12 Apostles Tour From Melbourne?

[Kartgv]

Has anyone done a 12 Apostles Tour out of Melbourne. According to what I read, it's expensive and a 3.5 hour bus ride EACH WAY. Is there any way that it's worth spending that much time on a bus?

[GUT2407]

Has anyone done a 12 Apostles Tour out of Melbourne. According to what I read, it's expensive and a 3.5 hour bus ride EACH WAY. Is there any way that it's worth spending that much time on a bus?

 

It's a wonderful trip.

 

The towns on the way are worth visiting

 

The apostles are spectacular

 

and it needs and deserves a few days to take it all in, not a few hours

[Aus Traveller]

Has anyone done a 12 Apostles Tour out of Melbourne. According to what I read, it's expensive and a 3.5 hour bus ride EACH WAY. Is there any way that it's worth spending that much time on a bus?

We have gone by car from Melbourne to the Twelve Apostles and return in a day. It is not 3.5 hours each way plus sightseeing. The total for the day would probably be 8 hours including sightseeing. Maybe time for lunch would have to be added to that. From Melbourne on the freeway, then across on a back road from Colac to Lavers Hill is around 200km. A professional driver in a coach would probably do that in about 2.5 hours or a bit more and they would know the quickest roads.

 

Is it worth it? I think the Twelve Apostles are spectacular. We have driven along the Great Ocean Road at least eight times over several decades and never tire of it.

 

You would need to consider if you don't go there, what else would you do? There might be something else that would appeal to just as much.

[Vader1111]

It would be worth it if the route included the Great Ocean Road... but due to time contraints this is not the case. The tours generally take the inland route, which is much less attractive.

 

The 12 Apostles are spectacular, but I probably wouldn't recommend this tour.

 

** I know several people who did this tour on one of my previous cruises, and they came back very disappointed. I suspect that some of that might have been due to bad weather, which is outside the cruise lines' control, but the time spent driving vs the time spent actually enjoying the scenery still meant that it just wasn't worth the expense.

[pattle66]

Would I do it on a cruise ship in a day? No way. :eek: To travel all that way on a bus just to see the Apostles is not worth it in my opinion.

 

You want the whole package. The 12 Apostles are worth a visit if you take the Great Ocean Road and make scenic stops along the way. The scenery is spectacular.

 

What else are you considering in Melbourne?

[Pushka]

Del

Edited December 5, 2015 by Pushka

[ozziepost]

A full day trip of the GOR that includes the 12 Apostles with one of the small group touring companies normally takes 13-14 hours from Melbourne.

 

I suspect the tour you are looking at will take the Princess Highway and turn off between Colac and Camperdown and head to Port Campbell and the 12A and return to Melbourne the same way. Factor in travel time and you need at least a couple of hours at the 12A to fully experience this natural attraction you are looking at a 9-10 hour + day.

 

I'm not sure I would want to do this as a shore excursion but rather as part of a longer road trip in Victoria. A typical loop of the GOR from Melbourne covers 600-700k and a minimum of two overnight stops is recommended.

[Docker123]

The apostles are great to see, and I especially like the view when it is stormy weather.

 

However, i agree with those who have said the apostles themselves are not worth that drive.

 

Recently I took overseas visitors along the Great Ocean Road. Past the apostles to Port Campbell and then inland to the highway. With various scenic stops, lunch and dinner, it took about 15 hours.

[OzKiwiJJ]

I concur with those who say don't do it in a day. Although it is spectacular scenery it needs more than a rushed trip there to appreciate that coast line.

[ozziepost]

I get down to the GOR often and don't mind it in winter as the seascape becomes more dramatic and the waterfalls in the Otway's more spectacular.

 

The GOR in winter has a different mood that is just as enchanting as the summer months. Anyone doing a trip along the GOR really needs to as they say "stop and smell the roses" to enjoy what this iconic route has to offer.

[Pushka]

My 2 cents. I agree that the 12 Apostles and GOR is fabulous and best spent staying at say Apollo Bay for a few days. But I am experiencing 'similar' questions planning an Alaska Tour. My first, probably only trip I will do there. And people who know Alaska say you need to spend days doing this and days doing that. I don't have days, I have a small window of time. Whatever I see will be new and different. Does it have to be 'the best' to be enjoyable? Nope. So as long as OP goes into this excursion with the right frame of mind they will enjoy it and will not actually 'know' what they are missing.

[MicCanberra]

I agree, for international visitors with limited time and such, if they wish to see them then they should definitely do the 12 apostles with the ship's tour. It may be more expensive but you also get the guarantees that go with the ship's tours.:D

[Kartgv]

Thanks to all for your comments and advice. While we'd love to see the Apostles, we've decided to pass up the trip this time. We may just wander around the Royal Botanic Gardens for awhile and have a nice lunch somewhere.

[Fish66]

There are not even 12 apostles

There is only 7 now

It's still a spectacular scenic tour

Especially if you go to the " Port Campbell national park to see "Loch Ard Gorge" Thunder Cave"

Mutton Bird Island Lookout

Living on the edge viewing is amazing

BUT you won't have time

It's a full day trip and more

Strongly advise you to not to do it and definitely not between dec & feb

I went for the weekend last Friday

Took me 6 hours to get there

Should have taken 2

[Pushka]

That's funny about the number. I was going to post that yesterday and googled to get the facts. A quick look and I did not find one reference other than the 12 apostles so I thought I was confused with London Bridge falling down. Clearly it is not publicised that there are no longer 12. And you are the first one to post that here.

[Fish66]

That's funny about the number. I was going to post that yesterday and googled to get the facts. A quick look and I did not find one reference other than the 12 apostles so I thought I was confused with London Bridge falling down. Clearly it is not publicised that there are no longer 12. And you are the first one to post that here.

 

Yeah there's nothing saying there's not 12

So bad when people are excited to see them

Then ripped off when there's only a few

I like honestly :)

[ozziepost]

I remember when London bridge fell down and that was many years ago.

 

A group had just crossed the bridge when they heard a noise and saw the bridge collapsing into the sea. They had to bring in a helicopter to take the group off. It's an understatement to say it would have been scary for them.,

[Fish66]

God that would've been horrific

[PerfectlyPerth]

I remember when London bridge fell down and that was many years ago.

 

A group had just crossed the bridge when they heard a noise and saw the bridge collapsing into the sea. They had to bring in a helicopter to take the group off. It's an understatement to say it would have been scary for them.,

 

And two of them had spouses at home watching the rescue on TV - discovering their partners were having a fling! Very bad timing.

 

Note - there were never actually 12 - ever! The name came from the bible reference. Earliest records of their discovery do not mention 12 structures. So no one has ever been "ripped off".

[Fish66]

Oh well

Most people THINK there are 12 because it's called that

Still ripped off

[Fish66]

I'm going to search for the fling story

Imagine that !!

Poor partners

[mr walker]

We recently did an independent small group tour of Gt Ocean Rd on our cruise visit to Melbourne. The only way it worked was that we overnighted in Melb, as we were 12 hours on that tour - it was fantastic!

The ONLY way to do anything close to justice is to take the coast rd down - going down & back via Colac will provide very little. The whole road from just south of Geelong is the attraction, not just the apostles. We went as far as London Bridge.

 

And on that, there were never 12, well not in recorded history. Info from our tour guide is that they were originally called the Sow & Piglets, but this was changed in the 1950's to a 'more marketable' name. There is 8 1/4 now, according to our travel mate that counted them :) in a few thousand years there will likely be some new ones, but some existing ones may be gone by then.

 

OP, there is much more to see in Melb on a port stop than the gardens. I would do a half day tour &/or a cruise on the Yarra, to see a bit of what Melb has to offer.

[Docker123]

About 15-20 years ago there was a tourism advert that included a wonderful line:

 

Visit the 12 apostles. All 9 of them.

[Fish66]

We recently did an independent small group tour of Gt Ocean Rd on our cruise visit to Melbourne. The only way it worked was that we overnighted in Melb, as we were 12 hours on that tour - it was fantastic!

The ONLY way to do anything close to justice is to take the coast rd down - going down & back via Colac will provide very little. The whole road from just south of Geelong is the attraction, not just the apostles. We went as far as London Bridge.

 

And on that, there were never 12, well not in recorded history. Info from our tour guide is that they were originally called the Sow & Piglets, but this was changed in the 1950's to a 'more marketable' name. There is 8 1/4 now, according to our travel mate that counted them :) in a few thousand years there will likely be somet new ones, but some existing ones may be gone by then.

 

OP, there is much more to see in Melb on a port stop than the gardens. I would do a half day tour &/or a cruise on the Yarra, to see a bit of what Melb has to offer.

 

There is 7

I was there last weekend

I go there twice a year

My fave place in Victoria

[MicCanberra]

And two of them had spouses at home watching the rescue on TV - discovering their partners were having a fling! Very bad timing.

 

Note - there were never actually 12 - ever! The name came from the bible reference. Earliest records of their discovery do not mention 12 structures. So no one has ever been "ripped off".

 

Were they lucky, unlucky or was it karma, :cool: