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Melbourne: Healesville Sanctuary & Yarra Valley Wine Tasting

★★★★★★★★★★ 3.83 (6 reviews)

Free cancellation

1/10

Duration8h–9h

GroupPrivate

LanguagesEN

PickupAt your hotel

Koalas, Redwoods & Wine: A Half-Day Loop from Melbourne Port

You're picked up at the cruise port and driven to Healesville Sanctuary to see koalas, kangaroos and wombats in an open native setting; you then cross Mt Donna Buang and walk among 1,450 Redwoods, stop for lunch and a river walk in Warburton, and finish with wine and cheese tasting at Saville Hill Estate before returning to the ship. The fixed schedule and included transport mean you don't have to arrange entry, timing or getting back to port on time.

8h–9h

Step-by-step itinerary

Travel to Healesville Sanctuary
Explore Australian wildlife
Drive over Mt Donna Buang Summit
Visit Californian Redwood Forest
Lunch at Warburton bakery
Stroll along Upper Yarra River
Wine and cheese tasting at Saville Hill Estate

The Experience

The minivan picks you up at the cruise terminal and heads northeast toward Healesville Sanctuary—a 60-minute drive that takes you out of the city and into the kind of landscape where you actually see Australian wildlife moving around in something close to natural habitat. You'll spend roughly 90 minutes to two hours there, which is enough time to walk through the sanctuary without rushing, stop in front of the koalas and kangaroos, watch wombats do their slow, determined thing. The setting is open and green, not a concrete enclosure, so it doesn't feel like you're ticking a box.

After Healesville, the route climbs up and over Mt Donna Buang Summit—the views of the Yarra Valley open up from up there—and then drops into a Californian Redwood Forest planted in the 1930s. Over 1,450 of them now tower above you, which is an odd thing to find in Victoria but somehow it works. You stop for lunch in Warburton at a local bakery where the meat pies are the real deal, and there's time to walk along the Upper Yarra River if you want to stretch your legs. The water's clean, the banks are quiet, and it's the kind of pause that makes the day feel less like a checklist.

On the way back toward Melbourne, the tour stops at Saville Hill Estate for wine and cheese tasting. If wine isn't your thing, you can ask to do a small city tour of Melbourne instead—Parliament House, the laneways with street art, the arcades—so it's not locked in. The whole experience runs as a private group, capped at seven people, which means the minivan doesn't feel crowded and the driver can actually answer questions without shouting over a full coach.

What’s included

Bottled water.
driver and guide for the full day.
pickup and drop-off at Melbourne cruise port.
transport in an air-conditioned minivan for up to 7 passengers.
entry to Healesville Sanctuary.
access to Mt Donna Buang Summit and the Californian Redwood Forest.
a lunch stop in Warburton (food cost separate).
wine and cheese tasting at Saville Hill Estate.

Good to know

Moderate physical levelStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Australian Coastal and Mountain Tours

Is this one for you?Book this if you're docking in Melbourne and want to see Australian wildlife and the Yarra Valley without arranging your own transport or timing—the driver knows when your ship leaves and gets you back to port on schedule.