One of the favourite Melbourne day tour spectacles is the
Phillip Island Penguin Parade. Get yourself ready and join us in our Phillip Island Tour showcasing the Penguin Parade and Coastal Vistas. The main attraction has always been the Little Penguins doing their daily ritual of penguin parade. These little friends are the smallest of their kind in the world. But we’ll showcase more than just the penguins.
Koala Conservation Reserve
It is only a 1hr 45min drive from Melbourne directly to Phillip Island. On arrival, you will be greeted by Phillip Island Nature Parks Ranger for a guided walk through
Phillip Island's Koala Conservation Reserve. You will be given a presentation about Koalas, the history, and relevance of the Reserve, and the last area of natural woodland on the island. Guide to accompany the group and assist Ranger with the group.
Explore Phillip Island
From the Koala Wildlife Park, it is a short drive to Phillip Island, a 10,000-hectare home to more than a hundred varieties of animal species. Phillip Island boasts a population of approximately 15,000 which is boosted during the busy tourist seasons. There are three main settlements
Cape Woolamai, New Haven & Cowes.Cowes
Generally, we make time to wander through the coastal township of Cowes. Sheltered alongside the calm Westernport Bay this township was named after Cowes on the Isle of White. Beautiful seaside scenery, unique stores to peak into and many nice restaurants to purchase food.
Phillip Island Nature Park
At the
Phillip Island Nature Parks, the beautiful scenery of sandy beaches, rugged cliffs, and exotic wildlife is simply eye-catching. Phillip Island serves as a colony of and home to over 32,000 Little Penguins.
Nobbies and Seal Rocks
Next, we arrive at the
Nobbies Rocks where we take you on an optional guided walk down the boardwalks to see the rocky coast and spot Penguins nesting in their burrows.
Phillip Island Penguin Parade
Next, we travel along the Phillip Island backroads through Phillip Island Penguin Habitat. Enjoy incredible views of the coastal cliffs on your way to the Phillip Island Penguin Parade.
Enjoy sunset at the Visitor Information Center and choose the right seat to have a great view of the main spectacles of the day — the Penguin Parade! The main attraction of the Phillip Island tours has always been the Little Penguins doing their daily ritual of penguin parades. These little friends are the smallest of their kind in the world. They're also called "fairy penguins." Measuring about 30 centimeters tall, the Little Penguins weighed just 1 kilogram making them the smallest penguin species in the world. They have established colonies on the coastlines of Australia and New Zealand. You can also spot them in Tasmania and the Chatham Islands. These penguins are also called Blue Penguins due to the colour of their plumage — indigo-blue and a white stripe from the chin to the belly.Living in large colonies, the Little Penguins made Phillip Island one of their territories. On this Phillip Island tour, witness the Little Penguins appear magically from the surf to magically appear out of the surf to walk back to their homes. Crossing the
Summerland Beach they travel in small groups back to their burrows. And it happens every day at sunset. Right after the day’s hard work of fishing in the seas of Phillip Island to bring food to their little ones left at home in the dunes.
Departure time: 11:45am (winter) / 13:45pm (summer)
End time: 22:00pm (winter) / 00:00am (summer)
Central meeting point: Immigration Museum (east-side), 400 Flinders St, corner of Market St, Melbourne
Tips
* No photography or filming is permitted at the Penguin Parade. Penguins have sensitive eyes and a bright, sudden flash or unusual light can frighten or disorientate a penguin.
* Audio Translation available for our guests, passengers can download the app application and access all available translations for our Phillip Island Tour. Available in 10 different language translations: Mandarin, Cantonese, Portuguese, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Italian, German, French and Dutch.
* Refillable water bottle, hat, sunscreen and sunglasses, all-weather warm clothing, windbreaker, comfortable walking shoes, small day bag 5-7kg, money for snack and meals, camera to capture every moment.
* In the event of rain or inclement weather, your experience will still go ahead, unless contacted with us.
* The tour is affected by daylight savings hours, the departure time changes throughout the year to maximise the sunset experience.