This outstanding region offers a long list of experiences you’ll want to write home about.
Melbourne’s own version of the Hamptons boasts incredible food producers, wineries, top-of-the-line restaurants, walking trails and so much more.
Sadly, many Victorians – let alone interstaters – are yet to discover the many gems hidden among the dunes and bushland of the pretty peninsula. This relaxed region stretches from Frankston to Portsea, and here’s how to get acquainted with the best things to do on the Mornington Peninsula.
1. Take a hatted restaurant tour
If you consider yourself a gourmand, you’ll be impressed the Mornington Peninsula delivers enough world-class restaurants to keep you fed for more than a few weekends.
The first, Laura at Pt. Leo Estate, offers exquisite modern Australian cuisine championing local producers. Brigitte Hafner’s Tedesca Osteria is the very definition of a restaurant practising the principles of slow food. She serves four set-course lunches a week, each with only one sitting, changing the menu every day to account for what is best and freshest.
Celebrate incredible produce and wine from the region at Main Ridge’s Ten Minutes By Tractor. Kiwi-born chef Hayden Ellis has worked at some of the best restaurants in the world, including the Fat Duck, and makes good use of the produce from the estate’s kitchen garden.
Audrey’s , with its seafood tasting menu, is an homage to chef Scott Pickett’s grandma, who instilled his passion for cooking. Doot Doot Doot is Jackalope’s fine-dining restaurant. On offer is a three-course menu served with a selection of snacks (and upgrades if you’re celebrating) that make the most of the plentiful local produce.
The hotel’s more casual bistro (and food and wine store), Rare Hare , has a wood-fired oven at its heart and offers indoor and outdoor dining options. Over at Flinders, the Moke crew offers a relaxed, shared dining experience, with chef Michael Cole changing the menu each week. If you’re looking for something a little different, chef Gayan Pieris is serving a modern Asian menu inspired by Sri Lanka at Many Little Bar & Dining .
Chef Gayan Pieris works, this time, with Polperro ’s farmer Nick to create dishes overflowing with organic and biodynamic produce that’s picked at the perfect moment and paired with the finest proteins. Each of the four courses served during a shared meal at The Restaurant at Montalto is designed to highlight a connection between the estate gardens, the kitchen and the property’s award-winning wines.
Inspiration for the menu at Port Phillip Estate comes from Europe, but the ingredients that go into it are much more local than that. On a sunny day, ask for a table on the deck and enjoy the views of the vineyard and Western Port Bay.
Discover more great places to eat and drink on the Mornington Peninsula.
2. Mornington Peninsula hot springs
Consistently voted as the best luxury mineral spa in the world, Peninsula Hot Springs is the real deal. Located on a 17-hectare property, it offers more than 50 hot spring pools and geothermal bathing experiences, from cave pools to Turkish steam baths, all in a natural bushland setting. There’s also a beautiful hilltop bath with an incredible view. The naturally heated, mineral-packed water is pumped from 637 metres below ground, ready to soak tired muscles.
As well as soaking, you can book a treatment, have lunch and even stay overnight. Here’s a tip: if you’re staying close by, get up early and enjoy bathing from 7am before the crowds arrive.
A newer option is Alba Thermal Springs & Spa, where you can immerse yourself in the healing waters from early morning until well after the sun sets. There are 22 pools, each beautifully designed, as well as private bathing experiences, body treatments and rituals, and lunch or high tea at the onsite restaurant.
3. Hike to your heart’s content
The Mornington Peninsula is home to a selection of trails that will give your legs a good stretch while you’re visiting.
THE BAY TRAIL
To get a true sense of the peninsula in its entirety, the 30-kilometre Bay Trail extends along the Port Phillip coast from Safety Beach to Portsea.
POINT NEPEAN NATIONAL PARK
A natural beauty at the tip of the peninsula, this walk will see you pass the historical quarantine station and WWII housing.
TWO BAYS WALKING TRACK
Trek 26 kilometres from one side of the peninsula (Dromana) to the other (Cape Schanck).
MORNINGTON PENINSULA WALK
Keen ramblers can tackle the 100-kilometre Mornington Peninsula Walk, which combines all the above. There are plenty of shorter sections if your preference is for a stroll.
4. Play a round of golf
The peninsula draws comparisons to Scotland’s Fife district due to the concentration of clubs here. Go for a swing at a mix of traditional and links courses. Natural dunes create sweeping hills and natural sand traps, plus most courses offer amazing sea views while you play.
RACV Cape Schanck Resort has excellent accommodation, a lovely restaurant and stunning views. But for the keen golfer, the 18-hole, par-70 championship course designed by Robert Trent Jones Jnr is the big drawcard. Portsea Golf Club , with its links course set amid sand dunes and Moonah forest, hosts state and national events, complemented by its own prestigious Portsea Pro-Am.
With two 18-hole championship courses, Moonah Links has become one of the destinations for aficionados of the great game. It’s even hosted the Victorian PGA Championship. Built along a stunning stretch of clifftop land overlooking Bass Strait and Western Port Bay, The Flinders Golf Club is more than a hundred years old and a great place to get into the swing of things.
5. Enchanted Adventure
If you have kids, make a beeline for Enchanted Adventure at Arthurs Seat. Alongside manicured garden mazes as far as the eye can see, this playful paradise houses a tube slide ride, sculpture park, indoor maze and lolly shop. Add an extra couple of hours to your visit and go tree surfing on one of two high ropes adventure courses. There are zip lines, swinging rope bridges, suspended tunnels and a giant Tarzan swing set in the native trees of this ancient woodland. Choose from two courses: the Grand course for adults/teens and the Nippers course for kids. Make sure you check out the bookings website for additional information before you visit.
6. Mornington Peninsula beaches
The sandy shores of Port Phillip Bay offer boating, fishing, safe swimming and beachfront camping aplenty. The west coast faces Bass Strait, so there are amazing surf beaches. On the Western Port side, there are more surf beaches and views across to Phillip and French Islands.
Avoid the crowds at Mothers Beach in Mornington. Take a swim, walk the shores and get out a picnic if you’re so inclined. Nearby Shire Hall Beach is home to colourful huts, along with plentiful benches, picnic tables and toilets.
Fossil Beach offers budding geologists a picturesque limestone cliff walk. There’s a signposted trail that indicates sites of significance regarding the original First Nations inhabitants of the region and the first European settlers.
Further south, between Mount Martha and Dromana, Safety Beach is another calm spot. In between Portsea’s mansions – at the end of Point King Road – a hidden path leads down wooden stairs to Point King Beach.
Surfers should head to Portsea Surf Beach, Sorrento Back Beach, Rye Ocean Beach, Saint Andrews and Gunnamatta Surf Beach.
7. Arthurs Seat Eagle
When the ground just isn’t cutting it anymore, make your way to Arthurs Seat Eagle , which gives you the chance to soar in a cable car through the forest canopy over Arthurs Seat State Park.
The summit is 314 metres high, granting great views across Port Phillip Bay to Melbourne. Each ‘eagle’ is all-inclusive and caters to people with disabilities, as well as the elderly, frail and toddlers. It is also wheelchair and pram-friendly.
8. Bask in a brew
Take a detour from Mornington Peninsula’s various vinous highlights and bask in the talent of a growing crop of artisanal brewers, distillers and cider makers.
Tar Barrel Brewery and Distillery , Red Hill Brewery and St Andrews Beach Brewery are three venues leading the charge. Each space has taps of refreshing ales and their regularly changing specialty brews, matched with no-nonsense favourites like woodfired pizza, nachos, smoked meats and burgers and fries.
There are some newer places to try too: Jetty Road , Banks and a local favourite TWØBAYS Brewing Co . It makes gluten-free beer in a variety of styles, including an IPA, stout and sour, and excellent gluten-free pizza comes from the kitchen.
In Red Hill, Bass and Flinders Distillery produces a range of grape-based gins, brandy and other spirits. Visitors can taste a gin paddle, order a signature cocktail or participate in a gin masterclass to make their very own batch. Single-malt whisky is the specialty of Chief’s Son Distillery , while rum and all the creations you can make from it are the drawcard at JimmyRum Distillery . The garden is dog-friendly, too. In Rye, you’ll find Penni Ave Distillery , where the makers are dedicated to vodka. Cocktails and tasting paddles are available, and there’s often a food truck parked outside for those feeling hungry.
A fifth generation of sisters is now in charge of Mock Red Hill , which brews biodynamic ciders created from dessert apples grown in a single orchard. Visitors can try a pint in the Cider Lounge with a platter of local cheeses or check out the Farmgate store.
9. Pt. Leo Estate Sculpture Park
Pt. Leo Estate wears many hats. Owned by the Gandel family, the property consists of a 20-hectare vineyard, a cellar door, restaurants and, possibly the crowning glory of the whole project, a meandering sculpture garden.
Covering an extensive 135 hectares, the sculpture park is an outdoor gallery displaying 60 large-scale installations. The collection is made up of pieces by Australian and international artists, and this is the first time all these pieces have been brought together – in the past, they’ve either been stored or loaned out. One work was relocated from a paddock where some of the property’s hundred or so heads of Angus cattle used it as a scratching post.
Thirty and 60-minute walks see you meander through the exhibition and adjacent vines. Pieces are rendered in various mediums, from slate to wood to metal, and laid out so you can view them from every angle.
10. Mornington Peninsula Markets
There are many aspects that make the Mornington Peninsula special, and one of them is the produce and the people who grow it. The best way to find out about the food you’re eating is to have a chat with the farmer, fisherman or cheesemaker at a local market.
Farmers’ markets take place at different locations each week. A favourite is the Red Hill Community Market , which takes place on the first Saturday of the month. The more than 300 stalls are chock-full of the freshest seasonal produce, as well as plenty of value-added items, from fresh bread to condiments, as well as crafts, plants and tasty treats to eat right there. Another favourite is the Point Nepean Portsea Market , and not just for its picturesque bayside setting. Meet the bakers, makers and growers, who are ready to share their produce and passion. There are lots of crafts to check out, too.
Try something completely different at the end of the disused Mornington Railway Station. This is where you can find Food Yard , held on the fourth Friday night of each month. Grab something to eat from the food trucks serving delicacies from around the world then find a spot to sit. There’s also a bar and kids’ game area.
Now discover the ultimate Mornington Peninsula road trip.
