Phillip Island Penguin, Brighton Beach, Moonlit Sanctuary from Melbourne

Name: Phillip Island Penguin, Brighton Beach, Moonlit Sanctuary from Melbourne
Brand: Go West Tours
SKU: 3181GOWEST2
Price: 116.35 USD
Rating: 5.0 (2336 reviews)

Badge of ExcellenceMelbourne, Australia

Phillip Island Penguin Small Group Eco Tour from Melbourne

12 hours
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Discover the natural delights of Phillip Island with an eco-tour from Melbourne. See the iconic Brighton Beach bathing boxes, visit the beach and take some time to admire these historic landmarks. Visit the Moonlit Sanctuary Conservation Park for an up-close encounter with koalas and other Australian wildlife. Finish the day at a local beach where you can watch hundreds of some of the world's tiniest penguins waddle out of the ocean and across the sand to their burrows.

Be enchanted as you witness small fairy penguins waddle past you from the ocean to their sand-dune burrows
Range of penguin viewing options including the exclusive viewing boardwalk or the more intimate option of the secluded beach location
Spend time at Brighton Beach and see the the iconic Brighton Bathing Boxes
Free WIFI available on all tours

Why Travelers Choose This Tour

This combination tour visits three top attractions in just one day. Perfect for those with limited time.

What's Included

Pickup from Selected Hotels
Friendly & Informative Tour Guide
Entry fees for Moonlit Sanctuary and Phillip Island Penguin Parade
WiFi on board
All Fees and Taxes
Air-conditioned vehicle

Gratuities
Food & Drink
Kangaroo & Wallaby Food

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 10am-11am (non-daylight savings, AEST) or 11am-12pm (daylight savings, AEDT), depending on which hotel you selected. Your exact meeting time will be provided after a booking is placed. This tour returns to Melbourne between 9pm-12am midnight depending on the season.

What To Expect

Your Phillip Island adventure begins with late morning pickup at selected Melbourne hotels in an air-conditioned minivan equipped with onboard Wi-Fi. Your first stop on your Phillip Island day trip is Brighton to see the historic Brighton Beach bathing boxes, spend time at the beach and take some time to admire these iconic landmarks.

Continue to Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park, where you'll learn about an exotic array of Australian animals, including cuddly koalas, and lend a hand during feeding time. Included in your visit here is the spectacular “Conservation in Action” wildlife show, which showcases a number of lesser-known Australian species in a series of interactive and engaging ranger presentations.

Afterward, head to the island’s southwestern coast for dramatic views of the Nobbies and Seal Rocks, home to Australia’s largest fur seal colony.

For an enchanting finale to the day, make your way to a local beach for the famous Penguin Parade. As dusk falls, watch from a viewing platform as hundreds of adorable little penguins — also called fairy penguins, as these are the smallest in the world — emerge from the ocean and waddle across the sand and shrub to their nearby burrows.

Once the penguins are safely tucked into their burrows for the night, relax on the approximately 1.5-hour return drive to Melbourne, where you’ll be dropped off back at your departure point.

Brighton Bathing Boxes Association Inc.

20 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park

1 hour 30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

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
Not wheelchair accessible
Photography of any kind is not permitted at the Phillip Island Penguin Parade
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
Large bags, strollers, prams, baby capsules, luggage & walkers cannot be brought on board
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

Richard_B

Sherif, our guide, made this trip superb. He was extremely knowledgeable, experienced and entertaining. The trip itself is long at 12 hours, but we think we'll worth it. We are an older couple in our 70s and did fine throughout. Moonlight Sanctuary was extremely interesting, especially at the beginning of an Australian trip. As much of a production as it was, the penguin walk was well worth it. Over 1200 came a shore the night we were there.

Reviews

5.0

2,336 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 2,336 reviews

Fun and enjoyable day out.

Jason_B, Apr 2024

The best part of the tour was definitely the wonderful tour guide Red from Go West Tours. He was so knowledgeable and fun to be around. In addition to this the whole process was easy from booking, to pickup, to drop off. Highly recommended.

Wow!

Allison_D, Apr 2024

Feeding the wallabies and kangaroos was the highlight of my trip in Melbourne! Terry our tour guide was amazing. Gave great tips on where to sit and view penguin parade.

Melbourne trip

HuyenNgocThi_N, Apr 2024

Jon was an excellent host and made sure we were comfortable and on time. He was extremely personable and gave us awesome fun facts throughout the whole trip which made the experience so much better. We wouldn't have had the same amount of enjoyment if we just went ourselves. The highlight were the penguins that looked so small and cute. Make sure you get a spot close to the beach and bring a picnic blanket.

Penguins parade is so surreal!!

Yunmei_C, Apr 2024

Love the whole experience… first Brighton bathing boxes then the moonlight sanctuary… but the last part of the trip is the highlight of the trip…. So surreal!! Highly recommended trip to everyone just be aware it’s a long day!!

Penguin trip

wang_l, Apr 2024

Philip penguin island is very beautiful, the weather is very nice, saw a lot of small animals on the island, the sea is very beautiful.

Great tour a bit in a rush

Andrea_M, Apr 2024

Great places to visit, nice stops. The tour was amazing and the guide was very informative and interesting. The penguins parade is one of those things you don’t do everyday and I really recommend it. The down side was the short time available to enjoy the stops: after the zoo everything was in a rush. The stop in front of the isle was so short that I could barely get a picture and come back to the bus (driver said he would leave us there if couldn’t get back in time) and the same happened at the penguin parade: as soon as the penguin get into the shore there is no time to enjoy watching them walking into the grass because it’s already time to leave (running back or risking to be left there). Just 10/15 minutes more would change a lot in terms of enjoyment, hope that helps. For everything else the tour was very good.

Lovely day trip

Pichayada, Apr 2024

yed the tour especially our encounter with Koala name” Gum Nut” at The zoo and when we saw mini penguins came out of the water and did a little Parade into their homes on land. Our Guide Bluey was very funny and helpful through the whole trip.

Nice trip to see the cute penguins.

Frostyrunner, Apr 2024

Loved the penguins. Brighton boxes were very nice. Sanctuary was just o.k. Likely cause this is the third sanctuary we have been on through different tours!

Great trip.

Michael_H, Apr 2024

Great day out, made even more enjoyable by 5* driver/guide/dj, Louie. Didn't see too many penguins as it wasn't the best time of year to visit.

A great way to see Phillip Island

rishi_k, Apr 2024

We had a great ride with Bluey who was informative, funny and patient with everyone's queries. While the little penguins are the highlight of the trip, we particularly enjoyed feeding the Kangaroos and Wallabies.

Great experience

Christopher_S, Mar 2024

The guide, Cloe, was pleasant and helpful. She was a wealth of local knowledge. The animals were friendly and the park was clean.

Penguin March

Andrea_S, Mar 2024

Seeing the Penguins walk along the boardwalk was so much fun! Also listening to all the noise they made!

Amazing experience

Melissa_R, Mar 2024

The trip was well organized. Hats off to our wonderful guide, James! He provided great commentaries along the way and was very informative. Highly recommended!

A must-do in Melbourne!

Naruhisa_O, Mar 2024

We had an amazing experience in Melbourne on a tour that I couldn't miss! The penguin parade was incredibly adorable, and I was impressed by how respectful the park was towards the penguins and their environment. Apart from that, we also had the opportunity to visit Brighton Beach and the Moonlit Sanctuary, where I could get up close to koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, and other animals. However, please note that during the busy season, you may need to make an online reservation in advance to take photos with the koalas. But what made the whole experience truly special was our guide, Bree. Her energy, knowledge, and witty guidance were amazing and added so much to the whole story for me. By the way, don't forget to check out her Spotify song list.

Adorable animals and spectacular vistas.

Justin_L, Mar 2024

The penguin parade was unbearably adorable. They're so cute and the park is very respectful of them and their environment. The animal rescue stop was also great if you want to see koalas, kangaroos, wallabys, etc up close. As a bonus, the area has some of the most beautiful vistas along the coast of the island.

Magical

Matthias_G, Mar 2024

The Nobbies were beautiful and watching the penguins parade up the beach is always a surreal experience

Awesome part was guide...

HARSHVARDHAN_J, Mar 2024

Awesome part was guide Felix. His energy, knowledge and guidance was brilliant and made whole story for me

Good tour

Jeff_L, Mar 2024

Well planned day. Camelia was very helpful throughout the whole day. A good mix of different activities and sites to see.

Wallabies everywhere!

Jane_E, Mar 2024

Israel was an excellent guide. Very informative and lots of fun. The penguin experience was outstanding and Israel had lots of tips to make the most of it. Lots of wallaby sitings as well. Don't miss the Nobbies! Also Moonlit Sanctuary was wonderful. Check the encounter schedule when you arrive and buy some kangaroo food too!

Tour Guide Bree was...

Kuri_C, Mar 2024

Tour Guide Bree was really awesome! She made the trip extra fun! She did go that extra mile to make sure that everyone is comfortable. The van was not the most comfortable though!

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