legend, Polly McQuinn was a baby-faced settler who could not grow a beard and drowned in these waters after one too many sherries. 

Sadly no fairies (that we know of) reside in the stunning blue waters here, but the magical seclusion away from the crowds of Wilsons Prom's busier sites is well worth heading off the beaten track for. 

Located less than an hour from the Melbourne CBD, the suburb of Eltham is home to a stunning section of the Yarra River that's perfect for lilo-drifting — when you perch yourself on an inflatable and let the gentle current carry you along the deep river banks.