Travel on a small-group tour from Melbourne to Phillip Island to see the penguin parade and other wildlife highlights of Victoria. Your full-day tour stops at Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park to meet Australian natives such as koalas and wallabies. Explore the dramatic Cape Woolamai surf beach and the Nobbies boardwalk where you can enjoy the views of the rugged South Coast.

Full-day small-group wildlife tour to Phillip Island from Melbourne
Hand-feed the kangaroos and wallabies at Moonlit Wildlife Sanctuary
Enjoy the views of Phillip Islands rugged coastline from the Nobbies boardwalk
See the penguin parade when hundreds of little penguins emerge from the ocean for the night

What's Included

Friendly & informative tour guide
Pickup from selected hotels
Air-conditioned vehicle
Entry to Moonlit Sanctuary & guided tour of the exhibits
WiFi on board
General admission at the Penguin Parade

Meals other than as stated
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

Pickup is only available from the list of hotels provided upon checkout. Your pickup will be between 11:00am-12 midday (during daylight savings times, AEDT) or 10:00am-11:00am (during non-daylight savings times, AEST) depending on which location you select. Your exact meeting time will be provided after a booking is placed. This tour returns to Melbourne at approximately 9pm-midnight depending on the season.

What To Expect

Your day begins with pickup from your Melbourne hotel (select hotels only). Meet your group and guide and settle into your air-conditioned vehicle for the journey south.

Make a stop at the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park where you can spot native Australian animals, including wallabies, kangaroos, koalas, and dingoes.

Upon arrival on Phillip Island set out on a tour of such landmarks as the Nobbies rock formations and Cape Woolamai Beach. There’s time to check out the exhibits at the visitor center before the evening penguin parade.

On Summerland Beach, marvel at the spectacle of hundreds of little penguins waddling across the beach to their burrows during the incredible penguin parade.

After the return journey to Melbourne, your tour ends back at your hotel.

Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

Cape Woolamai Beach

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

The Nobbies

15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Phillip Island Nature Parks - Penguin Parade

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Photography and video are NOT PERMITTED at the Penguin Parade
Large bags, strollers, prams, baby capsules, luggage & walkers cannot be brought on board
Not wheelchair accessible
If travelling with an infant, please contact Tour Operator directly and request infant seat

Near public transportation
Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

Libby_O

Jools was an outstanding guide. Beautiful scenery and the penguins are a once in a lifetime event for most of us.

Reviews

5.0

589 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 589 reviews

Philip island

eliana_l, Apr 2024

We are Very happy and very satisfying joint with this tour and the guide very friendly and helpful. 👍👍👍🤝😍😄

Loved the penguins!

Ken_S, Apr 2024

The penguins were so worth it! A bit too much time at the sanctuary but all went well. Van was at capacity, so someone was always late. Loved the beach boxes too. I am glad I did it, just a long day.

Great tour, great guide, super cute penguins

Alison_C, Apr 2024

Had a great time with this tour. Our guide, Cloe, was very helpful and friendly with some great tips on how to best make use of our time. Lots of beautiful scenic stops, and the penguin parade was amazing to see - would recommend!

Great Trip

Libby_O, Apr 2024

Jools was an outstanding guide. Beautiful scenery and the penguins are a once in a lifetime event for most of us.

Amazing tour!

Patricia_A, Apr 2024

Great Tour and great tour guide. Loved the Penguin parade. The willdlife sanctuary was also a treat and was very interesting.

Amazing we loved the...

Katherine_G, Apr 2024

Amazing we loved the Penguins who have been coming up on that beach for thousands of years. The scenery was beautiful the stops were all wonderful and our tour guide John was fantastic. The whole day was exceptional.

Such an remarkable trip!...

TIARA_K, Apr 2024

Such an remarkable trip! This is my first time joining group tour and I definitely recommend you guys to join this trip. Janey is such a lovely tour guide. Excellent!

The trip was really...

ramankumar_d, Apr 2024

The trip was really amazing and the guide made it more adorable. very nice guy. weather was also great that day so all 3 combinations made it a great day for us

Had an amazing time!

Ryan_D, Apr 2024

One of the best tours I have been on was led by our tour guide, Red. He ensured that we had a fun and interesting time. The highlights of the trip were seeing animals, especially Koalas, Kangaroos, and Penguins. I definitely recommend this tour.

Great experience

Dulce_S, Apr 2024

Aaron was a super cool guide! Moonlit sanctuary was an amazing experience I wish we had more time there! The penguin experience was a bit crowded but it was worth to see such cute animals!

MATT’s your mate

Michelle_M, Apr 2024

We had a wonderful time despite the rain in the morning. All thanks to our guide Matt who made the day fun with some interesting trivia and amazing Aussie soundtracks. We loved the penguins and wallabies!

Great tour !

Shalini_R, Apr 2024

Great tour with your guide Bob . Guide was so patient and concerned about everyone . Very nice tour also and we got to see the small penguins. So very cute . Definitely recommended

The Beauty of Nature

Noah_S, Mar 2024

I’ll preface this by saying it was organized well, our guide was friendly and knowledgeable, and the bus was comfortable (and wifi equipped which was amazing). We also got to make friends with the others in our group. Definitely was a huge plus to have a small group. The beach houses were cool to see, looks really good for instagram and the story behind them was interesting. But my first favorite part of the day was the wildlife sanctuary, where I got the opportunity to interact with animals like a koala, kangaroos, wallabies, etc. I’ll admit I felt like a Disney princess, and I would do it a million times over if given the chance. Now as amazing as that was, nothing would come close to the spectacle that was the penguin parade. It didn’t look like we had the most penguins show up during our time there, but just to simply see this natural wonder in real life was truly a once in a lifetime experience. It felt out of a movie, to see these little penguins wash ashore and waddle their way back home after weeks at sea. It was an honor to be part of their journey, and next time I’m in Melbourne, I plan on visiting them again.

Penguin Parade

Darren_E, Mar 2024

Absolutely wonderful! The Moonlit Sanctuary was just incredible, loved feeding all the adorable animals. The Penguin parade was so much fun, my only regret is people who didn't listen to the park rangers. Loved the experience!

Highly recommended tour!

Anthi_M, Mar 2024

Nice tour! We got to see many attractions while heading towards philip island Frank was an amazing tour guide!

Penguin Parade is Great

Marilyn_S, Mar 2024

Great day lots to see enroute to the island and then a lovely penguin experience. A sure thing every night. Not like Whale watching

The whole journey was...

LEONGGEOK_C, Mar 2024

The whole journey was enjoyable and well planned. However will prefer to allow us to upgrade to premium tickets. Besides this is my 4th time visiting Penguin Parade and last few times were wonderful as we saw hundreds penguins coming up from shore. This time only manage to see less than a hundred and no passage way like before for penguins to walk along the boardwalk. A bit disappointed.

Great experience

Helen_J, Mar 2024

Fantastic day, friendly informative driver Felix made sure the day went well. Especially enjoyed the Moonlit Sanctuary and getting close to the animals. Definitely recommend.

Cute Penguins

Rebeka_C, Mar 2024

Had a great time on this tour. Graeme is a nice guide, he is knowledgeable about the city and easy to approach with any questions. We saw a lot of animals in the nature reserve and the penguins were incredibly cute!

Fantastic Experience

Christy_D, Mar 2024

Bill was our tour guide and I’m pretty sure he knew everything about Australia. I loved his commentary along the ride and especially appreciated the perfectly timed playlist. He was very friendly and accommodating and I know we all appreciated his tips for the different spots. If you want to experience many great things about Australia in one day this is a great tour to take.

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