Phillip Island Penguin Small Group Eco Tour from Melbourne

Melbourne, Australia

See all the world class attractions of Phillip Island in one day on this small group eco tour from Melbourne. Indulge yourself with wine tasting at The Phillip Island Winery and tasting of a range of Gippsland's cheeses, see chocolates being made at the Phillip Island Chocolate Factory and get up close to koalas at the Phillip Island Koala Conservation Center. The highlight of your Phillip Island experience will begin at dusk as you watch the fairy penguins waddling up the beach into their burrows in the sand dunes. Traveling in a small group, maximum 24 people, will allow you to explore all that Phillip Island has to offer in an intimate and relaxed atmosphere.

En route to Phillip Island enjoy wine tasting at The Phillip Island Winery. The winery is set in a beautiful rural location with views over Bass Strait and Berry's Beach. Enjoy a personalized guided tour and indulge in the tastes of various cheeses and other local products including olives, olive oils, honey, chutney and cherries to match the locally produced wines.

Your first stop on Phillip Island is the Phillip Island Chocolate Factory. Entry is included to Panny's Amazing World of Chocolate, the latest addition to the factory. Learn about cocoa harvesting and see how the chocolate is made. You will also see lifesize statues and murals made entirely of chocolate. 

Next is a chance to get up close to the cuddly koalas at the Koala Conservation Center.  You'll also have the opportunity to walk amongst the treetops to view the wild koalas.  

Continue to the southwestern tip of the island to enjoy panoramic views of the Nobbies, a group of rugged rocks rising from the sea abundant in marine life and Seal Rocks, the home of Australia's largest fur seals population.

At dusk every evening the world's smallest penguins waddle ashore after spending the day fishing out at sea. Be truly enchanted as the stars of the show emerge from the surf and pass right before your eyes. You will be seated in the main viewing area to watch the parade of waddling penguins. To make this experience even more unforgettable, upgrade to either the Penguins Plus or the Private Penguin Parade Experience. See below for more details.

USD $128.56

Review by: Valerie H	March 2012
Totally lived up to our expectations - varied programme - no time wasted Excellent commentary Good Value

Review by: Steven G	March 2012
This tour is a great idea for people who are on a timed schedule but want to see as much as they can of Phillip Island. Its really convenient being collected and dropped back to your hotel._br/_ An absolutely amazing fun filled day, great for all ages and at such a good price. I would advise people to book the penguin plus as you get more penguins in that area with a lot less people and a complimentary hot drink all for just $15._br/_ The tour guides are ever so friendly and very helpful. The day has been planned out beautifully so you can see all of the island has to offer. A lovely experience._br/_ I would recommend this to anyone who wants to see the main attractions of Phillip Island, with all transport and other fees included._br/_ This made my holiday to Australia just that bit more special :o)._br/_ Thanks Viator

Review by: Valerie H	March 2012
Terrific trip- a full day including forest walk, wine and cheese tasting, chocolate factory and finally the gorgeous little penguins. Excellent guide- informative ,friendly and fun. Don't miss it

Review by: Karen R	February 2012
Excellent day. Lots of fun on bus and enjoyed all the attractions -chocolate factory,koala reserve ,winery and of course the penguins.Recommend the private ranger tour at the penguin reserve.Just magical sitting on the beach watching the penguins come in.

Review by: bellevuebnb	February 2012
We had Lee - Fab tour guide from GO WEST tours, friendly, knowledgeable and efficient. We had Doris - our bus for the day and a small and friendly group. The whole day was great from go to woo, excellent photo ops of koalas and Little Penguins as well as wallabies and cape barren geese. The choc factory was heaps of fun and the koala reserve is brilliant. The cheeses at the Phillip Island Winery as well worth the effort and the board walks at The Nobbies gave us access to awesome scenery. the highlight was the personal penguin parade. Again a brilliant guide THE best positions on the beach and great gear PLUS we finished with a delish hot chocolate. By the time we got back to our accommodation in Melbourne we were tired but sated. WOULD NOT HESITATE TO RECOMMEND

Review by: Elizabeth A C	February 2012
This was a fantastic trip! I opted for the ranger-led tour at the penguins and would definitely recommend it since not only did I learn a fair bit about the penguins, but he pointed out the mutton birds that had migrated south from Alaska and some of the southern hemisphere's constellations.

Review by: Christine H	January 2012
The tour was amazing especially the penguins. We do feel that the chocolate factory could be missed of as felt it was not very interesting unless you have kids. The winery was great and koala sanctuary. There should be more time spent at the end of evening watching penguins and not having to rush of and get bus . The penguins was a true experience that you would not forget.

Review by: Chuan-Hui F	January 2012
I love this tour much, worth the price I've paid for

Review by: Kurt R	December 2011
We had a very good time on this trip. It was definently worth it to have the private ranger tour. The tour guide was excellent and she was extremely knowledgable about all of the area and things we were seeing. She went to an extra effort to find a penquin in a non-protected area and to take pictures of it for us. (without the flash of course) This was recommended to us by friends and we will recommend it to others.

Review by: Michael f	December 2011
The trip was superb and was the highlight of our visit to Melbourne Our tour guide was enthusiastic and very knowledgeable and shared all his expertise in a friendly and sometimes amusing way. He referred to each of the passengers by name and took great care to ensure that each and every passenger saw as much at each location as possible. _br/_ We would recommend this tour highly to anyone visiting Melbourne and would certainly use your company again. Thank you very much!

Review by: Jaana L	November 2011
Great way to spend a day off and much to see in a day. Well organized small group tour and humorous guide. Koalas were cute and penguin parade amazing.

Review by: Julie M	November 2011
Despite the unpredictable Melbourne weather had a lovely day. The itinerary was great , Erik was a superb guide and the small group made it seem like we were out with friends for the day. _br/_ An excellent good value tour.

Review by: Mai Lee E	November 2011
Trip was great!!! Absolutely the right trip to choose! Our guide was wonderful and the penguins were magical! Best part of my 2 week vacation/holiday!

Review by: Pamela H	November 2011
Excellent/Informative Guide that provided great information about the environment and penguins. It was operated through GoWest Tours and I would recommend this tour.

Review by: number5	November 2011
Fantastic. Chocolate Factory a little boring but all others are awesome, especially Penguin Parade , Koala Conservation Centre and Nobbies Beach

Review by: Asanthi M	November 2011
This was a great tour, with so much covered in a day. Guide Dave (I think) was entertaining and had a lot of useful trivia. My mum enjoyed the wine tasting, and daughter loved the chocolate factory. The penguins of course were the highlight, pity that no photos of any sort were allowed with them. The tour ended rather late - it was past 11 when we returned to our hotels. This was not an issue for us, but just something to note.

Review by: Susan K	November 2011
Long day. Excellent tour leader.

Review by: jar82	October 2011
Great tour one of the best I've been on. Thoroughly recommend to anyone. So much was seen and done and the guide was friendly and helpful. Love those penguins.

Review by: Col and Sandy	October 2011
Worth doing, coach driver was great, the trip to the Phillip Island was great

Review by: ANDREA G	October 2011
great experience! great guide! highly recommended

Review by: Tracy C	October 2011
I found the stops prior to the penguins a bit random, especially the chocolate factory. I think it might be better to cut down a bit on the length and cost of the tour since the focus is the penguins, which were absolutely amazing!

Review by: Roberta D	October 2011
a nice tour

Review by: Cynthia L	October 2011
The tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and enthusiastic and did so much to enhance our enjoyment of the whole day. The wine tasting was particularly enjoyable! Sitting on the beach with the ranger and seeing the penguins come right past us was amazing.

Review by: Deb	October 2011
Visiting the Koala Conservation Centre and seeing the Penguin Parade were highlights of this trip! I liked that we had a bit of extra time to view the race track as well!

Review by: Neenee	October 2011
I booked this tour last minute...and I'm glad that I did!

Review by: christine c	October 2011
cutest little guys ever! sit at sunset bundled up in blankets and jackets and watch them waddle up on shore, exhausted from days of fishing and swimming. now my favorite animal in the world! easily worth the day trip from melbourne.

Review by: Xiao dan H	October 2011
It was a fantastic tour! We loved it and absolutely recommend Go West! We loved the management, the professional service and the medium-size coach. It was so relaxing, cheerful, enjoyable! It really allowed us to enjoy the scenery, the view., the beauty of the nature. The tour guide/ driver is very professional and humorous and informative. Love him!!! Thank you!

Review by: janetangy	October 2011
The pace of this tour was generally comfortable. The guide - John was entertaining. The experience of the Penguin Parade was exquisite. With John's advice on where to position ourselves for the best view, we got to come really close to the adorable penguins. Watching them emerge from the sea and waddle to their burrows....priceless!

Review by: Cherny_1612	September 2011
Amazing! penguins are so funny, coalsa are so cute. Guide was too funny. Great impressions, thanks!

Review by: Rosemary P	September 2011
Really good! Driver great - helpful and informative. Good hotel pick-up and drop-off service. Wine and cheese part of the tour - didn't enjoy wine and not enough of the fabulous bread and cheese. Choc factory enjoyed by daughter. Lovely koala reserve. Penquins adorable.

Review by: Faye G	September 2011
Excellent and tour captain I think his name was Lee was also very interesting and entertaining.

Review by: KOK KEONG C	September 2011
we have a great day with GOWEST tour. Nice guide - LEE, clean and comfortable bus and free audio translator. It is a wise choice to upgrade to penguin plus as we can see little penguins come back from the sea batch by batch and we may walk together with them side by side along the walkway. this experience is great!! _br/_ the tour price offered by viator is very competitive and the booking process is easy as 1-2-3. We definately will browse viator.com for our future holiday trip!

Review by: Marlene N	September 2011
We loved our tour. Our Guide Katie was excellent and so knowledgeable, she made the whole trip worthwhile. The winery visit was excellent too.._br/_ I would recommend it.

Review by: Jane A	September 2011
Enjoyed the day. Plenty of diversity in content of trip. Wish that the penguins would learn to arrive in the light of day (joke)._br/_ Driver Yvette was a joy._br/_ Bev and Ian

Review by: Colleen K	August 2011
You don't have enough stars to describe this tour!!! GoWest is the best company!! Our guide Lee is the best tour guide I have ever had on any tour ever!! Very entertaining and informative and the penquins are awesome but do upgrade because we kept having people standing up in front of us blocking out view but on the way out we walked next to 6 penguins the whole way up the boardwalk!! Do not miss this and if you're really lucky you will have Lee!! :0)

Review by: Anonymous	August 2011
Felt rushed at winery, at lunch and at the chocolate factory. Penguins were pretty cool. Recommend instead of rushed "get a sandwich" lunch that a less rushed venue such as the cafe at a winery or at the chocolate factory be entertained. The kolwala stop was somewhat disappointing after experiencing far more personal and closer enounters up north.

Review by: Susan M	July 2011
Terrific and well-worth it! Our guide Mac was fantastic. Every stop was great - and it is so worth the money to upgrade the viewing platform - we saw hundreds and hundreds of penguins and the 'cheaper' section only saw about 40. Koala sanctuary was great as was the vineyard. The chocolate factory I could have done without, but my 10 year old son loved it. The walk on the "Nobbies" was beautiful. Favorite tour in Melbourne area!

Review by: YUGUANG L	July 2011
Very Good!

Review by: Sarah D	July 2011
Fun tour - lots to see and do, a small group that meant it felt personal and you were not just one of a crowd, and a tour guide who looked after us very well.

Review by: Anonymous, Canada	July 2010
Very good trip watching the penguins is great along with the noobies. Would recommend this trip for a nature and animal lover.

Review by: Tania M, Australia	July 2010
Our experience going to see the penguins was absolutley fantastic, Seeing the penguins was th highlight to the whole tour it worth every bit of money to actually see these beauties,also our tour guide was fantastic who new everything to know about penguins . Also the other highlight of the tour was the chocolate factory, We would like to thank Viator tours for making our trip to Melbourne very memorable. from Tania, Sue, Cindy, Sue

Review by: Christine C, Australia	June 2010
A great day experiencing a variety of Victorian sights and tastes. Our guidedrive Phil was very informative and made the journey pleasurable and interesting. The highlight of course was the penguins and I would encourage everyone to pay the extra few dollars and take the penguin plus option - it was worth it.

Review by: Patrick and Arzu C, United Kingdom	May 2010
The best part of the tour were the penguins coming out of the ocean in the evening. It is great to observe these lovely little creatures. We enjoyed our time on this trip and would highly recommend it for those who love wildlife.

Review by: benjamin p, Australia	April 2010
trip was fantastic. guide was great. experience and a half. highly recommend it for anyone

Review by: Anonymous, Canada	April 2010
A really wonderful day ending with an extraordinary experience. The fairy penguins are a "must see" and the tour leading up to them was exceptonal.

Review by: Lynette M, Australia	March 2010
A brilliant day! Our guide was fantastic, and it was wonderful to fit some other things in, like the chocolate factory and the koala place as well. Those penguins were just so cute. Would definitely recommend this tour.

Review by: Bevan H, Australia	March 2010
Great trip. Excellent driver. Enjoyed the lot! Recommend.

Review by: David S, United States of America	March 2010
This was a really great day. Loved being picked up at our hotel. Our tour guide was great. We really enjoyed that the group was small. We were given a perfect amount of time for each visit. She answered all of our questions thoroughly and advised us about our different situations regarding the penguin viewing. Great variety of stops and experiences. Thank you for a great time.

Review by: Sue G, New Zealand	February 2010
The day was long but really worthwhile, and the driver was really friendly and informative. The penguins were so lovely, and it is hard to believe that they will do their "stroll" every night in front of so many people. Well done to the people of the island who have created this experience and saved the colony. Great value day in all!

Review by: Anonymous, Germany	February 2010
I loved the tour. I highly recommend this tour to everyone. Our guide was amazing thank you without him it would not have been the same. I enjoyed the koalas and the penguins.Don't forget to bring very warm clothes to see the penguins because it was very cold and we didn't know. Only the royal botanical gardens were a bit boring but all in all it was a great experience.