Jump to content

Tours of Melbourne


4774Papa
 Share

Recommended Posts

We will be in Melbourne for several days prior to moving to Sydney for our cruise.

 

I have found some tours that look good. I would appreciate any comments pro or con. Also, we will have some other time to wander, any suggestions?

 

1) Yarra Valley and Puffing Billy Steam Train---Embark on a full-day adventure through the forests, mountains and vineyards of Victoria. Enjoy tea and birdwatching in the Dandenong Ranges, and cruise through a verdant landscape aboard the historic Puffing Billy steam train. Discover the vineyards of the Yarra Valley as you sample premium regional wines at cellar door tastings. Upgrade to include a gourmet lunch with wine pairings. Highlights Full-day tour to the Dandenong Ranges, Puffing Billy Steam Train, and Yarra Valley, from Melbourne Have morning tea in the picturesque Dandenongs and hand-feed native birds Ride Australia's oldest steam train, the Puffing Billy Steam Train, through the rainforest in the Dandenongs Taste a variety of wines at three wineries with views overlooking Yarra Valley Savor a 2-course lunch at Rochford Winery accompanied by premium wine (if option selected) Learn about the regions you visit with commentary from a guide

2) https://www.viator.com/tours/Melbourne/Best-of-Melbourne-City-Tour-with-Colonial-Tramcar-Restaurant-Dinner/d384-3998_352

 

 

3) https://www.viator.com/tours/Melbourne/2-day-Great-Ocean-Road-and-Phillip-Island/d384-6770P4

 

 

4) one of these: https://www.viator.com/tours/Melbourne/Melbourne-Lanes-and-Arcades-Walking-Tour/d384-3671ARCADES

 

 

https://www.viator.com/tours/Melbourne/Central-Melbourne-Walking-Tour/d384-5387WALK/important-info

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They all sound good. I did a Puffing Billy / Yarra Valley trip many, many years ago and it was a good day out.

 

The Great Ocean Rd / Phillip Island trip sounds exhausting, they're covering a lot of kilometres in those two days. The second day will be very long as you probably won't get back to Melbourne until very late. The penguins don't come ashore until it's dark. It would be worth doing though. Stunning scenery and the penguins are amazing and adorable.

 

Melbourne arcades and laneways are fascinating. We did a coffee tour some years ago which also covered some of the laneways.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any restaurants in Melbourne that you recommend?

If you like Italian food head to Lygon Street. It's full of fabulous cafes and restaurants and is a destination in itself.

 

Dandenongs/Puffing Billy is a great day trip. As already said the 2 day trip is long but it covers some spectacular scenery and the fairy penguin parade as well. You could do Phillip Island and the Great Ocean Road as separate day trips returning to your Melbourne hotel each night. That way you can space them over a few days and maybe not get so exhausted. Might coast a bit more though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any restaurants in Melbourne that you recommend?

 

If you like modern Japanese food Mr Miyagi is awesome. Our eldest granddaughter took us there a couple of years ago. OMG! The salmon nori taco was to die for! https://mrmiyagi.com.au/. It's quite close to the Windsor train station - turn left after exiting the station.

 

There is a great food court in the Emporium Melbourne shopping centre. The Tank fish & chip outlet is excellent. There is also a Din Tai Fung there, on an upper level, which is part of the famous Taiwanese dumpling chain.

 

On a warm summer night we like the Beachcomber Cafe on the beachfront at St Kilda - you can get there easily by tram.

 

If you like espresso coffee, you might like to visit one of Melbourne's oldest coffee shops, Pelligrini's on Bourke St. It's a couple of blocks up the hill from Swanston St. It's worth a visit - it's a Melbourne icon.

Edited by OzKiwiJJ
Link to comment
Share on other sites

See if you can find a tour that includes looking at the street art (graffiti). Maybe you can have that added onto the laneways and arcades since it's all in the same area. This was one of the more unusual and interesting things we did in Melbourne. The street art is almost all high quality and isn't the usual "tags" you see in other cities. In Melbourne most of it is actually murals and other art pieces. I noticed that the half day Central Melbourne Walking Tour included the street art in the description.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 months later...

My friends and I are sailing on the Celebrity Solstice and will be in Melbourne on Nov. 1st . The Puffing Billy/Yarra Valley and Healsville tour from Viator is sold out. Does anyone have a tour to these areas scheduled and can take 4 more people?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My friends and I are sailing on the Celebrity Solstice and will be in Melbourne on Nov. 1st . The Puffing Billy/Yarra Valley and Healsville tour from Viator is sold out. Does anyone have a tour to these areas scheduled and can take 4 more people?

 

 

Try this link, it may be available -

http://daytourmelbourne.com.au/1-day-puffing-billy-yarra-valley-wine-tour/?gclid=CLDgi7vC9NYCFY0IKgodbbMNGw

 

 

Leigh

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

We did both the Puffing Billy/Yarra Valley tour, and the 2 Day Great Ocean Road tour, 2 years ago.

The Puffing Billy tour was just okay. The train ride is pretty short (20 min?) and not picturesque. The lunch at the winery was nothing special, and the animal preserve was disappointing only because a lot of the animals were sleeping.

We liked the Ocean Road trip -- the scenery is fabulous. The town where you spend the night is pretty small with limited food options, but we liked walking on the beach. The only problem was the bus on the second day was more than 1 1/2 hours late past the time they told us to be waiting for pickup, and there was not a place to sit down or even stand in the shade. But just when we had almost given up hope, the bus arrived.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some year ago I came from Adelaide on the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne (it took three days), maybe if it's available just do a Great Ocean Road-Tour without Philipp Island (but maybe with a sidetrip to the Grampians Mountains)

 

There is a free circle line tram ride in Melbourne (of course without the food).

 

And I'll return in about three weeks for a very short time, and I'll will probably do a tour which combines the Puffing Billy-Ride and Philip Island by Gray Tours.

 

Another fun tour would be visiting Ballart to experience the high time of Gold Digging...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My favorite activity near Melbourne was visiting Phillip Island to see the fairy penguins. We had time to do some things in the city in the morning, then took an afternoon tour and got there just in time to see the penguins come rolling and tumbling in. What an amazing experience. For me, that''s a must-do from M.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My sister did a similar cruise and she said Phillips Island penguins was an absolute highlight. For that reason we are actually getting off our cruise in Melbourne (instead of Sydney) so that we can get to experience this. We will take the second day in Melbourne to see the Great Ocean Road, then fly to Sydney for a couple days before we head home. I was really disappointed when I found our ship didn't stay in Melbourne long enough to see the penguins, but am looking forward to it so much more with our itinerary change (did have to pay Celebrity $65 for the honor of leaving early!) Hotel in Melbourne and air to Sydney was surprisingly inexpensive.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Some year ago I came from Adelaide on the Great Ocean Road to Melbourne (it took three days), maybe if it's available just do a Great Ocean Road-Tour without Philipp Island (but maybe with a sidetrip to the Grampians Mountains)

 

There is a free circle line tram ride in Melbourne (of course without the food).

 

...

 

 

If it's been a few years since you were here you may not be aware that all trams in the CBD incl Docklands are free now.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

(Long) day tour to the great ocean road is very much recommended.

Spectacular scenery and usually you get plenty of time to look around the various stops. Many tours have as an optional extra the opportunity of a helicopter flight at the 12 apostles whuch are sually the highlight of the ocean road tour. Helicopter flights are quite reasonably priced.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...