Small-Group Phillip Island Afternoon Day Trip from Melbourne
Overview
Available languages
8 hours
Mobile ticket
Be treated to a visit at Moonlit Sanctuary Conservation Park where you will have the opportunity to interact with an array of Australian native animals such as koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, dingoes, an array of colorful birds & reptiles. Visit the Nobbies - home to the largest colony of fur seals in Australia. Then it is on to the gala event! Delight in the magic of visiting the world-famous Phillip Island Penguin Parade where you will have the privilege of witnessing a true miracle - our beautiful little penguins arriving ashore to one of the largest penguin colonies in Australia. After a long swim at sea, they will be dressed up in what looks like a tuxedo - marvel at these stunning flightless birds as they waddle right past you on the way to their home. Depending on the time of year, you can tailor your tour and include free time exploring Phillip Island at your own pace.
Enjoy this highly personalised tour with a small-group limited to only 11 passengers.
Additional Info
Public transportation options are available nearby
Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Children 3 and under not catered for. Booster seat available for children 4 to 7 available.
Tour not normally suitable for cruise ship passengers. Tour starts between 1 and 2 pm depending on time of year from city centre and finishes between 8:30 PM and 11:45 PM. It is your responsibility to check you can make it on time to avoid missing out on tour and cancellation fees.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
What‘s Included
Nobbies and Seal Rock
Moonlit Sanctuary
Selected City Centre Hotel pickup and drop-off
Live commentary on board
Transport by air-conditioned minivan
Food and drinks
Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup points
Select a pickup point
What To Expect
Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park
See Australia’s unique wildlife
The Nobbies
watch
Options
Phillip Island + Plus Option
Penguin penguins Viewing : Smaller Stand to see penguins closer as they come out of the water on the way to the colony
Pickup included
Phillip Island Tour - English
Phillip Island day trip from Melbourne with English speaking guide
Pickup included
Reviews
504 reviews
Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor
Goated Tour
566uug,
Nov 25, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00The island was beautiful. The sanctuary had a lot of neat animals to see. I loved the koalas and marsupials. Also Josh my tour guide locked up Andrew Bogut.
Penguin parade
A1099IDmarkg,
Nov 25, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Amazing experience, Josh our tour guide was fantastic and very knowledgeable about everything on our tour. Would definitely recommend to anyone.
Relaxed, awesome tour
Global33563281467,
Nov 25, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Josh was an awesome tour guide, knew all lot about the Phillips Island. He took us to extra spots to show us more of the wildlife.
INCREDIBLE EXPERIENCE, AMAZING GUIDE, WELL PREPARED AND ORGANIZED. WOULD DEFINITELY RECOMMEND
Guglielmo M,
Nov 23, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Crish was super friendly, well prepared on everything you could imagine , he also spoke Italian a big +, great driver btw
A must do when in Melbourne
Marianne D,
Nov 20, 2025
- Review from Viator
5.00Our guide, Josh, was amazing. He took us to a number of places to see wildlife, and scenery on the way to the penguin parade. Dinner is not included in the price, but a stop in a lovely little town in which you can get dinner is. Josh is knowledgeable about local wildlife and culture and shared that with us along the way. The Penguin Parade is so special. Not to be missed! Choose the plus option, definitely worth it.
Penguin Island trip
L8101927,
Nov 19, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00This was a well worth while trip. Josh, our driver was excellent and explained every thing in detail. We were able to see lots of little penguins.
Best way to see the penguins
LostLuggageLuke,
Nov 17, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00Fred and Richard were a great guide/driver combo. Made for a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon out despite the distance. Recommended!
Poor service
Sinead H,
Nov 16, 2025
- Review from Viator
2.00Not a great start as the driver left without us. Overall the tour was poor, the only good part was the penguin parade which I liked a lot but we could have just drive there because this didn’t happen until 8:30pm. I’d recommend to skip this and get your own way to the penguins. We were at the pickup spot outside the hotel and apparently somehow missed each other, if the driver just waited 10 min we would have found each other as we phoned the tour operator 5min after the scheduled departure and the answer was “he just left” and “wouldn’t come back” and ”that’s that”. Poor poor service from this company who at least could have tried to contact us/wait a few minutes before just leaving us behind. We asked if we could uber to him right away ( he was about 5min gone) and the reply was “no you can join at the first stop ….one hour away”. Totally unaccommodating of us and by the way we booked this tour and paid more as it was a small group which should facilitate everyone as best they can and “look after people”. We took the uber costing us a lot of money and he was supposed to meet us outside at the “santuary” but didnt, so we had to go inside ourselves and “find him”……by asking all the tour guides was this “Piero”……… Very poor help. The tour guide however was perfectly happy to wait for ages all along the way for people to make it back to the bus!! Overall I’d avoid this tour.
Beautiful experience
Emanuela22Emanuela,
Nov 16, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
5.00I want to express my complete satisfaction with the excursion I made today to Penguin Parade with guide Josh. It was a really wonderful experience and perfectly organized. 🚌 The Strengths of the Organization • The Guide (Josh): Josh was very good, kind, helpful and attentive to all our needs. His professionalism and enthusiasm made the trip even more enjoyable. • Complete Itinerary: We loved that Josh also took us to other interesting places before arriving at Penguin Parade, including stopping at a park/sanctuary where we saw many other wildlife. • Intimate Experience: The fact that we were a small group of participants was a huge advantage. The van was very comfortable, ensuring a relaxing trip. 🐧 The Exciting Penguin Parade And finally, the experience at Penguin Parade was really very special, exciting and evocative. Seeing the little penguins come back to shore at sunset is a breathtaking natural sight. 💡 Conclusion I highly recommend this excursion to anyone who wants to experience the Penguin Parade. Josh's great company and attention to detail made this day unforgettable. We had a great time!
Don’t Recommend! Refund Being Reviewed RJCKEGA
shaoc356,
Nov 15, 2025
- Review from Tripadvisor
1.00Don’t recommend. My request : full refund, and I was told by the tour operator it’s now being reviewed for confirmation code RJCKEGA (Nov 16, 2025 at 1:30 PM). I had been waiting at Grand Hyatt for pick up since 1 PM on Nov 16 even though the reminder email sent out the day prior said 1:30 PM for this hotel in order to try to give them spare time. When we started texting each other at 1:20 PM after the operator already left this pickup spot, the operator said since they could not find me at Grand Hyatt, they asked me to uber to their next stop myself, to Mercure Southbank by 1:30 PM, which was about a 10 min drive away. And I explained I couldn’t make it within that tight timeframe given and also provided them a screenshot of email I received, but the operator responded firmly they could not go back. After this, I left Grand Hyatt at around 1:40 PM. Terrible experience.
-15% off
From A$199.75Was A$235.00
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Operated by Oceania Tours and Safaris