Where to eat, stay and play in Phillip Island

A thriving hub of native wildlife, pristine beaches and rich local produce, Phillip Island has remained relatively removed from the mainland, in both a geographical and figurative sense.

Where is it

Situated on Victoria’s Bass Coastline, 140 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, Phillip Island is neighboured by Mornington Peninsula, Western Port Bay and Bass Strait.

How to get there

As one of few islands you can drive to, a road trip to Phillip Island (PI) takes about one-and-a-half hours from Melbourne along the South Gippsland Highway, linked via a 640-metre bridge. Otherwise, Inter Island Ferries run daily between Stony Point (on Mornington Peninsula) and Cowes (PI).

“There is nothing as striking as walking to the entrance and taking in the breathtaking expanse of beach and ocean" – Kim Storey

Public transport on the island itself is limited so driving is ideal, but if you get stuck Phillip Island Bus Service travels between Wonthaggi and Cowes every day.

Why Phillip Island is so great

Few places this small can offer so much to such a spectrum of travellers. Spread across 100 square kilometres is a population of around 7000 people (although up to 3.5 million people visit over the course of one year), but there’s an abundance of wildlife. Be it flippers, fins or feathers, there’s an animal encounter for all ages (more on that later).

The Nobbies is a picturesque rocky headland at the southwestern tip of Phillip Island out over the Bass Strait. Located near the Phillip Island penguin parade.

The stunning beaches are another big drawcard, ranging from surfing hotspots and family-friendly flagged sections to private pockets of coastal paradise. But aside from the usual tourist must-dos are some unexpected gems like the National Vietnam Veterans Museum.

Best of all, PI still has that familiar country-town feel about it, where the locals are only too happy to offer advice on what to see, where and when to go and how to get there so you don’t miss out.

Where to eat & drink on Phillip Island

Beach HQ

Dine out on the terrace and enjoy water views of Cowes foreshore beach, Westernport Bay, French Island and the Mornington Peninsula at Beach HQ. The menu offers a range of seafood and modern Australian dishes to choose from. Share the seafood platter and expect a bounty of Kilpatrick oysters, cold king prawns, chilli mussels with bread, battered fish, prawns and scallops, and salt and pepper calamari with a side of chips and salad, and a range of condiments to drizzle it all in. The wine list features a range of Phillip Island and Gippsland wines to match your meal.

Cape Kitchen

The Cape Kitchen boasts uninterrupted views overlooking the Southern Ocean, a sleek and modern dining space and an inviting verandah. The team is focused on using the best quality produce available from regional, Victorian and Australian suppliers.

Start your day with the Cape Kitchen mimosa alongside a plate of fluffy ricotta and buttermilk hotcakes topped with caramelised banana, blueberry compote, honey and lavender mascarpone and a sprinkling of toasted pecans. If you prefer a savoury start to the day, try the sweetcorn, pea and zucchini fritters with poached eggs and vine-ripened cherry tomatoes all drizzled in mint and honey yoghurt. Return for lunch and a killer dessert menu which may include the likes of eton mess or an espresso creme brulee.

Phillip Island Chocolate Factory

Then for something sweet, Phillip Island Chocolate Factory is hard to beat. Amongst the truffles and clusters is the Phillip Island Chocolate Factory exhibition, featuring interactive displays and machines; one of which allows visitors to make their own chocolate bar. There are also chocolaty reproductions of masterpieces such as Michelangelo’s David statue. Oh, and the chocky is pretty amazing too!

Ocean Reach Brewing

What started as a passion project of small-batch brews out of a home garage, grew into the family-run Ocean Reach Brewing. The fully-fledged brewhouse now sells a range of locally-brewed beers and a more experimental range of seasonal beers – which can include the likes of a hazy pineapple IPA or peaches and cream sour. Beers can be purchased online, or stop by the taphouse for a takeaway beer or wine and pair it with one of their juicy burgers or other small bites.

Phillip Island Winery

The island’s mild weather and rich volcanic soil allow for some delicious cool-climate wines. Among the makers is Phillip Island Winery near the Grand Prix Circuit. Producing a range of whites and reds, their 2008 Estate Chardonnay is especially impressive, awarded 94/100 by wine guru James Halliday. The cellar door is a cute cottage-style building, offering wine tastings, a cosy log fire, local Gippsland cheeses and smoked trout and homemade dips.

Purple Hen Winery

Alternatively, find the Purple Hen winery near Rhyll. Planted across five hectares of vineyards, the winery largely produces pinot noir and chardonnay – the pinot is especially good! The cellar door is open five or seven days a week depending on the season, offering wine tastings, cheese platters and great views.

Rusty Water Brewery

But for those who favour beer for a beverage, there’s the Rusty Water Brewery. With five of their own handcrafted brews on tap, they also offer other boutique beers such as Prickly Moses and Matso’s. The restaurant menu features plenty of hearty dishes to taste test too.

Top things to do on Phillip Island

Penguin Parade

This should definitely top the must-do list, watching on at sunset as rafts of little (fairy) penguins return from a day at sea fishing, waddling ashore and back to their burrows.

Phillip Island Nature Parks offer a range of tours that vary in intimacy and cost, but I highly recommend the Ultimate Adventure Tour. It allows a group of fewer than 10 people to sit on the beach, equipped with specialty torches and infrared goggles, and watch on as these clumsy but cute critters waddle past, calling out to their waiting families. Despite full bellies and tiny legs, they somehow manage to climb sand dunes and walk up to two kilometres each night. During the tour’s walk back to the centre, you’ll also see loads of eager chicks and night-time lovers, which is just as exciting as the beachfront viewing.

Cruise to Seal Rocks

Wildlife Coast Cruises offers a two-hour tour to one of Australia’s largest wild fur seal colonies at the aptly named Seal Rocks. The boat drifts within metres of the rock formation, where there can be hundreds, if not thousands of seals, from beastly bulls to playful pups. As naturally inquisitive creatures, many will jump into the water and right up to the vessel, while others will happily continue sunbaking.

Visit Nobbies Centre

With panoramic views overlooking The Nobbies, this free-to-enter centre showcases the local marine life. There are many interactive displays, including a Big Brother-like camera that was installed at Seal Rocks, which visitors can navigate from the centre to take photos. The centre is also a handy stop-off for families, offering a café, bathrooms and a children’s play area.

Hot tip: When leaving, take a different route home and drive along an unsealed road that follows the coastline to Phelans Bluff and loops back to the main road. The turn off is within the centre’s car park but there’s limited signage so it can be easily missed. Drive slowly, take in the sights, and keep an eye out for the blowhole and local wildlife, especially wallabies and Cape Barren geese.

Koala Conservation Centre

Stroll along the treetop boardwalk and see up to 30 resident koalas as they doze amongst the gums. The boardwalk includes strategically positioned information signs, pointing to the koalas’ favourite branches for easy spotting. Inside the centre are more displays on these native marsupials, with information about their evolution, breeding habits and conservation efforts.

Feed pelicans and stingrays

Every day at noon, the mainland side of Phillip Island Bridge becomes a feeding frenzy for pelicans and stingrays at the water’s edge. Visitors can throw fish scraps to stingrays, even pat them, or watch on as nearby pelicans are fed and informative talks are given. Best of all, it’s free.

Make tracks to the Grand Prix circuit

Sandwiched between paddocks of grazing cattle and the calm blue Bass Strait, this buzzing (sometimes screeching) motor circuit is a stark contrast from the serene surroundings. Here, visitors can follow in the footsteps of racing superstars with a Guided Circuit Tour, which includes access to restricted areas such as the pit roof complex and the winner’s podium. Adrenalin junkies can strap in for three high-speed Hot Laps around the circuit in a race car, at the hands of an experienced driver.

Otherwise, next door are the Champ Go Karts, which run on a 760-metre scale replica of the real circuit. There are tandem karts available for youngsters, and each driver is given a personalised lap-time printout at the end.

Phillip Island Go Karts — Go Kart hot laps on a mini replica of Phillip Island’s Grand Prix circuits.

Swim, Surf or Snorkel

With over 100 kilometres of coastline defining PI, there is no shortage of swimming holes. It can range from pounding surf at hotspots like Surf Beach and Flynns Reef, to sheltered bays suitable for young families at Smiths Beach or Cowes Main Beach on the north side.

Depending on weather conditions, snorkelling is also available. The locals recommend Red Rocks Point and Churchill Island. However, Woolamai Beach is a must as a scenic, surfable and patrolled area, not far from The Pinnacles, a stunning rock formation on the southeast tip of the island. Visitors can walk up the beach to Magic Lands before taking an inland walking track that continues up to the highest point on the island, overlooking the formation.

A visit to Woolamai Beach is a must as a scenic, surfable and patrolled area.

Churchill Island Heritage Farm

An off-shoot of PI, Churchill Island is where the first farm in Victoria was established. Today it comprises native wetlands and numerous walks, but the main attraction is Churchill Island Heritage Farm. Surrounded by heritage gardens and a working farm, the property also includes a historic homestead with authentic room displays, a licensed café overlooking the bay and gift shop. Daily displays are held throughout the property including sheep shearing and cow milking, plus an animal nursery. Great for little ones!

Fly high in a helicopter

Get your bearings from above in a scenic flight around the island with Phillip Island Helicopters. There are seven routes to choose from, taking in major local attractions like The Pinnacles, Penguin Parade, Grand Prix Circuit and The Nobbies. There are other heli-adventures available, such as packaged deals to Bass Valley Estate Wines, French Island and skydiving.

Vietnam Veterans War Museum

An unexpected find is the National Vietnam Veterans’ War Museum , dedicated to preserving and exhibiting memorabilia from the war. With over 5000 artefacts, photographs and displays, some aspects of the museum are quite confronting. Outside are the biggest items, including a Centurion tank and a Wessex helicopter. There is an entrance fee into the museum, but it is well worth a look.

Where to stay on Phillip Island

There are many accommodation options available throughout the island, ranging from boutique B&Bs to budget caravan parks.

The Island Accommodation

A particularly good starting point is the new The Island Accommodation – part of the Big Wave Complex which also encompasses a café and surf shop. The accommodation itself is made up of studio suites, family rooms and multi-share rooms, catering for couples, families and backpackers travelling on a budget. Clean and welcoming, facilities include well-equipped kitchens for self-catering and the Big Wave Café next door for a quick bite.

The hosts are especially helpful, giving all guests an easy-to-follow illustrated map and a run down on all the must-see-and-dos.

Silverwater Resort

For something a bit more upmarket, Silverwater Resort is ahhh-mazing. Located on the highway right before the Phillip Island Bridge, Silverwater Resort offers one to three bedroom apartments, all luxurious, spacious and fully self-contained. Expect private balconies, air conditioning, flat-screen TVs, digital movies on demand, internet, great views and luxe furnishings. The resort also boasts heated pools, spa and sauna, tennis, basketball, volleyball and bocce courts, children’s play areas, a lounge bar and the Watermark Restaurant.

Abandoned mills and forgotten paper plants are finding second lives – and helping redefine a city long underestimated.

Just 15 years ago, Federal Mills was a very different place. Once among the most significant industrial sites in Victoria, the historic woollen mill was one of a dozen that operated in Geelong at the industry’s peak in the mid-20th century, helping the city earn its title as ‘wool centre of the world’. But by the 1960s global competition and the rise of synthetic fabrics led to the slow decline of the industry, and Federal Mills finally shuttered its doors in 2001. Within a few years, the abandoned North Geelong grounds had become makeshift pastoral land, with cows and goats grazing among the overgrown grass between the empty red-brick warehouses. It was a forgotten pocket of the city, all but two klicks from the bustle of the CBD.

Geelong cellar door wine bar — Geelong has shed its industrial identity to become an innovative urban hub with reimagined heritage spaces. (Image: Ash Hughes)

Federal Mills: from forgotten factory to creative precinct

Today, the century-old complex stands reborn. The distinctive sawtooth-roof buildings have been sensitively restored. An old silo is splashed with a bright floral mural, landscapers have transformed the grounds, and the precinct is once again alive with activity. More than 1000 people work across 50-plus businesses here. It’s so busy, in fact, that on a sunny Thursday morning in the thick of winter, it’s hard to find a car park. The high ceilings, open-plan design, and large multi-paned windows – revolutionary features for factories of their time – have again become a drawcard.

Paddock Bakery andPatisserie — Paddock Bakery and Patisserie is housed within the historic wool factory. (Image: Gallant Lee)

At Paddock , one of the precinct’s newer tenants, weaving looms and dye vats have been replaced by a wood-fired brick oven and heavy-duty mixers. Open since April 2024, the bakery looks right at home here; the building’s industrial shell is softened by ivy climbing its steel frames, and sunlight streams through the tall windows. Outside, among the white cedar trees, families at picnic benches linger over dippy eggs and bagels, while white-collar workers pass in and out, single-origin coffee and crème brûlée doughnuts in hand.

Geelong: Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design

Paddock Bakery can be found at Federal Mills. (Image: Gallant Lee)

“A lot of people are now seeing the merit of investing in Geelong,” says Paul Traynor, the head of Hamilton Hospitality Group, which redeveloped Federal Mills. A city once shunned as Sleepy Hollow, and spurned for its industrial, working-class roots and ‘rust belt’ image, Geelong has long since reclaimed its ‘Pivot City’ title, having reinvented itself as an affordable, lifestyle-driven satellite city, and a post-COVID migration hotspot.

And the numbers stand testament to the change. In March 2025, and for the first time in its history, Greater Geelong became Australia’s most popular regional town for internal migration, overtaking Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Current forecasts suggest Geelong will continue to outpace many other Australian cities and towns, with jobs growing at double the rate of the population.

Tourism is booming, too. The 2023-24 financial year was Geelong and The Bellarine region’s busiest on record, with 6.4 million visitors making it one of the fastest-growing destinations in the country. It’s not hard to see why: beyond the city’s prime positioning at the doorstep of the Great Ocean Road, Geelong’s tenacity and cultural ambition stands out.

As Australia’s only UNESCO City of Design, Geelong is swiftly shaking off its industrial past to become a model for urban renewal, innovation, sustainability and creative communities. The signs are everywhere, from the revitalisation of the city’s waterfront, and the landmark design of the Geelong Library and Heritage Centre and Geelong Arts Centre, to the growing network of local designers, architects and artists, and the burgeoning roster of festivals and events. That’s not even mentioning the adaptive reuse of storied old industrial buildings – from Federal Mills, to Little Creatures’ brewery ‘village’ housed within a 1920s textile mill – or the city’s flourishing food and wine scene.

The rise of a food and wine destination

Restaurant 1915 is housed within a restored former boiler house. (Image: Harry Pope/Two Palms)

Traynor credits now-closed local restaurant Igni, which opened in 2016, as the turning point for Geelong’s hospo industry. “[Aaron Turner, Igni’s chef-patron] was probably the first guy, with all due respect, to raise the bar food-wise for Geelong,” he says. “People now treat it really seriously, and there’s clearly a market for it.” While Igni is gone, Turner now helms a string of other notable Geelong venues, including The Hot Chicken Project and Tacos y Liquor, all within the buzzy, street art-speckled laneways of the CBD’s Little Malop Street Precinct. Many others have also popped up in Igni’s wake, including Federal Mills’ own restaurant, 1915 . Housed within the cavernous boiler house, 1915’s interior is dramatic: soaring, vaulted ceilings with timber beams, exposed brick, a huge arched window. The share plates echo the space’s bold character, playing with contrast and texture, with dishes such as a compressed watermelon tataki, the sweet, juicy squares tempered by salty strands of fried leeks, and charred, smoky snow peas dusted with saganaki on a nutty bed of romesco.

The Woolstore , one of The Hamilton Group’s most recent hospo projects, opened in February. It occupies a century-old riverside warehouse and exudes a more sultry, fine dining ambience. Much like Federal Mills, the blueprint was to preserve the original brickwork, tallowwood flooring and nods to the building’s former life. That same careful consideration extends to the well-versed, affable waitstaff as well as the kitchen. Head chef Eli Grubb is turning out an eclectic mix of ambitious and indulgent mod Oz dishes that deliver: strikingly tender skewers of chicken tsukune, infused with hints of smoke from the parrilla grill, and glazed with a moreish, sweet gochujang ‘jam’; nduja arancini fragrant with hints of aniseed and the earthy lick of sunny saffron aioli; and golden squares of potato pavé, adorned with tiny turrets of crème fraîche, crisp-fried saltbush leaves, and Avruga caviar, to name but a few stand-out dishes.

Woolstore menu — Woolstore’s menu is designed for sharing.

Breathing new life into historic spaces

On the city’s fringe, hidden down a winding side road with little fanfare, lies a long-dormant site that’s being gently revived. Built from locally quarried bluestone and brick, and dating back to the 1870s, the complex of original tin-roofed mill buildings is lush with greenery and backs onto the Barwon River and Buckley Falls; the audible rush of water provides a soothing soundtrack. Fyansford Paper Mill is one of few complexes of its time to survive intact. It feels steeped in history and spellbindingly rustic.

“We were looking for an old industrial place that had some charm and romance to it,” explains Sam Vogel, the owner, director and winemaker at Provenance Wines which moved here in 2018. When he first viewed the building with his former co-owner, it was in such a state of disrepair that the tradie tenant occupying the space had built a shed within it to escape the leaking roof and freezing winter temperatures. “To say it was run down would be an understatement,” he notes. “There was ivy growing through the place; the windows were all smashed. It was a classic Grand Designs project.”

Provenance Wines moved to Fyansford Paper Mill in 2018. (Image: Cameron Murray Photography)

The team has since invested more than a million dollars into their new home. Where paper processing machinery once sat, wine barrels are now stacked. Vaulted cathedral ceilings are strung with festoon lights, and hidden in plain sight lies a shadowy mural by local street artist de rigueur Rone – one of only three permanent works by the artist.

While the award-winning, cool-climate pinot noir, riesling and chardonnay naturally remain a key draw at Provenance, the winery’s restaurant is a destination in itself. Impressed already by whipsmart service, I devour one of the most cleverly curated and faultlessly executed degustations I’ve had in some time. It’s all prepared in a kitchen that is proudly zero-waste, and committed to providing seasonal, ethical and locally sourced meat and produce under head chef Nate McIver. Think free-range venison served rare with a syrupy red wine jus and a half-moon of neon-orange kosho, shokupan with a deeply savoury duck fat jus (a modern Japanese take on bread and drippings), and a golden potato cake adorned with a colourful confetti of dehydrated nasturtiums and tomato powder, and planted atop a sea urchin emulsion.

handcrafted pieces — Bell’s handcrafted functional pieces on display.

The complex is home to a coterie of independent businesses, including a gallery, a jeweller, and its latest tenant, ceramicist Elizabeth Bell, drawn here by the building’s “soul”. “There’s so much potential for these buildings to have new life breathed into them,” says Bell, whose studio is housed within the old pump room. “Even people in Geelong don’t know we’re here,” she says. “It’s definitely a destination, but I like that. It has a really calming atmosphere.”

A Melbourne transplant, Bell now feels at home in Geelong, which offers something Melbourne didn’t. “If this business was in Melbourne I don’t think it would’ve been as successful,” she notes. “It’s very collaborative in Geelong, and I don’t think you get that as much in Melbourne; you’re a bit more in it for yourself. Here it’s about community over competition.”

Where to eat, stay and play on Phillip Island