Victoria
Travel Guide
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My travel guides are organised in two main sections:
Overview
This will help you to decide if this is a location for you, and if so, where you may want to spend your time. For larger countries, I also provide additional overviews of different regions, states and territories.
Best things to do
Here I list specific things to see and do. For each, I provide star ratings so that you can easily see how good, unique and adventurous each place is. This means that you can easily pick out where sounds right for you!
Victoria Travel Guide 2026
This is part of my Australia travel guide. Given Australia’s massive size and immense diversity, I’ve made specific guides and recommendations for the best places to visit in each state. You can see my main Australia Travel Guide by following this link; this also has links to my guides for each of Australia’s states and territories. I have lived, worked and travelled in Australia and visited every state and territory, so here goes!
Victoria
I would argue that the two most famous tourist destinations in Victoria are Melbourne and The Great Ocean Road. Melbourne is a cool city, and I am lucky that I have family living there, so I have visited the city on four occasions. Many Australians and internationals prefer Melbourne to Sydney for its arguably better social and entertainment scenes. It’s also a very green city with lots of local parks. It’s a very sprawling city with many detached homes and a rough-grid layout. Melbourne’s harbour is also massive, I can’t express in words how big but you have to see it to comprehend its scale. There are really cool suburbs like Richmond and St. Kilda (where you can see Penguins). South of Melbourne, on the east side of the harbour, you also have the Mornington Peninsula and Phillip Island, which are worth checking out.
The Great Ocean Road lies on Victoria’s southern coast west of Melbourne, where you can see The Twelve Apostles rock formations (or what’s left of them, as several have now collapsed) and some stunning beaches. It’s worth doing in a car if you are in the area, although it is a bit touristy; it’s a good trip to do with friends and take your time in a car, although buses are available. I also loved the Grampian mountains, and they are worth spending a couple of days in if you can spare the time.
Best places to visit in...
I provide star ratings for each of my recommendations so that you can quickly narrow down what appeals to you. Explanations for what these mean can be found here.
I use Google Maps to plan all my trips and it’s a game-changer! I’ve added links to Google Maps for each of the locations below so you can easily add them to your own map. Be sure to copy this web link into the description of each location you save so that you can easily refer back to this guide later. Check out this blog for more tips on how to use Google Maps to enhance your travels!
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: City
Recommended Duration: 2 days+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Melbourne is a great city and many Aussies prefer it to Sydney. It’s a bit cooler down there and is one of the few places in Australia other than Tasmania where you can feel a decent seasonal change. You will hear Aussies complain that Melbourne is “cold” in the winter.
For anyone visiting from elsewhere in the world, please don’t be put off by this because, by international standards, it definitely isn’t cold. It’s just cooler than most other places on the Australian mainland and they’re not used to it! The centre of the city is easy to navigate and it’s a great place for music and comedy – there is a comedy festival from March to April which is worth checking out if you are there at that time. Melbourne Harbour is huge and has a more rounded shape than Sydney, so it doesn’t look as iconic in my opinion. Melbourne is a very green city with lots of parks. I’d recommend seeing an AFL (Australian Football) game in Richmond. If you are there in April, get yourself to see an Anzac Day game (25th April). Melbourne is famous for cafe culture and food. There have been large numbers of Greek and Italian immigrants, so they have good coffee, food and ice cream. I’d also recommend checking out St. Kilda, which is a nice beach part of the city, which has some small penguins there too (although not as many as Phillip Island. I also liked the architecture in Richmond, which is an older style, as much of the rest of the city is a sprawl with many detached homes – a stark contrast to compact European cities.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Wildlife
Recommended Duration: 1 day
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
I would recommend a day for Phillip Island, where you can explore the island during the day, especially the Nature Park in the south-east of the island (immediately left as you drive over the bridge onto the island), as this is where I saw the very cute echidnas up close!
You can also visit the penguin parade and see thousands of penguins coming ashore just after sunset – please respect the penguins, give them space and follow instructions. The penguins are small and come ashore as ‘rafts’ – large groups sticking together. They’re good entertainment. They fight one another, which is surprisingly brutal for such a cute animal. The best bit, however, was watching as small groups would come ashore to be confronted by gulls, which block their path from the water up the beach. A tense standoff then ensues. It also feels almost like penguin D-Day, where penguins are not confident to run past the larger gulls on the beach alone; however, as reinforcements arrive, they become more emboldened until one brave soul leads the charge, surging forward. Others soon follow suit, and using their strength in numbers, they storm the beach and return to safety for the night – it’s very entertaining! I’d also recommend stopping at Arthur’s Seat Lookout on the way, which gives an amazing view of the harbour.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Landscapes
Recommended Duration: 1 day+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Like Phillip Island, this is also south of Melbourne on the east side of Melbourne Harbour. I would also recommend stopping at Arthur’s Seat Lookout on your way down here from Melbourne. You could also tie in a trip here with Phillip Island, since they are close together.
There are some nice walks and beaches here. Most of all, though, I would recommend spending at least half a day at the Peninsular Hot Springs. If you only have a day, maybe start early and explore the island in the morning, have some lunch and then head here in the afternoon. The hot springs are privately-owned, so it does cost to get in, but they are naturally heated with loads of pools at different temperatures, many with amazing views. It’s a great place to relax and the stargazing is incredible! I would highly recommend going in daylight, watching the sunset and then stargazing from one of the pools higher on the mountain to watch the stars. I found that most people are there in the daytime, but it gets a lot quieter after dark. Also, this is a great date night if you need any ideas for Melbourne!
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Coastal Drive
Recommended Duration: 2 days+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This is probably the most famous thing to do in Victoria. The coastal road lies west of Melbourne and offers stunning cliff faces and scenery, including what’s left of the 12 Apostles (huge sea stacks), although only 8 remain, with the rest having collapsed.
It is beautiful, it is worth doing, but it’s famous, and therefore touristy. At each stop, you will find crowds of people taking photos and bus tours. I also think that much of the coast of SA, QLD and WA rivals this coast, but for different reasons, the Great Ocean Road has its own distinct appearance, to be fair, which I don’t believe I saw anything like in the other aforementioned coast areas. I would say head down to the beaches where possible and enjoy it, take your time and see the sights! It’s great to do it with a group of friends in a car or two. You can do it in a long day, but I’d say take at least two and spend some time in Otway as well.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Wildlife and nature
Recommended Duration: 4 hours+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
Definitely tie this into your Great Ocean Road trip. It’s a great place to see Koalas in the wild! There are also other great things to do nearby, like visiting Hopetoun Falls and Beauchamp Falls. I’d also highly recommend visiting Otway Fly Treetop Adventures, where you can stroll down walkways in the tree canopies.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: Hotel
Recommended Duration: 1 night
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
After you finish The Great Ocean Road, you’ll need somewhere to stay. Look no further than The Commercial Hotel, Terang. This place is a hidden gem for sure! The town is small and has lots of old architecture and character.
It’s a quiet town, so don’t expect a crazy social life here, but it has a great feel, and it almost feels like you’re in a living museum. The Commercial Hotel is similarly old and characterful. The rooms are reasonably priced, but the main reason you should go here is for the owner, Les. One of the nicest and most interesting people you will meet. He has lots of stories to tell and regularly throws events for those in the world of arts and does a lot for the community. He also gave me a great tip off about a small extinct volcano nearby called Mount Noorat, which can be climbed relatively easily and you can walk around the old crater rim. It’s definitely worth checking out at sunset!
Wilsons Promontory National Park
Category: National Park
Recommended Duration: 4 hours+
Andy visited?: No, but my internet research suggests it may be worth visiting
Description
I didn’t go here as I took the inland road from Canberra to Melbourne to meet my Uncle and his family for Christmas, so I skipped the coastal route from Sydney to Melbourne. This National Park has great reviews, though and looks worth stopping by if you are passing through.
Adventure
Andy Argo
Uniqueness
Category: National Park
Recommended Duration: 1 day+
Andy visited?: Yes
Description
This is a nice national park and upland area with good views and lots of wildlife – plenty of kangaroos bouncing around as well as emus if you’re lucky. MacKenzie Falls are worth going to, as well as Pinnacle Lookout.
Please note that, as beautiful as MacKenzie Falls is, swimming is not permitted for good reason. You can’t tell from above, but there are crazy strong undercurrents, particularly in the area below the falls itself and in the direction of waterflow from the falls to the stream below. You may see people breaking the rules and swimming around the edges where the current is as strong, but don’t let that give you a false sense of security; this place can be deadly and people have been drowned here on several occasions (sorry to put a downer on this beautiful spot, but safety first!).
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Title image: Great Ocean Road, Victoria, Australia