Melbourne Great Ocean Road Penguin Parade

  • Three-day touring package – Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island Penguin Parade, plus a complimentary Melbourne City Discovery Tour
  • Small group eco tours with a maximum of 24 guests per departure
  • Audio guides available in 16 languages with Discovery Clips in 17 languages
  • Departs daily from Melbourne with select hotel pick-ups
  • Ideal for Fully Independent Travellers (FIT) extending a Melbourne city stay with iconic Victorian experiences
A vibrant daytime view of Melbourne's iconic Flinders Street Station, an ornate yellow Victorian-era building with a distinctive dome and clock tower, featuring a vintage green and yellow tram (number 35) in the foreground. The architectural landmark is a prominent transport hub in the city centre, with overhead tram wires and modern urban buildings visible in the background under blue skies.
A vibrant row of traditionally-styled beach huts in bright primary colors lines the sandy shore at Brighton Beach in Melbourne, Australia. These iconic changing rooms are among the most expensive real estate per square foot in the country and represent a beloved Australian coastal heritage landmark.
A panoramic view of Melbourne's iconic skyline at twilight, featuring the Yarra River with historic bridges, Gothic Revival architecture, and modern skyscrapers illuminated against a beautiful blue and pink sky. The scene captures the city's blend of heritage and contemporary architecture with autumn foliage along the riverbanks.
A modern elevated wooden boardwalk with white railings winds through a lush, verdant coastal ravine dotted with native vegetation and rocky outcrops. The walkway offers panoramic views of the surrounding hills and vegetation, with clear blue skies above, suggesting this is a scenic nature trail or park feature.
A bustling pedestrian arcade in Melbourne's Degraves Lane filled with shoppers and diners. The covered laneway features numerous cafes and restaurants with yellow and orange storefronts, including The Little Denn, under warm ceiling lighting and architectural detail typical of Melbourne's iconic laneways.
A modern Bombardier E-Class tram in bright green and white livery operates on Melbourne's extensive urban tramway network at Parliament Station. The tram, numbered 6036, displays the distinctive yellow door panels and overhead catenary lines characteristic of Melbourne's world-leading tram system.
A stunning nighttime cityscape of Melbourne, Australia, featuring illuminated skyscrapers and waterfront buildings reflected in the calm waters of the Yarra River. The scene captures the vibrant energy of the city during early evening with golden and blue lighting creating a dramatic contrast against the deep blue sky.
A vibrant daytime view of Melbourne's iconic Flinders Street Station, an ornate yellow Victorian-era building with a distinctive dome and clock tower, featuring a vintage green and yellow tram (number 35) in the foreground. The architectural landmark is a prominent transport hub in the city centre, with overhead tram wires and modern urban buildings visible in the background under blue skies.
A street artist stands on a ladder, creating vibrant graffiti art on a colorful brick wall at Hosier Lane in Melbourne's CBD. The laneway is covered with layered street art featuring bold colors, tags, and murals, showcasing Melbourne's renowned urban art culture.
A stunning early morning cityscape of Melbourne, Australia, featuring the illuminated skyline reflected in the calm Yarra River. The iconic Flinders Street Station with its distinctive clock tower is prominently visible on the left, while modern skyscrapers and the contemporary Evan Walker Bridge frame the scene against a soft purple and blue sky.
A vibrant urban laneway in Melbourne, Australia, featuring rows of wheeled rubbish bins and building walls completely covered in multicolored graffiti art and tags. The scene showcases the city's famous street art culture with pink, blue, yellow, orange, and green spray paint designs layered across industrial waste containers and brick structures.
An aerial drone photograph of Albert Park Lake in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, featuring a palm tree-lined road bordering the water, with the iconic Melbourne skyline and high-rise buildings visible in the background under a partly cloudy sky.
A stunning view of Melbourne's central business district skyline reflected perfectly in the calm waters of the Yarra River at dawn or early morning. The iconic modern skyscrapers and architectural landmarks are mirrored in the still water, with native Australian vegetation visible in the foreground.
The iconic Flinders Street Train Station in Melbourne, Australia, illuminated by golden evening light with its distinctive dome and clock tower prominent. A green and yellow tram passes in front of the heritage Victorian-era building, with modern skyscrapers visible in the background and city traffic on the street below.
A stunning daytime view of Melbourne's central business district skyline featuring the Yarra River, historic Victorian architecture including ornate churches with golden spires, modern skyscrapers, and the iconic Princes Bridge crowded with pedestrians. A colorful paddle steamer navigates the river below the clear blue sky.
A large modern cruise ship with distinctive red and gold hull artwork is anchored in the harbor with the Melbourne skyline in the background during golden hour. The ship displays vibrant decorative artwork on its hull, characteristic of contemporary cruise vessel design.
A picturesque coastal landscape featuring wooden piers extending into shallow turquoise bay waters with moored sailboats and a large passenger ferry sailing in the distance. The scene captures a serene Australian seaside destination with white-railed jetties, boatsheds, and hills visible across the water.
A panoramic view of Melbourne's iconic skyline at dusk, featuring illuminated skyscrapers, historic churches, and the Yarra River with a red river cruise boat passing under ornate stone bridges. The golden-hour lighting casts warm hues across the cityscape and reflects off the water, showcasing the blend of modern high-rises and heritage architecture that defines Australia's cultural capital.
A stunning landscape view of the Grampians mountain range rising majestically behind a vibrant golden-yellow canola field in bloom, with eucalyptus trees lining the horizon under a partly cloudy sky in Victoria, Australia.
A breathtaking sunrise view from a mountain summit overlooking the Grampians valley with dramatic cloud formations, forested ridges, and a shimmering lake nestled in the valley below. The image captures the golden light of dawn illuminating the landscape with vibrant blues and warm amber tones across an expansive sky.
An adult and child stand together on a wooden observation deck overlooking a dramatic rocky coastline with a distinctive headland island visible in the distance during golden hour. The scenic coastal landscape features lush green vegetation, rocky shores, and a calm sea bathed in warm sunset light.

Great Ocean Road Small Group Eco Tour

The package begins with a full-day journey along one of the world’s most spectacular coastal drives. Departing Melbourne in the morning with select hotel pick-ups, the small group eco tour (maximum 24 guests) heads south-west along Victoria’s Surf Coast. Morning tea is included.

The route takes in picturesque seaside townships and stunning beaches as you follow the coastline carved into the cliffs above the Southern Ocean. Your guide brings the history of this road to life – built by returned soldiers after World War I, it remains the world’s largest war memorial. The audio guide, available through the Go West Tours app in 16 languages, adds further depth for non-English-speaking travellers.

The afternoon belongs to the Shipwreck Coast. Loch Ard Gorge tells the harrowing story of the clipper ship Loch Ard, which ran aground in 1878 – only two of the 54 people aboard survived. The gorge itself is dramatic, with towering limestone cliffs framing a narrow inlet. Then the 12 Apostles. These limestone stacks rising from the Southern Ocean are Victoria’s most photographed landmark, and seeing them in person is genuinely different from any photograph. National Park entry fees are included.

Keep an eye out for wild koalas along the route – sightings are common in the Otway region. The tour returns to Melbourne between 20:30 and 21:30.

Trade tip: The Great Ocean Road is the most requested day tour from Melbourne for good reason. The multilingual audio guide and Discovery Clips (brief explainer videos available in 17 languages) make this product particularly strong for non-English-speaking source markets. Morning tea and National Park entry fees are included, which simplifies quoting. The return time is late, so plan accordingly if clients have dinner reservations.

A scenic wooden boardwalk winds through coastal vegetation toward dramatic coastal cliff formations, with golden-hour sunlight illuminating the rugged rock formations and surrounding ocean landscape.
Sunrise over the Grampians National Park in Victoria, Australia, with dramatic rocky outcrops in the foreground and golden light illuminating the vast forested valley below.
Three smiling visitors pose together at a dramatic coastal overlook featuring steep green cliffs, rocky shores, and crashing waves during golden hour. The scenic location showcases the rugged beauty of Australia's southern coastline with lush grass-covered headlands meeting the ocean below.

Phillip Island Penguin Parade Small Group Eco Tour

Day two is automatically scheduled for the day after the Great Ocean Road tour. Again departing from Melbourne with select hotel pick-ups, this full-day small group eco tour heads south-east toward Phillip Island.

The first stop is Brighton Beach to see the colourful bathing boxes – 82 heritage-listed beach huts lining the foreshore, each painted in distinctive designs. It is one of Melbourne’s most iconic photo opportunities and a gentle start to the day.

From Brighton, the tour continues to a multi-award-winning Wildlife Conservation Park (Moonlit Sanctuary) where travellers can meet and view native Australian animals in a natural bushland setting. Koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, dingoes, and a range of native birds. Entry is included. This is a hands-on encounter rather than a walk-past-the-enclosure experience.

The tour then crosses onto Phillip Island for the headline event. As sunset approaches, hundreds of little penguins – the world’s smallest penguin species – emerge from the surf and waddle up the beach to their burrows. It is genuinely magical. The Penguin Parade ticket is included in the package. The tour returns to Melbourne between 21:00 and midnight depending on the season (penguin arrival times vary with sunset).

Trade tip: The late return time on this tour is seasonal and can be very late in summer. Brief your clients accordingly, particularly if they have early departures the following morning. The Brighton Beach Boxes stop at the start of the day gives clients an iconic Melbourne photograph without needing to arrange a separate visit. Moonlit Sanctuary entry and Penguin Parade tickets are both included, so there are no additional costs to factor in on the day.

A vibrant row of traditionally-styled beach huts in bright primary colors lines the sandy shore at Brighton Beach in Melbourne, Australia. These iconic changing rooms are among the most expensive real estate per square foot in the country and represent a beloved Australian coastal heritage landmark.
A close-up view of two penguins standing together on a sandy beach with the ocean visible in the soft-focused background.

Melbourne City Discovery Tour – Complimentary

The third component of this package is a half-day Melbourne City Discovery Tour, included at no extra charge. Clients can choose any available date for this tour, which gives useful flexibility when building itineraries – it can sit before the two day tours, after them, or wherever it fits best.

Note that this tour does not include hotel pick-up. The meeting point is the corner of Flinders and Market Street, next to the Immigration Museum (400 Flinders Street). Morning and afternoon departures are available. The morning tour finishes around 12:30 to 13:30 (seasonal), and the afternoon tour wraps up at approximately 17:45.

The tour covers Melbourne’s enchanting gardens, captivating arcades, and hidden laneways that have made the city famous for its street art and cafe culture. Travellers visit the legendary Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) forecourt and the Shrine of Remembrance. It is a solid orientation for clients who are new to Melbourne and want to get their bearings quickly.

The audio guide is available through the Go West Tours app in 16 languages, and Discovery Clips – brief explainer videos with additional insights about various parts of the tour – are available in 17 languages. Clients should download the app before departure or use the complimentary onboard Wi-Fi. They will need to bring their own headphones.

Trade tip: The complimentary city tour is a strong selling point when positioning this package to your clients. It effectively gives them three days of guided touring for the cost of two. The flexible date selection means you can slot it in wherever it works within a broader Melbourne itinerary. For clients arriving from long-haul flights, the half-day city tour on arrival day is a good way to ease them in before the longer Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island days.

The busy Degraves Lane pedestrian arcade in Melbourne, filled with cafes, diners, and street life in one of the city's most famous laneway precincts.
A street artist creates artwork on the wall at Hosier Lane, one of Melbourne's most famous street art laneways.

Package Inclusions at a Glance

This three-day touring package bundles together the key Melbourne day tour experiences with a straightforward set of inclusions. Here is what your clients receive:

  • Select hotel pick-ups and drop-offs within Melbourne City for the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island tours
  • Audio guide available in 16 languages via the Go West Tours app
  • Discovery Clips – brief explainer videos in 17 languages providing additional insights
  • Passionate and professional English-speaking guide on all tours
  • Air-conditioned coach with upgraded seating and complimentary onboard Wi-Fi
  • Great Ocean Road Tour: Morning tea and National Park entry fees included
  • Phillip Island Tour: Penguin Parade ticket and Moonlit Sanctuary entry included
  • Melbourne City Discovery Tour: Complimentary half-day tour (no hotel pick-up – meeting point at corner of Flinders and Market Street)

Food and drinks are not included beyond the morning tea on the Great Ocean Road day. Designated stops for lunch and dinner are built into the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island tours where clients can purchase meals or bring their own.

Trade tip: The included entries and tickets simplify your quoting. There are no hidden add-ons required. The multilingual audio guide and Discovery Clips make this package particularly easy to sell into non-English-speaking markets – your clients get the narrative in their own language without needing to arrange a specialist guide.

Melbourne E-Class Tram at Parliament Station with the city skyline visible in the background.

Extend the Melbourne Experience

This three-day package covers the two most requested day tours from Melbourne – the Great Ocean Road and the Phillip Island Penguin Parade – plus a city orientation. But it also works well as a foundation to build on.

For clients with additional time in Melbourne, consider pairing this package with complementary day tours:

  • Puffing Billy & Redwood Forest Tour – Ride the century-old steam train, wander the tranquil Redwood Forest, and finish with wine tasting in the Yarra Valley. Approximately 10 hours.
  • Puffing Billy & Penguin Parade Tour – Combines the iconic steam train with the Penguin Parade in a single long day (14 to 17 hours). A good option for clients who want both experiences but have limited days.
  • Lake Mountain Winter Wonderland Snow Tour – Seasonal winter product featuring snow play at Lake Mountain, Steavenson Falls, and the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie. Approximately 11 hours.

AABH can build these additional days into a customised Melbourne touring programme alongside accommodation, transfers, and connections to other Australian destinations.

Trade tip: The Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island are the non-negotiables for most first-time Melbourne visitors. Once those are locked in, the Puffing Billy and Yarra Valley combination is the strongest add-on – it appeals across demographics and gives clients a taste of the Dandenong Ranges and wine country. For winter travellers, the Lake Mountain snow tour fills a day with something genuinely unexpected for visitors from tropical source markets.

A historic steam locomotive numbered 14A travels across a wooden trestle bridge through a lush eucalyptus forest, with passengers visible in the vintage carriages and white steam billowing from the engine's chimney.

Booking & Operational Details

Here is what you need to know when building this product into client itineraries:

Tour scheduling: The Great Ocean Road tour is booked on the date selected at checkout. The Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour is automatically booked for the following day. These two dates cannot be swapped. The Melbourne City Discovery Tour can be scheduled for any available date.

Hotel pick-ups: Select hotel pick-ups are available for the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island tours only. Not all hotels are serviced – confirmed pick-up details are emailed after booking. The Melbourne City Discovery Tour meets at the corner of Flinders and Market Street next to the Immigration Museum (400 Flinders Street).

Return times:

  • Great Ocean Road: 20:30 to 21:30
  • Phillip Island Penguin Parade: 21:00 to midnight (seasonal, varies with sunset)
  • Melbourne City Discovery: Morning tour finishes 12:30 to 13:30 (seasonal); afternoon tour finishes 17:45

Group size: Maximum 24 guests per tour departure.

Languages: Tours are conducted in English. Audio guides in 16 languages and Discovery Clips in 17 languages are available via the free Go West Tours app. Clients should download the app before departure or use the complimentary onboard Wi-Fi. Headphones are not provided.

Weather: All tours operate rain or shine.

Trade tip: The consecutive-day scheduling for the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island tours means you need to plan the client’s Melbourne stay around those two locked dates. The flexible city tour date gives you room to manoeuvre. AABH can assist with accommodation bookings through our AABH Hotels platform and coordinate transfers to ensure everything connects smoothly.

Melbourne CBD skyline with the Yarra River in the foreground, showing modern high-rise buildings and waterfront promenades.

16-Language Audio Guide & 17-Language Discovery Clips

One of the standout features of this touring package for the travel trade is the built-in multilingual support. Every tour includes access to audio guides in 16 languages through the free Go West Tours app. No specialist language guides needed. No surcharges.

On top of that, Discovery Clips – short explainer videos providing additional insights about key stops and landmarks – are available in 17 languages. Clients access these on the day of the tour through the app or onboard Wi-Fi.

This matters because it removes one of the biggest barriers to selling Australian day tours into non-English-speaking source markets. Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Middle Eastern, and South East Asian travellers all get the full narrative experience without relying solely on an English-speaking guide.

Clients need to download the Go West Tours app before departure or use the complimentary onboard Wi-Fi. They should bring their own headphones.

Trade tip: For agents working the China, Japan, India, or Middle East markets, the multilingual capability is a genuine differentiator. It means you can confidently sell this product to FIT clients who have limited English. The Discovery Clips add visual context that goes beyond a standard audio guide. When pitching this package, lead with the language support – it answers the question your clients are already asking.

How AABH Supports Your Booking

Australia and Beyond Holidays can incorporate this three-day touring package into broader tailor-made itineraries for your clients. Here is how we add value beyond the tours themselves:

  • Accommodation: Book Melbourne hotels through our AABH Hotels platform at competitive wholesale rates. Real-time availability, net AUD pricing, and flexible payment options.
  • Transfers: We can arrange airport transfers and any additional Melbourne transport requirements through our FIT/HELiO booking platform.
  • Itinerary integration: This package sits naturally within a broader Australian programme. We can connect it to Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Tasmania, or New Zealand through our subsidiary New Zealand and Beyond Holidays (NZABH).
  • ADS compliance: For Chinese group travellers under the Approved Destination Status scheme, AABH can build ADS-approved itineraries incorporating these Melbourne day tours.

All bookable through AABH at wholesale trade rates. Contact our team at enquiries@aabh.com.au to discuss how this fits your clients’ plans, or access our FIT/HELiO platform and AABH Hotels engine for real-time availability.

Trade tip: This touring package works best when it is part of a complete Melbourne programme – accommodation, transfers, tours, and onward connections all handled by a single inbound partner. That is what AABH does. It saves you coordinating multiple suppliers and gives your clients a seamless experience with one point of contact if anything changes on the ground.

Melbourne skyline reflected in the Yarra River at dusk, with city lights beginning to glow and a warm golden sky above.

PACKAGE HIGHLIGHTS

  • 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, and the Shipwreck Coast along the Great Ocean Road
  • Wild koala spotting in the Otway region
  • Brighton Beach Boxes – Melbourne’s most photographed foreshore
  • Moonlit Sanctuary – hands-on native wildlife encounters
  • Phillip Island Penguin Parade – the world’s smallest penguins at sunset
  • Melbourne city landmarks, laneways, street art, and the MCG forecourt
  • Complimentary Melbourne City Discovery Tour included in the package

Three Days, Two Iconic Day Tours, One Free City Tour

Most international travellers visiting Melbourne for the first time want the Great Ocean Road and the Penguin Parade. This package delivers both as small group eco tours with all the key inclusions sorted, then adds a complimentary half-day city tour on top.

For agents, it simplifies the Melbourne touring component of a broader Australian itinerary. Three days of guided experiences, daily departures, multilingual audio support, and select hotel pick-ups. AABH handles the rest – accommodation through our AABH Hotels platform, transfers, and connections to other Australian destinations.

  • Daily departures year-round from Melbourne
  • Maximum 24 guests per tour for a small group feel
  • Audio guides in 16 languages – no specialist guide needed
  • Bookable through AABH at wholesale trade rates

Add This Destination to Your Australia or New Zealand Itinerary

Contact our team for trade rates, availability, and help packaging this tour into your clients’ tailor-made itineraries. As a leading inbound travel specialist for Australia and New Zealand, we’ll build the complete journey, including flights, accommodation, connecting tours, and onward travel.

The Great Ocean Road tour is booked on the date your client selects at checkout. The Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour is automatically scheduled for the following day. These two dates cannot be swapped. The Melbourne City Discovery Tour is flexible – your client can choose any available date that suits their itinerary. This gives you room to place the city tour before, after, or between the other two days depending on their overall Melbourne programme.
Select hotel pick-ups within Melbourne city are available for the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island tours. Not all hotels are serviced, so confirmed pick-up details are emailed after booking. The Melbourne City Discovery Tour does not include hotel pick-up or drop-off. The meeting point is the corner of Flinders and Market Street next to the Immigration Museum (400 Flinders Street). When building itineraries, factor in the client’s hotel location relative to the pick-up point for the city tour.
All tours are conducted in English by a professional guide. However, every tour includes access to an audio guide in 16 languages through the free Go West Tours app, plus Discovery Clips – brief explainer videos with additional insights – available in 17 languages. Clients need to download the app before departure or use the complimentary onboard Wi-Fi, and should bring their own headphones. This multilingual support makes the package well suited to travellers from non-English-speaking source markets including China, Japan, India, South East Asia, and the Middle East.
Morning tea is included on the Great Ocean Road tour. Beyond that, food and drinks are not included. Designated stops for lunch and dinner are built into the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island tour days where clients can purchase meals. Clients are also welcome to bring their own food and drinks. The Melbourne City Discovery Tour is a half-day experience and does not include meal stops.
The three-day package covers the essential Melbourne touring experiences – the Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island Penguin Parade, and a city orientation. It sits naturally alongside a Melbourne hotel stay and can be combined with additional Victorian day tours (Puffing Billy, Yarra Valley, Lake Mountain snow tours) or onward travel to other Australian destinations. AABH builds complete Australian and New Zealand itineraries for the travel trade, so this package is often one component of a larger programme. We can add accommodation through our AABH Hotels platform, arrange transfers, and connect Melbourne to Sydney, the Great Barrier Reef, Uluru, Tasmania, or New Zealand through our subsidiary NZABH. Contact us at enquiries@aabh.com.au to discuss how it fits your clients’ plans.