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Melbourne: Great Ocean Road, Penguin Parade & City Tour

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Free cancellationExcellent quality

1/22

Duration3d

GroupUp to 24

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Three Days: Limestone Cliffs, Little Penguins & Melbourne's Hidden Streets

You get picked up from your hotel and driven to three of Victoria's biggest draws: the Great Ocean Road with its limestone cliffs and rainforest walks, Phillip Island's Penguin Parade at sunset, and a guided tour of Melbourne's landmarks and markets. Breakfast, entry fees, and transport are all included; the only thing you arrange is which days work for you.

Step-by-step itinerary

Day 1 — Great Ocean Road Day Tour

Pickup from inner city
Morning tea at Torquay beachside
Photo at Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch
Spot koalas in treetops
Lunch in a Great Ocean Road town
Enjoy panoramic coastline views
Guided rainforest walk
Scenic drive through Great Otway National Park
Visit Twelve Apostles limestone formations
Descend to beach near cliffs
Explore Loch Ard Gorge historic site

Day 2 — Phillip Island Penguin Parade Tour

Pickup from inner city
Photo stop at Melbourne colourful attraction
Visit Moonlit Sanctuary and feed kangaroos
Explore Phillip Island with local guides
Visit summer-only scenic coastal viewpoint
Explore coastal landmark and Seal Rocks
Dinner break at beachside holiday spot
Watch penguins at Penguin Parade

Day 3 — Melbourne City Discovery Tour

Visit Collins Street 'Paris' end
Discover street art at Hosier Lane
See Flinders Street Station
Pass Arts Precinct and National Gallery of Victoria
Visit Shrine of Remembrance
Pass Melbourne Cricket Ground forecourt
Drive through Parliament Hill area
See St Patrick's Cathedral
Walk in Fitzroy Gardens and visit Cooks Cottage
Photo stop at Little Lon Distilling Co
Visit Old Melbourne Gaol
Explore Melbourne's Little Italy
Drive by Melbourne Museum
Visit Queen Victoria Market

The Experience

The coach picks you up from your hotel before dawn breaks, and you're heading southwest toward the Great Ocean Road. The drive takes you through Torquay, where you stop for beachside morning tea at a famous surfing town, then past the Memorial Arch that marks the official start of the road itself. Your guide points out the koala colony in the treetops — you'd miss them without someone who knows where to look. The air changes as you move into Great Otway National Park, where a guided walk takes you through rainforest so thick and green it feels like stepping backward in time, ferns older than the road itself towering overhead.

By afternoon you're standing in front of the Twelve Apostles, those limestone stacks rising straight out of the ocean like something from another planet. The light hits them differently depending on the hour, and your guide knows the angles. You can walk down to Loch Ard Gorge if you want — the beach is right there, the cliffs dramatic and close — or stay on the viewing platform. Either way, you're seeing what makes the Great Ocean Road worth the drive. The whole day is maybe eight or nine hours, and you're back in Melbourne by evening.

Day two starts the same way — hotel pickup, air-conditioned coach with the upgraded seating that actually lets you see out the window — but this time you're heading to Phillip Island. First stop is Moonlit Sanctuary, where you can hand-feed kangaroos and wallabies under staff supervision, and see animals most people only see in zoos. Then it's the Penguin Parade itself at sunset. The world's smallest penguins emerge from the ocean and waddle back to their burrows as the light fades. Your guide helps you find the best seats and explains what you're watching. Photography isn't allowed during the parade — that's a rule the sanctuary enforces — so you're just present for it, which somehow makes it stick with you more.

The third day is the Melbourne city tour, and it's free. You pass Flinders Street Station, walk through Hosier Lane where the street art changes constantly, see the Shrine of Remembrance and the Melbourne Cricket Ground from the outside. There's time at Fitzroy Gardens, where Cook's Cottage sits from 1755, and a stop at Queen Victoria Market — the largest open-air market in Australia, where the fish market and delis are the real draw. Old Melbourne Gaol comes up too, the historic prison where 133 inmates were hanged, including the bushranger Ned Kelly. The guide brings the stories, and the city starts to make sense as something more than just a place to sleep between the bigger attractions.

Groups stay under 24 people, and the app translates the guide's commentary into 16 languages if you need it. Breakfast is included, entry fees to Moonlit Sanctuary and the Penguin Parade are covered, and the coach has WiFi. You book the Great Ocean Road tour for your chosen date, the Penguin Parade for the next day, and you can pick any date for the city tour — so you're not locked into three consecutive days if you don't want to be.

What’s included

Hotel pickup and return in an air-conditioned coach with upgraded seating.
breakfast.
entry fees to Moonlit Sanctuary and Phillip Island Penguin Parade.
guided walks through Great Otway National Park rainforest.
stops at the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, and Torquay.
access to a free 16-language translation app.
WiFi on board.
a full Melbourne city tour covering Flinders Street Station, Hosier Lane street art, the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne Cricket Ground, Fitzroy Gardens, Old Melbourne Gaol, and Queen Victoria Market.

Good to know

Easy physical levelInfant seats availablePets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Go West Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you want the major sights around Melbourne without arranging separate transport, entry fees and timing for each one — the fixed itinerary is what fits three very different days into one package and gets you back to the city each night.