Destination Guides > Australia > Victoria > Around Melbourne > Phillip Island
Phillip Island
Less than a two-hour drive from Melbourne, Phillip Island has some fantastic surf beaches
and abundance of wildlife; including koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, seals and the little
penguins for which Phillip Island is famous.
Practical Information
Phillip Island Information Centre
Phillip Island Road, Newhaven, Phillip Island
Tel (03) 5956 7447 or 1300 366 422
Website www.visitphillipisland.com
Open 9am-5pm daily
Coming & Going
If you’re not driving, there are a few transport options between Melbourne and the
island.
Inter Island Ferries (tel (03) 9585 5730) sail several times a day between Cowes on Phillip Island and Stony Point on the Mornington Peninsula. The one-way fare is $10, but you also need to take a train from Melbourne to Stony Point (change trains at Frankston), which costs an additional $5.50.
V/line (tel 13 61 96) run a bus service between Melbourne and Cowes although this service only runs a once a day. The V/line bus departs from Southern Cross Station and the return fare is $20.
There are also several companies that run tours departing from Melbourne. These include
Autopia Tours (tel 1800 000 507); Go West (tel 1300 736 551), which both cost $109 and Penguin Island Tours (tel (03) 9629 5888) who run tours for $99. The prices for all these tours include admission fees to a wildlife park and the Penguin Parade.
Local Transport
The Duck Truck (tel 1800 235 998) operates a shuttle bus to the Penguin Parade that picks up from accommodation in Cowes. The return fare is $15.
Hostel Accommodation
Amaroo Park YHA
97 Church Street, Cowes
Tel (03) 5952 2548
Paul's Place
8 Watchorn Road, Cowes
Sights & Activities
Koala Conservation Centre
This is a wildlife park dedicated to koalas where you can walk along a boardwalk in the
treetops and see koalas up close.
Phillip Island Road, Sunset Strip.
Tel (03) 5956 8300
Website www.penguins.org.au
Admission $10; 3 Parks Pass including entry to Penguin Parade and Churchill Island $34
The Nobbies
At the south-western tip of the Phillip Island are a group of rocks called the Nobbies,
which are home to a colony of seals that can viewed through coin operated binoculars at
the Nobbies kiosk. The Nobbies Centre (tel (03) 5951 2800) has a café and interactive displays about the region’s wildlife.
Penguin Parade
Every night at sunset, little penguins emerge from the sea and make their way across the
beach to their home amongst the sand dunes. It’s best to come here during the summer when there are more penguins; during winter it can be bitterly cold with winds coming up from Antarctica and very few penguins making the trip to their nesting ground. The Phillip
Island Penguin Parade is one of Australia’s most popular tourist attractions; a huge
grandstand has been built to accommodate the hundreds of spectators, and the beach is
floodlit detracting from what would otherwise be an amazing natural attraction. There is
also an information centre on the site with displays and a short film about penguins.
Ventnor Road, Summerland Beach
Tel (03) 5956 8691
Website www.penguins.org.au
Admission $20; 3 Parks Pass including entry to Churchill Island and Koala Conservation
Centre $34
Open 10am-11pm daily; arrive 1hr before sunset for penguin parade
Phillip Island Wildlife Park
There are several wildlife parks around Phillip Island but this one is the closest to
Cowes and the most convienent if you’re staying in Cowes and don’t have a car. It is home
to dingoes, emus, koalas and Tasmanian devils and you can hand-feed kangaroos and
wallabies.
Phillip Island Road, Cowes
Tel (03) 5952 2038
Admission $15
Seal Watching Cruises
Although you can see seals through binoculars from the Nobbies, it is a much better
experience to take a cruise to the seal colony at Seal Rocks, 2km offshore. Wildlife Coast Cruises (tel 1300 763 739) run two hour cruises that cost $58 and give you the oppotunity to see thousands of seals up close.
Surfing
Phillip Island has excellent surf beaches along its southern coast. These include Cat
Bay, Smiths Beach and Cape Woolamai Surf Beach at the southeastern point of the island.
Island Surfboards & Surf School (tel (03) 5952 3443) and Out There (tel (03) 5956 6450) can teach you to surf.
Prices start at $50 for a two-hour lesson.
Wildlife Wonderland (the Giant Worm)
This wildlife park features Australian native animals including emus, kangaroos and
wombats plus a worm museum. It is on the way to the island and is difficult to reach
without a car, but it’s an easy detour if you’re driving to the island.
Bass Highway, Bass
Tel (03) 5678 2222
Website www.wildlifewonderland.com.au
Admission $13.90
Open 8.30am-6.30pm
