Melbourne City and Williamstown Ferry Cruise

Melbourne, Australia

The City and Williamstown Ferry offers visitors an historic coastal village experience. Cruise past Melbourne's shipping channels on your journey to the old maritime seaport of Williamstown. Spend the day sipping coffee at a sidewalk café or discovering quaint shops and galleries, before taking a leisurely cruise back to the city.

City to Williamstown
Cruise past Melbourne's shipping channels on your journey to the old maritime seaport of Williamstown. Explore this early colonial settlement, boasting a charming array of restaurants, cafes and galleries amongst picturesque gardens. Take in the stunning waterfront bay views overlooking the coastal waters. Duration: 50 mins to 1 hour.

Williamstown to City Ferry
Depart from this inner city treasure and historic coastal village. Journey across the bay into the Yarra River, past the port and docklands. A wonderful opportunity to see the magnificent vistas of the Melbourne skyline before entering into the hustle and bustle of city life.

Duration: 50 mins to 1 hour

Williamstown and City
For a great day out, take a return trip to or from Williamstown or the city. A wonderful range of activities, restaurants and attractions to explore for everyone. Duration: 1 ¾ - 2 hours

You can choose to go one-way or return! Just select which option suits you at the time of booking.

Onboard Facilities:

• Tea and Coffee
• Informative commentary
• Large panoramic windows
• Alfresco sun decks
• Comfortable onboard amenities  (restrooms)

USD $21.76

Review by: Kevin L	February 2012
just another ferry ride, nothing special ie no commentary.It was interesting to see Melbourne and the Yarra from a water perspective

Review by: Kerin C	January 2012
The trip to Williamstown on a hot Tuesday was most enjoyable. Our captain was informative and funny and we learned more about our own capital city's history while we enjoyed the different views from the Yarra River. The long boat was spacious, amenities clean and coffee and tea available for passengers. Our return trip was less comfortable with a much smaller boat and full to capacity. Because of the heat of the day it wasn't the most pleasant trip. Still on the whole would I recommend the trip? -Absolutely. Williamstown is a quaint historical town and worth revisiting. It was easy booking with Viator - and I am a first time user - the information about the trip was excellent, booking and payment easy. A suggestion for those who aren't familiar with Southgate would be to improve the map. I had to Google Berth 5 to get a clearer picture. Parking is also available at Crown for $6.00 and while it is a bit of a walk, it was quite pleasant along Southbank.

Review by: maureen f white h	January 2012
had a great day. the trip over very good. onthe way back we saw a big ship being turned around by tug boats.

Review by: robyn t	January 2012
my husband and i had a lovely trip we would definately do it again. the staff were excellent and the ferry was very clean

Review by: Sebastiao B	December 2011
Although the cruise was postponed due to bad weather on Nov. 26, we were able to make the trip on Monday Nov. 28. We had a wonderful time as the Captain was not only informative but also very entertaining. It was a good way to end our first trip to Melbourne before we return home that day. Sebastiao and Belinda Bugo

Review by: Jane N	May 2011
It could have been so fantastic, but it was dreadful ! We were a party of 4 adults two small children and a baby. From Flinders Street Station it was difficult to get down to the boat jetty because of major construction work between the bridge and the jetty, and we had a bad experience with a contractor's trucks arriving to deliver materials, which was scary.The boat is difficult to get on and off, especially with children, baby and pram. some of us got off at The Science museum. The jetty, pathways, surroundings, and no toilet, were sobering. Is this really our destination??!! On the return trip, we apparenntly couldn't get the boat under the King Street bridge, Communication of this was poor, especially to those of us outside on the deck, (It happened by word of mouth!)_br/_ We learned that another boat was being sent to take us the rest of the way to the Arts Centre precinct. Most, if not all, of the stranded passengers opted to walk. We walked to Flinders Street and caught a tram to the station and then caught our train back to Camberwell.All of this in the rain !! It was actually a nightmare! Our interstate and overseas visitors were not impressed and we were embarrassed. definitely not recommended !!

Review by: amanda l	May 2011
Booking was easy but it was difficult to speak to anyone in Australia to clarify our trip prior to arriving in Melbourne._br/_ On the day for our journey it was a little frustrating trying to get staff to confirm a return time from Williamson all the passengers had been told different times._br/_ Then standing and waiting on the dock for an extra 20mins in the sun (not Viators fault) was very unfortunate for many elderly people waiting with us on Anzac day._br/_ I was also disappointed the phone number provided on the ticket was not available for us to speak to anyone on the day, not even a recorded message to say no-one was available to take my call._br/_ However the staff were informed and friendly.We would use your service again._br/_

Review by: C R G	February 2011
We mainly enjoyed our recent ferry cruise, but we were a little disappointed that there was no tea/coffee provided as we thought there would be. Also the ferry broke down on our return journey and we had been waiting for over 15 mins until we were notified. We got another ferry back from another company as we would have had to wait for nearly 2 hours' until the next ferry departed, however we had no trouble at all getting a refund for the $20.00 we had to pay to the other company, and we were very impressed with that.

Review by: Lesley R	January 2011
A little bit of disorganisation meant we had to change boats but the trip was OK.

Review by: Anonymous	June 2010
The picture of the boat they advertise with is very different to the one you actually get. We were on a very old, smelly, wet ferry. The people we were getting the ferry with were actually shocked at the condition of the ferry. Being from Melbourne, I was embarrassed that this is what tourists see of our city. Due to the numbers, they weren't running all the ferries. While I understand this can sometimes happen, the customer service we were given was disgusting. I have never seen such an appalling way to treat customers. To top it off, they didn't drop us in the correct return point resulting in us having to walk and extra 2 kilometers to get back to where we started. I would not recommend this tour company to anyone.

Review by: Rosemary G, Australia	May 2010
Very worthwhile cruise. Be mindful of the tides, we had to do a down and back cruise, with no shore visit to Willamstown, as the tide was very high.Next time. Hats off and applaudes to the Captain who got us under the Melbourne bridge with cms.to spare on the return journey. Ferry crew were great, informative and humerous commentary,but the booking office staff at Southbank would benifit from some lessons in customer relations.

Review by: Linda E, Australia	April 2010
The timetable on the site is no longer operational and the information concerning the route followed is unclear. We enjoyed the trip but had to make two visits to sort out a suitable time for the round trip. It was fine because we live locally but it would be very inconvenient if you did not.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	February 2010
Good ferry service to Williamstown with excellent and informative commentary about the docklands and waterways.

Review by: Judith P, Australia	January 2010
The trip was a most enjoyable one and would recommend it. Also we look forward to doing it again!

Review by: Maureen O, Australia	January 2010
Good trip and well worth doing. Cruise captain was very informative on sights along the Yarra River. Williamstown a very interesting place with lots of history. A good walk around the coast and through the centre of the township to the shops was well worthwhile and easy to fit in between the 10:30 am and 3:30 pm ferry. A great lunch at the Yacht Club Hotel.

Review by: Winifred M, Australia	December 2009
Melbourne City and Williamstown Ferry Cruise

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	November 2009
nice trip down the river. not much to do in williams town but was quite relaxing.

Review by: Cherelle P, Australia	August 2009
When we arrived, we were told that the cruise would not go ahead without at least six people. At the time, only three of us were waiting. Luckily another couple turned up, and they agreed to go ahead with five people. Not sure if you are aware of this restriction, but might want to add it somewhere in your information.

Review by: Lyn F, Australia	May 2009
Great views of the city, comfortable ride, accommodating personnel. Made for a pleasant day.

Review by: Tertia R, United Kingdom	May 2009
The pilot of the vessel was having a running discussion with the other pilot and conducting trading his personal share portfolio whilst ferrying us back to the mainland. The pilot who ferried us out tried to point out the highlights to us, but kept being interrupted by the "trader" and didn't finish his sentences.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	March 2009
The driver's information was very good, but the boats are small and old. We asked ourselves first are we going on these, are they safe, etc.

Review by: Lawrence C, Australia	January 2009
A really pleasant cruise. The commentary was well-pitched and informative but not overdone.

Review by: Vanessa G, Australia	July 2008
Enjoyed our trip on the Yarra River to Williamstown. The captain was very entertaining and gave a fabulous commentary.

Review by: Anonymous, Australia	March 2008
We took some German visitors who enjoyed it. But for us long time Melbourne residents it was also very good. You get views of the docks and the harbors that you cant get any other way. Plus, Williamstown is a very good place to wander around.

Review by: Rebecca S, Australia	January 2008
The cruise itself is fantastic. Very relaxing. Williamstown is a great little spot to just wander around and poke in stores. The ferry drivers range in ability but are not that pivotal to the experience. The service running times are inconsistent, though. We called that morning to check times and were told one thing but when we got to the dock it was completely different. We should have had two hours in Williamstown according to the information given to us that morning, but when we got there at lunchtime we instead had to kill an hour at the dock and only ended up with forty minutes in Williamstown, as they were not running the services as quoted. It meant we were very short on for time at Williamstown and, as we were on holiday, we did not have time to reschedule to another day or time. This was disappointing.

Review by: Bev R, Australia	September 2007
It was a good cruise.

Review by: Allvin S, Australia	March 2007
Very interesting, tour leader was good.