1 Day Great Ocean Road Tour

Days
1
DEPARTS
07:35
RETURNS
20:30
From
$120-150 AUD
$109 deal

This Great Ocean Road Tour is a guided scenic drive along Australia’s most spectacular coastline with jaw-dropping ocean views and ancient rainforests. Our group day tour includes visiting the iconic rock formations known as the 12 Apostles. Explore the stunning Loch Ard Gorge and marvel at the views from all the best lookouts within the Port Campbell National Park. Wander through seaside towns such as Apollo Bay and have time to explore other beautiful beaches and walks.

Great Ocean Road Tours Highlights

  • Visit the historic Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch
  • Surf Coast beaches, seaside towns, and stunning coastal views
  • Spot Australian wildlife along the the Great Ocean Road
  • Enjoy lunch in the seaside town of Apollo Bay
  • Rainforest walk through the Great Otway National Park
  • Loch Ard Gorge and the Shipwreck Coast Port Campbell National Park
  • The world-famous Twelve Apostles Port Campbell National Park
  • If time permits, we visit the Razorback, Island Archway, Salt & Pepper Shakers formations

Trip Inclusions

  • All National Park entry fees
  • Australian flora and fauna sightings
  • A professional & friendly driver/guide
  • Local informative tour commentary
  • Comfortable coach transportation service
  • Select inner-city pick-up & drop-off locations
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1 Day Great Ocean Road
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Great Ocean Road Trip Itinerary

The Great Ocean Road is Victoria’s famous must-do road trip. One day we will show you the beauty of this coastal drive and take you through pristine beaches, fresh rainforest and rugged limestone rock formations.

Be wowed by the 12 Apostles – these iconic rock formations lie just off the shore of Port Campbell National Park in Victoria. Get lost in the beauty of this natural scenery and allow our guides to regale you with the stories and history that shapes this epic coastline.

Once we have left Melbourne, we head down to the Surf Coast, passing through gorgeous seaside townships such as AngleseaLorne and Airey’s Inlet. We stop along the way for some morning tea and to breathe in the fresh sea air whilst spotting surfers out on the water. The proximity to Antarctica means that you will learn why everyone wears a wet suit once you dip your toes into the water.

Stop at the Great Ocean Road monument, which marks the original starting point of the Great Ocean Road. After some photos at the iconic Memorial Arch and a lesson on the history of the soldiers who built this road and dedicated it to their fallen comrades, we will wind through more stunning views (of course, stopping for pictures!)

 

 

Along the journey, we will be making stops to look for Koalas and other Australian wildlife on the Great Ocean Road, hanging out in the wild. As they are wild, we cannot guarantee where they will show up, but our knowledgeable guides know all the best spots to get out into the bush and spot them sleeping!

A welcome lunch break is taken in Apollo Bay (approximately 45 minutes – at guests’ own expense). Once you have explored Apollo Bay, grabbed any souvenirs you wish to buy, or tasted some delicious ice cream, then it is back on the bus to the Great Otway National Park inland.

Still on the Great Ocean Road but now continuing up into the lush green hills of the Great Otway National Park. Drive past towering Eucalyptus trees until we arrive at a patch of Cool, Temperate Rainforest. You will be amazed at the difference in the scenery as we take a walk through the tree ferns and marvel at the ‘ancient relics’ Myrtle Beach trees. These provide perfect canopy shade and originate from when Australia was part of a supercontinent known as Gondwanaland. Breathe in the fresh air before we take a relaxing drive out to the dramatic Shipwreck Coast!

Once out of the trees and back by the Southern Ocean, we arrive in Port Campbell National Park, home to the iconic 12 Apostles. We will spend about 40 minutes at the Apostles, where you will enjoy free time to take in the views from every angle, walk along the boardwalks, and get the perfect pictures of this wild and rugged coastline.

Also, in the National Park, we head down to Loch Ard Gorge, the site of one of Australia’s most well know shipwrecks, hear the dramatic tale of Tom and Eva and then head down to the beach to look for the caves. This is also where you will find rock formations such as Island ArchwayRazorback, and the ‘Salt and Pepper Shakers too.

After a full day of exploring, we say goodbye to the Great Ocean Road and turn back inland to drive back to Melbourne via country roads. We pass through farmlands en route to the country town of Colac. Here, you can grab a quick bite for dinner (at the guests’ own expense) if you wish, as we will arrive back home in Melbourne at approximately 8:30 pm.

Details

Pick-up Locations & TImes

Our central meeting point for this tour will be the Immigration Museum (east-side), 400 Flinders St, corner of Market St, Melbourne @ 7:35AM.

*It is strongly recommended that you arrive at your pickup location at least 10 minutes before departure time. Please be patient and do not panic if your bus is running a few minutes late. If your bus has not picked you up within 10 minutes of your departure time, then contact our office on 03 9393 1300

Pricing

Great Ocean Road and Rainforest 1 Day Tour$150 Adult (13+), $120 Child (0 to 12)

If you’re keen on travelling to the Great Ocean Road on a private tour with just your friends or family we can help take you there. You can create your own tailor-made Melbourne trip or follow our itinerary. Contact our charters team for more information on charters@gltg.com.au.

What you need to bring?

FAQ

Starting from Melbourne, a trip to the Great Ocean Road is a 664 km return. Travelling via TorquayApollo Bay, and Port Fairy and returning to Melbourne takes 9.5 hours to drive. The Great Ocean Road has two main starting points when travelling from Melbourne. You can turn onto the Great Ocean Road from either Torquay or Anglesea. Our 1-day great ocean road tours turn onto Great Ocean Road at Anglesea. It’s from here the Great Ocean Road hugs the coastline through to Apollo Bay. Our tours travel to the 12 Apostles before returning to Melbourne. This journey is a 504 km return to Melbourne, which takes 7hrs hours to drive. We spend 12hrs along the Great Ocean Road, enjoying many beautiful locations and stopping to explore.

The Great Ocean Road starts from Torquay, 104km south of Melbourne. The Great Ocean Road ends 244 km later in Allansford. However, we recommend you travel through to Warrnambool to visit the largest city along the Great Ocean Road.

Yes, we specialise in offering one-day trips to the Great Ocean Road, helping travellers maximise their time in Melbourne. Between April and October, hiring a car for a one-day trip to the Great Ocean Road is not recommended. This region can experience high winds and severe rainstorms. You have limited daylight and will be returning to Melbourne in the dark on less maintained roads. From Melbourne, a Great Ocean Road day trip in a hire car is a tiring journey with approximately 7hrs of driving. We highly recommend joining a great ocean road tour and letting our experienced tour drivers ensure a fantastic day from start to finish.

664 km/413 miles, about 9.5 hours
One of Victoria’s most scenic roads, the Great Ocean Road is a fantastic 1-day bus tour from the capital of Melbourne to the iconic 12 Apostles.

The best time to visit the Great Ocean Road depends largely on what activities you plan on doing. For those who prefer warmer weather, September to April is the best time of year to visit. This period offers mostly sunny days and temperatures ranging from 16-25°C (60-77°F). During this period, you can take advantage of activities such as swimming at the beach or surfing in the ocean.

The Great Ocean Walk has a difficulty rating of “moderate” to “challenging.” It means there will be short, steep climbs and uneven, bumpy trails. A relatively energetic lifestyle and some walking experience are recommended.

At just over 100 kilometres, it combines Australia’s tallest coastal cliffs, the remains of various historic shipwrecks, and vast stretches of uninhabited beaches. A walk along this route can perhaps bring a new twist at every turn.

You don’t need a 4WD drive to travel the Great Ocean Road to choose the cheapest rental car, and it will be just fine! If you’re travelling alone, with two people, or you don’t like the idea of planning your trip on the Great Ocean Road, you’re better off choosing a tour.

For most visitors to Melbourne, a tour-guided trip to the Great Ocean Road is a must. Like many other Australian cities, it’s always worth taking a car or bus tour and travelling outside the city.

Also, Wildlife Melbourne Tours offers Yarra Valley Wine Tours that are perfect for wine connoisseurs and novices. Our tours provide an intimate experience of the Yarra Valley, allowing guests to explore some of the region’s finest wineries. You’ll visit boutique vineyards and taste award-winning wines during our Yarra Valley Wine Tours. Our tour guides are passionate and knowledgeable about Yarra Valley wines, so you can rest assured that your experience will be both educational and enjoyable. And to top it off, you’ll get to enjoy a delicious lunch at one of the region’s finest wineries. So join us for an unforgettable Yarra Valley Wine Tour experience!

Booking​

30 thoughts on “1 Day Great Ocean Road Tour”

  1. My friend and I did this tour on our second day in Australia (both in our late 20s). We both had such a fantastic day and were lucky that the sunshine came out for us as well during the day. We had Tim (with long hair – there were two Tims!) as our guide and we couldn’t have asked for better. Such a friendly and knowledgeable guy, absolutely loved his stories and facts throughout the day and how his playlist linked in with the information he was telling us. I felt so lucky to see wild koalas in Lorne ( we weren’t successful in seeing any in Noosa or Magnetic Island later on during our travels so felt even luckier we had managed to see them on this trip and so early on!). Loved the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, had famous Dooleys ice cream in Apollo Bay…. we fit so much into the day, it was very worthwhile. Of course like with any daytrip /tour, I wish we could have had slightly more time in each place and to have seen even more sights rather than having to pick and choose here and there because of time constraints. Overall so happy that we decided to do this tour!

  2. We have been in Melbourne for just 3 days . So We have chosen the 1 day Great Ocean Road and it was absolutely amazing. Had fun at Cape Patton and enjoyed the beautiful great ocean rod cost and the ‘12 Apostles’. Had a great experience with our couch tour operator. Our guide John was absolutely funny, responsible and prepared for it. Thanks for everything.

  3. Excellent tour. Duane the driver/guide very well planned and well informed. He organised the day well, commencing with a welcome coffee break. There was a good choice of photo stops along the Great Ocean Road. Apollo Bay was a good place to have lunch followed by a delicious Chocolate Ice Cream at the Award winners local outlet. We enjoyed the Rainforest and had some fantastic walks at the coast as we made our way along to the Twelve Apostles. It was a beautiful sunny day so conditions were ideal for this tour. Although there was a lot to see we never felt rushed. There was also plenty of cool water on hand. It was a memorable day out. Thanks to Duane for being an excellent Guide and- Yes- I will remember: Melbourne is the greatest City in the World!!”

  4. My two friends and I did the one day tour of the Great Ocean Road with Tim as our guide. He was awesome! We loved his music playlist on the bus – made the trip much more enjoyable! We stopped at beautiful places and got to see wild koalas and parrots. Definitely recommend this tour!

  5. My friends and I did the reverse great ocean road with Daniel as our guide, and had the BEST time! Daniel is an awesome host and guide, if you’re lucky enough to get on his bus you’ll be in for an amazing day! We also did the optional helicopter tour which was a great way to see the “12” Apostles.

  6. The day trip to Great Ocean Road starts early in the morning and takes 12 hours long (the whole day). Is good to wear comfortable clothes, shoes and bring a bottle of water with you.

    It is a small group, no more than 20 people, and during our way, we stopped to see some wild Aussie animals as cockatoos, koalas, kangaroos.

    We had lunch in Apolo Bay in a small restaurant and our guide suggested to try the famous local ice cream at Dooley`s (delicious).

    We stopped to do small hiking (40 minutes) at the Rain Forest and then, we continued by car until the Twelve Apostles Lookout. The view is unbelievable and the sunset is breathtaking. We also visited some places around where is possible to go to the beaches and see the huge stones which are part of The Twelve Apostles, as well.

    Our guide, Guy, is an amazing and kind person and he knows everything about the place.

    It was a happy and unforgettable day. I strongly recommend it!

  7. Seriously the Great Ocean Road should be renamed The Amazing Ocean Road!! What a journey this is full of coastal wonders, Koala encounters and the breath taking 12 Apostles. I completely recommend this tour… brilliant day!

  8. I must commend Simon on such a brilliant tour of the Great Ocean Road. His guidance and entertaining commentary as we travelled further brought to life an already breath taking journey. Cheers Wildlife Tours

  9. We chose this tour for its great reviews and great price and we were not disappointed. Thank you to Wildlife Tours for an amazing trip

  10. Had an amazing 1-day Great Ocean Road- trip, with a great itenirary and fun tour-guide! We were super happy with the whole day 🙂

  11. Amazing tour way beyond my expectations. Id like to thank Darren our tour guide. his knowledge took this Great Ocean Road Tour to another level

  12. I joined this great ocean road day tour over the new year period and was blown away by the service and knowledge of our tour guide Brad. Really enjoyed this incredible region. Highly recommend this tour

  13. We loved this great ocean road tour so much. Seeing Koalas in the wild and a stunning rainforest walk were surprising highlights of this beautiful tour. Great value for money I will recommend to all my friends and family.

  14. Thank you for such a wonderful experience. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed Tim’s commentary and guidance throughout our tour. Strongly recommend.

  15. Great Way To Experience Great Ocean Road!

    We didn’t expected it would be such a long day, yet it was a great one.
    Thanks to our very experienced and passionate tour guide Darren and the excited Koala Charlie! Highly recommended!

  16. We booked the private group with the same highlight with this day trip, everything are wonderful lunch is great, all the place are so beautiful and impressible. The best of the best is “Charlie”our tour leader and driver, he knows everything about the trip very well and entertain us along the trip, he has knowledge in dept since he worked in that forest before so real and fantastic, my daughter and son learned a lot about rain forest during walking and have fun. He is so professional tour leader and kind person, he recommended the good restaurant for dinner and managed the time perfectly. I strongly recommend all my friends to visit Melbourne and have the trip with you again. Thank again for wonderful trip.
    Regards
    Charlie’s angel

  17. Thank you Wildlife Tours and to our Guide Darren for such an incredible experience. I will highly recommend to friends and family

  18. Wow what can I say about this trip but another WOW! Our guide was incredible and helped create an incredible experience. The Great Ocean road is a must do if coming to Melbourne

  19. Had a great day trip with Autopia to The Great Ocean Road & Rainforest walk. Henning, our tour guide was fantastic. Generous with his time (we are still on the bus at 9.30pm), knowledgeable, professional – and a really nice bloke!
    Would recommend this company and this gentleman to anyone. Hotel pick up fantastic.
    Thank you

  20. Rachel B, Perth Australia

    Excellent day trip! Bus is a little small, but it didn’t take away from the day and the driver was fantastic and very knowledgeable. This trip is worth every penny.

    We were picked up in central Melbourne and had morning tea in a little town called Colac. First landmark we saw was the London Bridge where we stopped for 15 mins to take in the view, we then went on to Loch Ard Gorge where we had longer time to walk around, really beautiful spot. Then we headed to the 12 Apostles where we had an hour, we had lunch here and there was an opportunity to go up in a helicopter for those who had pre-booked. There is a steady walk around the cliffs to take in the views of the Apostles. It is a busy place with lots of posing and selfies!

    We then moved on to Mait’s rest forest tour again an easy 30 min walk the guide was entertaining and new his stuff. The trees were amazing to see.

    We then had a toilet break at a seaside town and on to my favourite part of the day….Koalas! I got to see my first wild koalas on this trip. In fact one was sat on the crash barrier looking out to the ocean! Our guide said he had never seen anything like it before! At Kennett River there were also a lot of parrots which are clearly used to being fed as they were jumping on some of the other tourists.

    We then drove along the rest of the Ocean Drive Road and had a photo opportunity at the Memorial Park Gates. One last stop for pizzas in Torquay and back to Melbourne for about 7.30pm all in all a very memorable day and thanks to a great driver and tour guide. Definitely recommend this to anyone visiting Melbourne and has a spare day.

  21. Nicola K Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    What a fantastic tour we had on the 6th December with Andrea (and Rob) who was training. He will be a lovely and very approachable tour guide when he is ready.

    A lot of people recommended doing great ocean road over several days. However we saw everything we felt the need to see on the day tour, it was more than sufficient.

    Throughout this time we had morning tea, stopped at several bays and beaches, a wildlife park, had a lunch stop, went to viewing points, did a rainforest walk AND saw the 12 Apostles. The day went by very quickly and although there were so many stops, we didn’t feel rushed which was great.

    The highlight of our tour was definitely seeing the parrots and koalas in the trees. You can feed the parrots and get some amazing photos!

    We were picked up at 6.55am and didn’t return in the CBD until 8.30pm! Andrea was extremely knowledgable about everything that we did and saw. I can thoroughly recommend it as something to do in Melbourne.

  22. This tour is not a must, but can be done if you have a day to spend and don’t know what to do.
    This tour takes you along different sights and places along the Great Ocean Road. It was a good tour as we got to see the 12 Apostles (now only 9 left), the Shipwreck Cove (The Loch Ard Gorge), The Maits Rest Rainforest (A small 20-25 mins walk through the rainforest) and many beautiful views along the Great Ocean Road. We also stopped in a place with some beautiful birds and koalas. It was a day well spent.

    Our host for this tour was KK. She was really fun and patient (as at times we would return later than the rest of the group to the bus – apologies to everyone for that).

  23. The tour was awesome. Got to spend time at all the major highlights of the Great Ocean Road! Tour guide was very helpful and nice. Would highly recommend as price is unbeatable.

  24. I booked the Great Ocean road day tour with an online travel agent (Travel Freedom), who got me a day tour with Wildlife tours. I had been shopping around for rates and got a good deal for our family of six, which included lunch, so I was not sure what I would be getting for less than $100 per person, while other rates go as high as $130. Our tour went very well, my family enjoyed all the beauty and wonder of this tour, and all the history and information provided by our tour guide, Craig- who is not only knowledgeable, but full of wit and humor. Will look for Wildlife Tours again when we visit Australia!

  25. We had a truly memorable day and couldn’t believe how much we managed to cram in. I need to give special mention to our tour guide Grant who really made the day with his informative but easygoing and often amusing commentary- it’s a long time to spend on a small coach and the commentary really helped the time pass and helped us learn about our surroundings.
    The meal stop was also really good – better than you often expect on tours where restaurants cater for large groups converging on them.
    Thanks for a tremendous day that we will always remember.
    Best wishes,
    Andy and Jill

  26. My friends and I visited 3 places during our 1 week stay in Australia and the great ocean road was the best. The tourist guide was very friendly. Lots of things to see and pictures to take. We surely had a wonderful time.

  27. It was my first time on the Great Ocean Road and I was not disappointed. The best part of it was the photo opportunities. So many things to see on a beautiful sunny day, I recommend this trip.

  28. What an amazing tour with Rob, he had us in stitches. The views were amazing at the great ocean road. Everyone on the tour I spoke to really enjoyed themselves. Thanks Rob

  29. Thanks for a good time. The koalas were my favorite of the one day tour. A long drive but the tour guide made it more fun.

  30. I had an amazing time with Darren on the Great Ocean Road tour. He answered all our questions and helped us get the best out of our cameras by taking nice photos of beautiful places.

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1 Day Great Ocean Road Tour
This Great Ocean Road Tour is a guided scenic drive along Australia’s most spectacular coastline with jaw-dropping ocean views and ancient rainforests.
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