Melbourne is Victoria's capital and Australia's second-largest city, known for its laneway culture, world-class coffee scene, and status as the country's sporting and cultural capital. A dense tram network, the Yarra River, and a patchwork of distinct inner-city neighbourhoods give Melbourne a different character from harbour-side Sydney.
Top day trips
Handpicked excursions within easy reach.
Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles
One of the world's great coastal drives, winding past Bells Beach, Torquay, and Lorne to the limestone sea stacks of the Twelve Apostles near Port Campbell, roughly a 3.5 to 4-hour drive from Melbourne along the coast.
Highlights: Twelve Apostles limestone sea stacks viewed from the Booringa Road boardwalk · Loch Ard Gorge shipwreck history and beach access · Bells Beach surf break near Torquay · Great Otway National Park rainforest walks and waterfalls · Cape Otway Lightstation
Phillip Island Penguin Parade
An evening viewing of the world's smallest penguin species waddling ashore at dusk to their beachside burrows at Summerlands Beach, Phillip Island's best-known wildlife attraction.
Highlights: Penguin Parade nightly viewing of little penguins at Summerlands Beach · The Nobbies boardwalk and fur seal colony lookout at Seal Rocks · Cape Woolamai coastal walking trail · Churchill Island historic working farm
Yarra Valley Wine Country
Victoria's best-known cool-climate wine region, with more than 80 cellar doors producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, plus the Healesville Sanctuary wildlife park and TarraWarra Museum of Art.
Highlights: Cellar door tastings at Yering Station, Domaine Chandon, and De Bortoli · Healesville Sanctuary native wildlife park · TarraWarra Museum of Art · Dawn hot air balloon flights over the vineyards
Dandenong Ranges and Puffing Billy
A cool-climate mountain range of fern gullies and mountain ash forest, home to the 1000 Steps walk, the National Rhododendron Garden, and the historic Puffing Billy steam railway between Belgrave and Gembrook.
Highlights: Puffing Billy heritage steam train through fern gullies between Belgrave and Lakeside · 1000 Steps Kokoda Track Memorial Walk through mountain ash forest · National Rhododendron Garden at Olinda · William Ricketts Sanctuary sculpture garden
Mornington Peninsula
A peninsula of bay and ocean beaches, geothermal hot springs at Peninsula Hot Springs, and vineyards around Red Hill, with dolphin swim boats departing from Sorrento Pier.
Highlights: Peninsula Hot Springs geothermal bathing pools · Sorrento and Portsea back beaches and Point Nepean walking trails · Red Hill cellar doors and providore stores · Sorrento Pier dolphin and seal swim tours · Arthurs Seat Eagle gondola for bay views
Ballarat and Sovereign Hill
A gold-rush era city with the Sovereign Hill open-air museum recreating an 1850s mining town, plus the Ballarat Botanical Gardens and grand Victorian-era streetscapes.
Highlights: Sovereign Hill's recreated 1850s gold-rush township and underground mine tour · Gold panning in the Red Hill Gully Diggings · Ballarat Botanical Gardens and Lake Wendouree · Art Gallery of Ballarat, Australia's oldest regional gallery
Bendigo
A gold-rush boom town with grand 19th-century architecture along Pall Mall and View Street, the Bendigo Art Gallery, and the Golden Dragon Museum reflecting the city's Chinese mining heritage.
Highlights: Central Deborah Gold Mine underground tour · Bendigo Art Gallery's touring exhibitions · Golden Dragon Museum and the Dai Gum San Chinese heritage precinct · Heritage Bendigo Tramways loop past Victorian-era Pall Mall buildings
Queenscliff and the Bellarine Peninsula
A preserved Victorian-era seaside town at the heads of Port Phillip Bay, with historic hotels, the Queenscliff-Drysdale heritage railway, and Point Lonsdale's lighthouse and back beach nearby.
Highlights: Fort Queenscliff 19th-century coastal fortification and maritime museum · Queenscliff-Drysdale heritage steam railway · Point Lonsdale lighthouse and back beach · Bellarine Peninsula cellar doors around Drysdale
Daylesford and Hepburn Springs
Victoria's spa country, home to the largest concentration of mineral springs in Australia, boutique day spas, Lake Daylesford, and the Sunday Daylesford Lake Sunday Market.
Highlights: Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa mineral pool bathing · Lake Daylesford walking track · Convent Gallery housed in a restored 19th-century convent · Sunday Lake Daylesford Market
Trips by distance
How far you can go in a day.
Getting there
Transport options for day trips.
- Option
- Direct trains from Southern Cross Station to Geelong, Ballarat, and Bendigo, standard myki/V/Line fare applies
- Option
- Guided full-day coach tours to the Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island, or Yarra Valley including a driver-guide and set itinerary stops
- Option
- Most flexible option for the Great Ocean Road, Yarra Valley wine touring, or Mornington Peninsula, though a designated driver is needed for wine tasting
- Option
- Scenic narrow-gauge steam train through the Dandenong Ranges from Belgrave to Gembrook
Multi-day tours from Melbourne
If you have longer than a day, these are organised multi-day trips that start here.
Browse multi-day tours from MelbourneWe may earn a commission from bookings made through this link.
Day trip tips
Make the most of your excursions.
Book Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island coach tours a day or two ahead in peak season (December-February and Easter) to guarantee a seat
Start early — most day trips from Melbourne involve 1-2.5 hours of one-way travel, so a 7-8AM departure maximises time at the destination
The Great Ocean Road itself is a full day given driving time and stops; consider an organised coach tour if not comfortable driving winding coastal roads
Yarra Valley wineries and the Dandenong Ranges are spread out — a self-drive, organised tour, or the Puffing Billy steam train are more practical than relying on regular public transport