The world famous Phillip Island Penguin Parade happens every night of the year shortly after the sun sets. This can be as early as 5.20pm in winter, and as late as 8.45pm in summer.
We start the tour with a pickup at your hotel between 9am and 10am in midwinter (June, July, August), between 10am and 12pm in the Autumn and Spring seasons (March, April, May; September, October, November), and between 12pm and 1pm in midsummer (December, January, February).
After you have completed your booking request on our website, we will give you a pickup time when we confirm your booking. Please let us know of your choices, such as seating at the Penguin Parade, or any optional extras, in the “comments’ section when you make your booking request. We will let you know if we have been able to reserve your choices when we confirm your booking request.
At the Penguin Parade, there are three options for where you can view the little penguins as they come out of the sea and waddle back to their nests. These are:
- the General Viewing seating area,
- Penguin Plus (an enclosed enclave where there are more penguins to be seen), and
- Penguin Underground, which is located underneath the Penguin Plus viewing platform.
The Penguin Underground offers the closest views of the penguins from a ground level
angle through one way glass, but is limited to 70 people, so it is often sold out.
Please note that it can get very cold at the Penguin Parade, especially in winter, so be sure to bring extra warm clothing. Having rainproof protective clothing, gloves, and a woolly hat is a good idea in winter. Even in summertime when the days are hot, it is recommended that you bring something warm like a jacket or a windbreaker with you, because it can get cold quickly.
We can book your Penguin Parade tickets for you, or else you can make your own bookings here: https://penguins.org.au
- For General Viewing, tickets are $27.70 per adult and $13.70 per child (4-15).
- For Penguin Plus (limited to 300 people) tickets are $65 per adult and $32.50 per child (4-15).
- For Penguin Underground (limited to 70 people) tickets are $75 per adult and $37.50 per child (4-15)
Whenever we go to Phillip Island to view the Penguin Parade, we will stop at a beautiful beach on Phillip Island first (weather permitting). We will also take you to The Nobbies Nature Reserve, which has a short walk offering spectacular, rugged coastal scenery https://www.visitphillipisland.com.au/products/the-nobbies-walk , before going on to the Penguin Parade.
We recommend taking an hour to watch the Penguin Parade, but if you would like an extra fifteen or twenty minutes, it’s no problem.
It takes around two hours to return to Melbourne from the Penguin Parade.
Suggested Itinerary:
After leaving Melbourne, we head to the Mornington Peninsula.
The Mornington Peninsula is a very popular resort area located about an hour south-east of Melbourne. It is loved by Melbourne locals, who flock there on weekends and during school holidays, especially in summertime.
You can choose to focus your Mornington Peninsula tour on visiting wineries, or enjoy the natural scenic locations and short walks on offer, or you can do a combination of both. Please note that you will only have a half day tour of the Mornington Peninsula on this tour, so if you want to only visit wineries and do wine tastings, you will be able to visit 2 or 3 wineries before we have to head to Phillip Island. Alternatively, you could do one or two short walks, or optional extras. You will have plenty of time to discuss options with your guide in the morning, on the way to the Mornington Peninsula.
Depending upon how long you choose to stay on the Mornington Peninsula, we can either drive you to Phillip Island later in the day so that you can spend most of your time enjoying the Mornington Peninsula before watching the Penguin Parade, or you could choose to leave the Mornington Peninsula earlier in the day, in order to spend more time exploring Phillip Island, before finally heading to the Penguin Parade. It takes 1.5 hours to 2 hours to reach the Penguin Parade from the Mornington Peninsula.
Wealthy Melburnians have built holiday houses on the Mornington Peninsula since the late 1800’s, and Portsea is its most famous suburb. The historical pub and restaurant called the Portsea Hotel, established in 1876, is a vibrant and famous establishment https://portseahotel.com.au . If it is not too crowded, we will take you there to enjoy a beer, or a glass of wine, in the picturesque beer garden. Lunch is available from Wednesday to Monday. Please let us know if you would like to have lunch here in the “comments” section when you make your booking request.
There are award winning wineries on the Mornington Peninsula, a wide selection of beaches, and lots of beautiful natural scenic areas to explore. We provide you with a list of some of the best known wineries as a guide, but you are welcome to choose your own wineries if you like (there are over 50 wineries featuring cellar doors).
Some wineries also have restaurants which are a good option for lunch. Please let us know of your preferences for wineries and lunch venue in the “comments” section when you make your booking, and we will reserve them for you.
Please be aware that on Saturdays,Sundays and Public Holidays, the Mornington Peninsula gets very busy, and we cannot guarantee availability at your preferred choices, especially at short notice. If you do not have any preferences, and would like us to make the bookings, we will gladly make reservations for you.
Wine tastings are normally $10 per person, with most wineries waiving this fee if you purchase wine from them straight after the tasting.
Popular wineries:
- Willow Creek Vineyard https://rarehare.com.au/about-willow-creek-vineyard/
(Restaurant open 7 days a week)
- Red Hill Estate https://www.redhillestate.com.au (Restaurant open Wednesday to
Sunday)
- Montalto https://montalto.com.au (Restaurant open Friday to Monday)
- Mont Rouge Estate https://montrougeestate.com.au (Restaurant open Saturday,
Sunday and Public Holidays)
- Port Phillip Estate https://www.portphillipestate.com.au (Restaurant open Wednesday
to Sunday)
- Point Leo Estate https://www.ptleoestate.com.au There is an outdoor sculpture
gallery at this elegant winery (Restaurant temporarily closed)
- Ten Minutes by Tractor https://www.tenminutesbytractor.com.au (Restaurant open
Thursday to Sunday)
- Pier 10 https://pier10.com.au (Restaurant open Thursday to Sunday)
Natural locations:
- visiting the Mount Martha Beach Bathing Boxes
- enjoying the view from Arthurs Seat lookout https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-tosee/
parks/Arthurs-Seat-State-Park and nearby Seawinds Gardens https://
www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to-see/parks/arthurs-seat-state-park/attractions/
seawinds-gardens
- doing the popular walk in Portsea called the “Millionaires Walk”. You can stroll along
the shoreline enjoying the sea views on the one side, and some large and very expensive mansions on the other. We can drop you at one end and wait for you at the other end (or at any other point along the walk): https://
www.visitmorningtonpeninsula.org/PlacesToGo/Walks/ShortWalksUnder1Hour/tabid/
910/View/5b59369ba5449ddb7533aeae/Millionaires-Walk/Default.aspx
- Portsea back beach has a short walk which leads to London Bridge, an interesting rock
formation in the sea http://www.humbletrail.com/listings/london-bridge-morningtonpeninsula/
- Another short walk is possible from Sorrento back beach to Sphinx rock http://
bushwalkjournal.blogspot.com/2012/02/sorrento-ocean-beach-and-sphinx-rock.html
- The walk to Pulpit Rock at Cape Schanck is highly recommended (https://
thesabbaticalguide.com/pulpit-rock-cape-schanck/). It takes 30 to 45 minutes to
complete.
Optional extras:
- Visiting Moonlit Sanctuary https://moonlitsanctuary.com.au (Adults $26, Child [4-17] $13). Moonlit Sanctuary is an award winning wildlife park which helps rescue
threatened and endangered native Australian animals. They run breeding programs for
critically endangered species, with the aim being to release them into the wild one day.
You can feed the many different species of kangaroos, pademelons and wallabies,
which roam freely in a wide open area . The tiny little Tammar wallabies are especially
cute, and make for great photo opportunities! Your guide will be on hand to take
photos of you feeding the wallabies, as well as to give you commentary about the
various unique Australian animals at Moonlit Sanctuary, such as the rare and
endangered meat eating marsupials called Spotted Quolls.
- Visiting the Japanese style Peninsula Hot Springs and Spa https://
www.peninsulahotsprings.com (Prices for the Hot Springs start at Adults $30 and
Child [3-15] $20 for 60 minutes) There are therapeutic massages and private spa
sessions available (booking in advance is essential) Please remember to bring a
bathing suit if you want to relax in the hot spring
- Riding the Gondola (cable-car) at Arthurs Seat https://aseagle.com.au. You can ride
one-way (either going up or going down) and your guide will be waiting for you at the
end station to pick you up (Adult one-way $20.50, Child [4-16] $12.95)
- Horse Riding on the beach with Gunnamatta Trail Rides https://gunnamatta.com.au .
Their most popular ride is the St Andrew’s Beach Ride which is suitable for beginners
(10 years and up) and takes 2 hours. Prices are $195 per person for a reservation which
does not allow for any changes and $275 per person for a flexible booking which
allows for rescheduling. Riding a horse on an isolated beach is sure to provide an
unforgettable memory!
- Strawberry picking at Sunny Ridge farm between November and April https://
sunnyridge.com.au (Adults $12 for 500gm strawberries, Child [4-12years] $6 for 250gm
strawberries