melbourne tours advice

[arte]

Hello

We are a group of 10 brazilians and we will be cruising with Sapphire Princess next april 2.We have all our shore excursions organized but we are undecided about Melbourne.

We would like to spend a morning in the city center stopping at the most interesting spots and in the afternoon visiting Hallesville and the Yarra Valley. We would like to do charter tour .Have you heard about MERIDIAN tours?Could you recomend me any other company?Or would you have any other suggestions?

Thank You

Arte

[Aussie Gal]

I think you would be better to do Healesville and the Yarra Valley in the morning as it is over an hour + drive from the ship, plus if you go in the afternoon you will have to cope with a lot more traffic and you could miss your departure time.

 

If you go in the morning then on your return back to the city you will know how much time is left for shopping and sightseeing. From the city it is very easy to get back to the ship on our light rail. It only takes about 15 minutes at the most.

 

Meridian Tours is an established tour company here in Melbourne so you will be fine with them.

 

Jennie

[arte]

Thank you so much for your answer. I have some other questions if you would be so kind to help me.

We will contact Meridian Tours and ask them to begin with Yarra Valley and Hallesville and then back to Melbourne . I have been researching and I think it would be nice to stop at Federation Square, may be Victoria Market.I do not know if it will open in the afternoon on a saturday( our cruise will stop in Melbourne on april 12), we would like to visit S. Kilda and may be the arcades.

We are more interested in downtown Melbourne as we will see wildlife in Hobart . How many hours should we save for the city?

[Aussie Gal]

If you want to visit Federation Square where our Australian Art Gallery is situated and would like to see some Indigenous Art as well as Art by White Australian painters then I would allow an hour. If you just want to walk around that will not take up more than 15 minutes. The Art Gallery is free.

 

Victoria Market which is up the opposite end of the city from Federation Square will be open on Saturday afternoon but all the food and vegetables will be closed. They are only open up until 1-2pm on Saturday. The other stalls which sell clothes and touristy things will be still open and working.

 

The Arcades run off Bourke and Collins Street so the best way after visiting Fed Square would be to work up to Collins Street and then walk through the arcades to Bourke Street, then catch the tram or walk to the market from the corner of Bourke and Elizabeth Street. The market is another 3 blocks from that corner on the corner of Victoria and Elizabeth Streets. Again, this will take about an hour to an hour and a half.

 

If you then want to catch the tram to St. Kilda, you will need to walk one block from Elizabeth Street going east to Swanston Street and that is where you will get the St. Kilda Beach tram. Going to St. Kilda will take up some time and I would allow an hour and a half to two hours to get there and have a look around and return back to the city to catch you light rail back to the ship.

 

Of course all this depends on how long you want to spend at each place. You can do it a lot quicker or it can take a lot longer depending on your pace.

 

Hope this helps a little with your planning.

 

Jennie

[MMDown Under]

I would head to Federation Square, cnr Flinders and Swanston Streets, where there is an excellent tourism information office downstairs, with information on everything you would wish to know about tourism in Melbourne and Victoria, including information on the following.

 

Melbourne is a walker's paradise, with its beautiful parks and gardens, Southbank and Dockside areas, St Kilda beach and Luna Park (Acland Street tram for restaurants), and unique arcades and laneways.

 

Use the free tram which runs on a 30 minute circuit around Melbourne inner CBD, from which you can get on and off at attractions which appeal to you. Stop outside Tourist Information Office, Federation Square.

 

There is also a free tourist bus, with commentary, which extends further out than the tram. There is a stop opposite Federation Square, outside the church.

 

For information on Melbourne:

http://www.visitvictoria.com

 

For information on Queen Victoria Markets:

http://www.qvm.com.au

 

Note the markets are only open from 6 - 3 pm on Saturdays.

 

Hope this helps you discover Melbourne's secrets.

[lizzy77]

Hope you don't mind me giving my opinion also.

As you plan to see our wildlife in other ports why not take advantage of what Melbourne has to offer that is free for tourists and give Healsville a miss. It is a great place but try to see as many differenet things as possible. You will also see some great wineries in NZ (they have the best Sav Blancs in the world)

Once you get into the city, Federation Square is easy to find, and then get onto the free Tourist tram that will show you the city area and you can get off and on. Same with the Tourist bus that takes you a bit further out and will take you right to the Victoria Market. It also takes you to the Aborigional Curtural Centre. As previous posts have said Melbourne is so easy to get around and you will fill in the whole day easily at very little cost. If some people still want to see some wildlife there is a tram that takes you to the Melbourne Zoo. The Australian wildlife area is very well done also.

When you get off the ship the Tourism Bureau usually have a stand set up with brochures to help you on your way and the tram stop is just over the road to get into the city.

[dogboy53]

Thank you so much for your answer. I have some other questions if you would be so kind to help me.

We will contact Meridian Tours and ask them to begin with Yarra Valley and Hallesville and then back to Melbourne . I have been researching and I think it would be nice to stop at Federation Square, may be Victoria Market.I do not know if it will open in the afternoon on a saturday( our cruise will stop in Melbourne on april 12), we would like to visit S. Kilda and may be the arcades.

We are more interested in downtown Melbourne as we will see wildlife in Hobart . How many hours should we save for the city?

 

Arte

 

If you are into sport at all you should try to go on a tour of the MCG, it is the site of the 1956 Olympics and has a great museum in the members area and another as well.

 

http://www.mcg.org.au/

 

The above link may help.

 

Don

[Johanna7]

The tourist place in the terminal is very good and has lots of maps and brochures and people who know the place and give excellent advise. The cost of the all day tram is only $6.50 Australian and you can hop on or off as often as possible. It takes you right from the ship to wherever you wish to go.

 

Most of the other passengers can give you excellent advise as to where to exit for Federation square. Aussies are quite helpful.

 

There are many alleys off the main roads that have interesting shops. I also vouch for the tourist bureau there. They have lots of information.

 

Bonorang in Tasmania has a great wildlife sanctuary. If you do go to Tasmania, that is where you should see the animals.

[marshaatn]

We just returned from our cruise on the February 17th sailing of the Mercury. We did an absolutely lovely tour with Epicurean Wine Tours. http://www.epicureantours.com.au

We had a private wine tasting complete with appropriate stemware, cheeses, olives, crackers, etc. A beautiful lunch was included and we went to several other wineries and saw much of the countryside in Melbourne. Our guide, Stephen, was very knowledgeable and helpful. I would recommend this company highly.