Victoria’s top town has just been crowned – and it’s a coastal gem

Taylah Darnell Taylah Darnell
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These tiny towns are packed with personality – and now they’ve got the title to prove it.

Every year, each Aussie state reveals its most beloved destinations across three categories – the Top Tourism Town, Top Small Tourism Town and Top Tiny Tourism Town. NSW announced its winners last month. Now, it’s Victoria’s time to shine. Drum roll, please…

Victoria’s Top Tourism Town

Warrnambool in Victoria
Seaside Warrnambool is Victoria’s Top Tourism Town of 2025.

Say hello to Victoria’s Top Tourism Town of 2025 – Warrnambool! Open to towns with a population of 5,000 or more, this category recognises stand-out destinations that offer something truly special – and it’s not hard to see why Warrnambool took out top honours. Situated along the iconic Great Ocean Road and a three-hour drive from Melbourne, Warrnambool offers the perfect blend of regional charm and coastal bliss.

Deep Blue Hot Springs in Warrnambool, Victoria
Take a dip in geothermal waters at Deep Blue Hot Springs.

Wander along the main drag to explore cosy cafes and vintage boutiques. Or head to the coast for beautiful beaches and scenic walking trails. It’s also a great jumping-off point for the Great Victorian Bathing Trail, a 900-kilometre tourist route that takes in some of the state’s best natural geothermal baths. Start in the heart of town at Deep Blue Hot Springs, a mineral-rich sanctuary of open-air rock pools.

Warrnambool combines coastal vibes with regional charm.

Add in friendly locals and a laid-back lifestyle, and Warrnambool’s win feels like a no-brainer. The regional city of Ballarat was hot on its heels, though, scoring the category’s silver award. Maybe 2026 will be your year, Ballarat!

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Victoria’s Top Small Tourism Town

Bogong Horseback Adventures in Mount Beauty, Victoria
Discover the countryside charms of Mount Beauty.

Next up is Victoria’s Top Small Tourism Town – a category reserved for towns with a population between 1,500 and 5,000. And this year, the award goes to Mount Beauty! It’s all in the name here. This charming township, around a 4.5-hour drive from the state’s capital, sits at the base of Victoria’s highest peak, Mt Bogong.

Bogong Horseback Adventures in Mount Beauty, Victoria
Join a scenic horse-riding tour with Bogong Horseback Adventures.

Mount Beauty is home to some of Victoria’s most bucolic landscapes that have long attracted nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts. From horse-riding tours with Bogong Horseback Adventures to bike tracks and hiking trails, visitors are spoilt for choice. Come the cooler months, the surrounding mountains are covered in snow, and with Mount Hotham only an hour away, it’s the perfect place to book for a cosy winter weekend.

Mt Hotham in Victoria
Head to nearby Mt Hotham to hit the slopes come winter.

Port Fairy on the Shipwreck Coast, named after the 700+ vessels submerged in its waters, took out silver in the Top Small Tourism Town category this year. And while it may be a world away from the winner, its rich offerings made for fierce competition.

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Victoria’s Top Tiny Tourism Town

Trentham in Victoria
Visit cosy country pubs in Trentham.

The final category shines the spotlight on Victoria’s pocket-sized towns – those with no more than 1,500 residents. Let’s hear it for the Top Tiny Tourism Town of 2025 – Trentham! Don’t let its size fool you. This historic village, under two hours north-west of Melbourne, sure packs a mighty punch. Sitting pretty atop the Great Dividing Range, Trentham has been enchanting visitors since it was established by gold prospectors in the 1850s.

Trentham in Victoria
The tiny town is home to a range of boutique stores.

Focus soon shifted to gems of a different kind – cosy country pubs, boutique stores and stylish accommodation like The Cosmopolitan Hotel – which solidified Trentham as a regional treasure. But there’s more to the suburb than its charming streetscapes. Aptly named Trentham Falls is the highest single-drop waterfall in Central Victoria, plunging more than 32 metres. Who knew one of Australia’s best waterfalls was just a five-minute drive from town?

Trentham Falls in Victoria
Trentham Falls cascades over a basalt cliff for more than 32 metres.

Halls Gap claimed silver for the Top Tiny Tourism Town award. Known as the gateway to the Grampians, the village is another natural wonder. And while an abundance of waterfalls can also be found nearby, they couldn’t quite compete with Trentham’s crown jewel this year.

Bronze commendations for each category were awarded to Echuca, Portarlington and Whitfield, respectively, with all winners decided by the Victoria Tourism Industry Council.

Taylah Darnell
Taylah Darnell is Australian Traveller's Writer & Producer. She has been passionate about writing since she learnt to read, spending many hours either lost in the pages of books or attempting to write her own. This life-long love of words inspired her to study a Bachelor of Communication majoring in Creative Writing at the University of Technology Sydney, where she completed two editorial internships. She began her full-time career in publishing at Ocean Media before scoring her dream job with Australian Traveller. Now as Writer & Producer, Taylah passionately works across both digital platforms and print titles. When she's not wielding a red pen over magazine proofs, you can find Taylah among the aisles of a second-hand bookshop, following a good nature trail or cheering on her EPL team at 3am. While she's keen to visit places like Norway and New Zealand, her favourite place to explore will forever be her homeland.
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This luxe trawler tour is redefining Victoria’s seafood experience

    Chloe Cann Chloe Cann
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    Victoria’s ‘mussel capital’ is the source of exceptional shellfish used by top chefs far and wide. Step aboard a beautifully refurbished trawler to see how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    A curtain is slowly winched from the placid, teal waters just off Portarlington, like a floating garland beside our boat. The ropes heave with blue mussels, the star attraction of our tour. But as we reach to pluck our own, it’s quickly clear they’re not alone; a mass of weird and wonderful creatures has colonised the ropes, turning them into a living tapestry. ‘Fairy’ oysters, jelly-like sea squirts, and tiny, wriggling skeleton shrimp all inhabit this underwater ecosystem.

    We prize our bivalve bounty from the ropes, and minutes later the mussels arrive split on a platter. The plump orange morsels are served raw, ready to be spritzed with wedges of lemon and a lick of chilli as we gaze out over the bay. They’re briny, tender and faintly sweet. “This wasn’t originally part of the tour,” explains Connie Trathen, who doubles as the boat’s cook, deckhand and guide. “But a chef [who came onboard] wanted to taste the mussels raw first, and it’s now become one of the key features.”

    A humble trawler turned Hamptons-style dreamboat

    inspecting bivalve bounty from the ropes
    Inspecting the bounty. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    It’s a crisp, calm winter’s day, and the sun is pouring down upon Valerie, a restored Huon pine workhorse that was first launched in January 1980. In a previous life she trawled the turbulent Bass Strait. These days she takes jaunts into Port Phillip Bay under the helm of Lance Wiffen, a fourth-generation Bellarine farmer, and the owner of Portarlington Mussel Tours. While Lance has been involved in the fishing industry for 30-plus years, the company’s tour boat only debuted in 2023.

    holding Portarlington mussels
    See how these plump and juicy bivalves are sustainably cultivated.

    It took more than three years to transform the former shark trawler into a dreamy, Hamptons-esque vessel, with little expense spared. Think muted green suede banquettes, white-washed walls, Breton-striped bench cushions, hardwood tables, bouquets of homegrown dahlias, and woollen blankets sourced from Waverley Mills, Australia’s oldest working textile mill. It’s intimate, too, welcoming 12 guests at most. And yet there’s nothing pretentious about the experience – just warm, down-to-earth Aussie hospitality.

    As we cruise out, we crack open a bottle of local bubbles and nibble on the most beautifully curated cheese platter, adorned with seashells and grey saltbush picked from the water’s edge that very morning. Australasian gannets soar overhead, and I’m told it’s not uncommon for guests to spot the odd seal, pod of dolphins, or even the occasional little penguin.

    The sustainable secret behind Victoria’s best mussels

    blue mussels off Portarlington
    Blue mussels sourced just off Portarlington.

    Connie and Lance both extol the virtues of mussels. They’re delicious. A lean source of protein and packed with omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B12, iron, selenium, and zinc. They’re cooked in a flash (Connie steams our fresh harvest with cider and onion jam). And they’re also widely regarded as one of the most sustainable foods in the world.

    Portarlington mussels with lemon and chilli
    Mussels served with lemon and chilli.

    “Aquaculture is [often] seen as destructive, so a lot of our guests are really surprised about how environmentally friendly and sustainable our industry is,” Lance says. “[Our mussels] would filter 1.4 billion litres of water a day,” he adds, explaining how mussels remove excess nitrogen and phosphorus from the water. “And through biomineralisation, we lock carbon into mussel shells.”

    a hand holding a Portarlington mussel
    Mussels are a sustainable food.

    Despite their glowing list of accolades, these molluscs have long been seen as the oysters’ poorer cousins. “It was a really slow start,” explains Lance, who says that in the early days of his career, “you could not sell mussels in Victoria”.

    But word has slowly caught on. Chefs as globally acclaimed as Attica’s Ben Shewry and even René Redzepi of Noma, Denmark, have travelled to these very waters just to try the shellfish at the source, sharing only the highest praise, and using Lance’s mussels in their restaurants.

    guests sampling Portarlington mussels onboard
    Sampling the goods onboard. (Image: Visit Victoria/Hannyn Shiggins)

    According to Lance there’s one obvious reason why the cool depths of Portarlington outshine other locations for mussel farming. “The water quality is second to none,” he says, noting how other regions are frequently rocked by harvest closures due to poor water quality. “We grow, without a doubt, some of the best shellfish in the world.” And with Lance’s bold claims backed up by some of the industry’s greatest names, perhaps it won’t be much longer until more Aussies uncover the appeal of Portarlington’s mussels.