Great Ocean Road Tours For An Action-Packed Daytrip

Whether you’re into an epic 3-day guided hike or an action-packed day trip to remember, there’s a Great Ocean Road tour for you.

Victoria’s aesthetically blessed southern coastline is one of Australia’s most photographed spots. A region best visited with a fully charged phone (and with your best camera lens’ in tow) you won’t be able to stop yourself from snapping the Great Ocean Road’s embarrassing wealth of natural beauty. From multi-day guided hiking trips to fun bus trips with like-minded travellers, these Great Ocean Road tours enable you to see this famous stretch of coastline in a new light.

Intrepid Travel’s Great Ocean Road & Grampians Adventure

two people standing on top of the Hanging Rock — You’ll be rewarded with spectacular views at the top of Hanging Rock. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Outdoorsy travellers who are curious about First Nations culture

If you want to spend some solid time in the region, go all-in on this 6-day road trip with Intrepid Travel.

Starting in Melbourne and finishing in Adelaide, you’ll get to spend a couple of days playing on the Great Ocean Road as well as getting some quality mountain time in the Grampians too.

Forget spending all your days cooped up in a bus, you’ll get to enjoy plenty of time doing things like hiking in nature, eating bush tucker foods at an outdoor cafe, and learning about First Nations culture from a local Indigenous guide.

This tour offers a great balance between seeing the blockbuster sites (like the Twelve Apostles) and experiencing some of the lesser-known places and activities day trippers often miss out on.

Otway Eco Tours

Best for: Nature lovers who like to travel at a relaxed pace in small groups

If paddling a canoe across a lake home to platypus in the Great Otway National Park, watching the magical aura of glow worms at dusk or spending a day exploring a section of the Great Ocean Road on foot sounds like your thing, then make a booking with Otway Eco Tours.

This ecotourism-certified and accredited organisation offers small groups the chance to experience slow journeys in nature in and around the Great Ocean Road.

Led by an experienced guide, you’ll come away with plenty of knowledge about the area’s native flora and fauna and a newfound appreciation of the wonderous beauty found in this very special corner of Australia.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

Life’s An Adventure’s Great Ocean Walk

a helicopter flying above the Twelve Apostles — Marvel at the Twelve Apostles on a scenic helicopter ride. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Active travellers keen to enjoy a pack-free walk with a soft landing

When it comes to getting a genuine feel for a place, there’s nothing quite like a multi-day hike. A 3-day journey along the Great Ocean Walk with Life’s An Adventure is a top option if you love walking, but also prefer not to camp or carry a heavy pack.

Carrying just a light day pack, each night you’ll be able to refuel with delicious food and wine and bed down in boutique accommodation near the trail.

Perhaps the best part of this tour is the inclusion of a helicopter flight over the Twelve Apostles to marvel at the mammoth rock formations from above. If you want to experience a truly remarkable trip to remember, this is it.

Wildlife Tours Australia Great Ocean Road tour

Loch Ard Gorge at sunrise — Discover the dramatic beauty of Loch Ard Gorge. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Wildlife lovers and anyone short on time

If you’re visiting Melbourne and have a spare day up your sleeve this day tour is an excellent, affordable way to see all the well-known landmarks along the Great Ocean Road in a short amount of time. After getting picked up from one of the locations in central Melbourne, you’ll hit the road for the Surf Coast to enjoy the scenic drive of a lifetime.

Snap a photo at the Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, keep watch for koalas while walking through the rainforest in the Great Otway National Park and take in the monumental majesty of the Twelve Apostles that have stood for millennia.

After an action-packed day, you’ll be returned to Melbourne with a pocket full of magic memories stored in your phone.

Weekly travel news, experiences
insider tips, offers, and more.

Walk 91

hikers on a coastal hike, Great Ocean Road — Tackle the wild side of the coastal hike with a guide. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: Fit travellers who prefer self-guided walks

Many people take on the Great Ocean Walk with a guide, but if you prefer your freedom you can book Walk 91 to take care of all the finicky logistics for you.

Choose from packages that range from 3-day to 10-day hikes to enjoy spending your days walking the coastline knowing that your transport, bag transfers and accommodation are taken care of.

You’ll even be supplied with a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), informative notes and walking poles if needed. This is an easy, breezy way to enjoy an epic walk, minus the logistical hassles.

Ride Tours Great Ocean Road tours

a surfer at the Kennett River — Hit the waves at the Kennett River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Best for: 18 to 35-year-olds keen to check out the highlights of the Great Ocean Road

If you’re between 18 and 35 years old, Ride Tours offers one and two-day trips to see the highlights of the Great Ocean Road with other travellers from your generation.

After a minibus picks you up from Melbourne CBD or St Kilda, you’ll be whisked away to see the sites of the Great Ocean Road in just a day or two.

The one-day itinerary is jam-packed with stops at Fairhaven, Lorne, Kennett River, Apollo Bay and, of course, the star of the show, the Twelve Apostles. Returning you to the city by about 7.30pm, this economical tour is a fun way to see the best of the Great Ocean Road in just one day.

Discover the best camping sites along the Great Ocean Road.

Makers, bakers, artists, chefs, crafters – Ballarat and its surrounds are overflowing with creative spirits. All dedicated to keeping traditional skills alive for a city that is humming with artful energy.

Modern makers: a new generation of artists and artisans

“Keeping craft alive is a noble cause,” says Jess Cameron-Wootten, a charming and passionate master leathercrafter and cordwainer, who handmakes traditional leather boots and shoes in Ballarat’s old Gun Cotton Goods Store.

Ballarat was recognised in 2019 as a UNESCO Creative City of Craft and Folk Art, and today it’s a place where craft traditions converge with contemporary needs. Nothing quite captures this convergence as a visit to Wootten, the workshop and store of Jess Cameron-Wootten and his partner Krystina Menegazzo.

heritage buildings in Ballarat — Ballarat’s streets are lined with heritage buildings. (Image: Matt Dunne)

Jess’s father was an artisan bootmaker, or cordwainer. Now Jess and Krys and their small team of artisans continue the tradition, but with a modern spin. The company’s boots and shoes, made completely from scratch, are renowned for their quality and longevity. Wootten also craft shoes, bags, belts, leather aprons, wallets and more.

Cosy beanies, gloves, alpaca socks, “unbreakable” shoelaces and various other goods – many from local craftspeople and small-scale makers – fill the shop’s shelves. “We’re always happy to support a mate,” says Jess. “People love to see the workshop and where things are made. Our clients care about quality and sustainability,” Krys comments. The company slogan ‘Made for generations’ says it all.

Ruby Pilven’s ceramics at Ross Creek Gallery. (Image: Tara Moore)

For Ruby Pilven, craft is also in the DNA – both her parents were potters and with her latest porcelain ceramics, Ruby’s young daughter has been helping add colour to the glazes. “I grew up watching my parents in the workshop – I’ve always been doing ceramics,” she says, although her Visual Arts degree was in printmaking. That printmaking training comes through particularly in the rich layering of pattern. Her audacious colour, unexpected shapes and sudden pops of 12-carat gold are contemporary, quirky – and joyful.

You can see Ruby’s handcrafted ceramics, and work by other local and regional artists, at Ross Creek Gallery, a light-filled space surrounded by serene bushland, across from the mudbrick house her parents built in the 1980s. A 10-minute drive from Ballarat, it’s a tangible link to the region’s well-established craft traditions.

How Ballarat is preserving the past

artisans making crafts at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat — The Centre for Rare Arts & Forgotten Trades holds workshops to preserve crafts and skills.

While tradition is ongoing, there’s a danger that many of these specific type of skills and knowledge are fading as an older generation passes on. Step forward the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades.

The seven purpose-built studios occupy a fabulous modern building adjacent to Sovereign Hill, with state-of-the-art facilities, enormous windows and landscape views across to Warrenheip and Wadawurrung Country.

artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades, Ballarat — Check out artisanal works at the Centre for Rare Arts and Forgotten Trades.

Practising artisans run hands-on workshops. Fancy making your own medieval armour? Or trying your hand at blacksmithing, spinning wool, plaiting leather, weaving cane or craft a knife? Book a class and learn how. “It’s about creating awareness and also sharing knowledge and skills before they are lost,” explains Deborah Klein, the centre manager.

A city steeped in food and flavours

Chef José Fernandez preparing American streetfood at Pancho — Chef José Fernandez creates vibrant South American street food at Pancho. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

One skill that hasn’t been lost is that of cooking. Ballarat’s burgeoning gastronomy scene runs the gamut from an artisan bakery (the atmospheric 1816 Bakehouse) to cool coffee shops, speakeasy cocktail bars and distilleries to fine-dining venues. But I’m still surprised to find Pancho, José Fernandez’s South American street food restaurant, serving fried cheese tequeños, fiery fish tacos, Argentinian grilled chicken.

The room is as lively as the food – a whirl of colour filled with gifted and thrifted paintings, photos, tchotchkes (trinkets), plants. There’s a Mexican abuela aesthetic going on here. Even before the music and mezcal kick in, it’s fun. Heads up on the drinks menu – an authentic selection of mezcal, tequila, South American wines and Mexican cerveza.

a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits, Ballarat — Enjoy a cocktail at Itinerant Spirits. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

The spirit is willing, so after lunch we head towards the gold rush-era Ballarat train station and across the line to the old 1860s Goods Shed for Itinerant Spirits. At one end, a massive German copper still looms behind a wall of glass. The fit-out embraces deep olive-green tones, original bluestone walls, steamer trunks as coffee tables, heritage timber floors, oversized lamp shades and cognac-hued modernist leather seating.

the Itinerant Spirits Distillery & Cocktail Bar, Ballarat — The distillery operates from an old goods shed. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

Gallivanter Gin, Vansetter Vodka and Wayfarer Whiskey – the key spirits distilled – star at the bar. The spirits are crafted using grains from the Wimmera Mallee region, and native botanicals foraged in the Grampians. Seasonal cocktails are inspired by local people and places (I loved The Headland, inspired by Sovereign Hill and flavoured with old-fashioned raspberry drops). Sample the spirits, and join a cocktail masterclass or a distillery tour. It’s a seductive setting – you’ll likely find yourself ordering a charcuterie platter or pizza as the evening progresses.

The Ballarat stay combining history and luxury

one of the rooms at Hotel Vera, Ballarat — The rooms at Hotel Vera have a contemporary style. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

New lives for old buildings keeps history alive. Vera, Ballarat’s boutique five-star hotel, has taken it to the next level: it’s a palimpsest, a subtle layering of early 1900s and 1930s Art Deco architecture with a sleek new wing. There are seven spacious suites, each a dramatically different colour, with designer chairs, blissful bathrooms. High-end pottery and hand-picked artworks imbue the spaces with personality.

Vera’s intimate, award-winning restaurant, Babae, is subtly theatrical with sheer drapes and gallery lighting, its bespoke timber furniture and brass-edged marble bench setting the stage for food with a sharp regional focus. “We have goat’s cheese from a local supplier, handmade granola from local Vegas & Rose, truffles from nearby Black Cat Truffles, fresh food from our garden, and regional wines,” says joint owner David Cook-Doulton.

Celebrating the local makers, bakers, growers and producers, and the master chefs who work their magic is all part of the rich tapestry that links Ballarat’s history to its vibrant present.

A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

It’s 90 minutes from Melbourne, either on the Western Freeway, or hop on a V/Line train from Southern Cross Station.

Staying there

Hotel Vera is a centrally located Art Deco boutique hotel. Consider Hotel Provincial, which feels like a sleek country house, but with its own restaurant, Lola.

a contemporary room at Hotel Provincial, Ballarat — Hotel Provincial has country house vibes.

Eating there

dining at Mr Jones, Ballarat — The table is set at Mr Jones. (Image: Tony Evans/ Visit Victoria)

Culinary whiz Damien Jones helms Chef’s Hat winner Mr Jones Dining with quiet assurance. His modern Asian food is deceptively simple with deep, intense flavours. Low-key, laid-back ambience, lovely staff, thoughtful wine list.

Cocktails are definitely a thing in Ballarat. Reynard (fox in French) is foxy indeed, a clubby space with top-notch cocktails and small bites. Grainery Lane is extravagantly OTT with its massive 1880s bar, myriad chandeliers, brass gin still, Asian-inspired food and lavish cocktails.

dining at Grainery Lane, Ballarat — Dining at Grainery Lane.

Playing there

a laneway filled with artworks in Ballarat — An artful laneway in the city. (Image: Ballarat Tourism)

Check out local design legend Travis Price’s wall murals in Hop Lane with its colourful canopy of brollies, or in Main Street. The Art Gallery of Ballarat’s off-site Backspace Gallery showcases early-career artists in a stylish, contemporary space. First Nations-owned and run Perridak Arts connects people to place, bringing together art and crafts in this gallery/shop.

a woman admiring artworks at Perridak Arts Gallery — Perridak Arts is a First Nations-run gallery. (Image: Tony Evans)

The wineries of the Pyrenees are close at hand with their welcoming cellar doors and robust reds. Join a behind-the-scenes tour at the Centre for Gold Rush Collections.

Don’t forget the giant bluestone Kryal Castle, ‘the land of adventure’, for a little medieval magic, and not just for the kids: get ready for Highland-style feasting, jousting, even overnight stays.

The best Great Ocean Road tours to add to your list