Queenscliff and the Bellarine Peninsula

Queenscliff sits at the entrance to Port Phillip Bay on the Bellarine Peninsula, about 100km south-west of Melbourne's CBD. It can be reached in roughly one hour 15 minutes by car via the West Gate Freeway and Bellarine Highway, or by taking the Sorrento-Queenscliff car and passenger ferry across the bay from the Mornington Peninsula, which suits travellers combining both peninsulas in a longer trip. A V/Line train to Geelong followed by a local bus is a public transport alternative for those without a car. The town itself is a preserved Victorian-era seaside settlement with grand 19th-century hotels including the Vue Grand and Ozone, the historic Fort Queenscliff coastal fortification and its maritime museum, and the Queenscliff-Drysdale heritage steam railway running inland through the peninsula's farmland. A short drive or walk away, Point Lonsdale offers a lighthouse and an exposed back beach popular with surfers. A typical day starts with the ferry crossing or drive into Queenscliff, a guided tour of Fort Queenscliff, which is only accessible with a guide rather than self-guided, lunch on Hesse Street, and an afternoon either at Point Lonsdale's lighthouse and back beach or riding the Bellarine Railway's heritage steam train if it happens to be running that day. The Bellarine Peninsula's cellar doors around Drysdale offer a further stop for travellers extending into the evening. Queenscliff suits a visit in any season for its historic streetscape, while summer adds swimming at Point Lonsdale and the bay-side beaches.