Great Ocean Road Tours from Melbourne

The distance is the whole problem

The Great Ocean Road runs about 240 kilometres from Torquay to Allansford, and the Twelve Apostles — the thing almost everyone is going for — sit near the far end. From Melbourne the drive out is roughly four hours if you go directly, which nobody does, because the entire point is the stopping.

That geometry is what shapes every tour on this page. A day trip has to cover about 500 kilometres of round trip and still leave time at eight or ten places, which is why the tours run 12 to 14 hours and why pickup is often before 8 AM. It is also why the two-day trips exist, and why people who have done both tend to recommend the second.

None of this is a reason not to go. It is a reason to pick the itinerary that matches how you actually like to travel, rather than the cheapest result in the list.

Four decisions that actually change your day

Which direction you drive. Most tours run the coast first and reach the Twelve Apostles in the middle of the afternoon, at the same time as everyone else and with the sun in front of you. A reverse-route tour drives inland to Port Campbell first and works back, which means quieter lookouts and better light — and it reaches London Bridge, which sits past the point where a standard day tour turns around. If you care about photographs, this is the single most consequential choice on the page.

How early you start. A dawn departure gives you more daylight in the Otways and gets you home at a sane hour. A sunset departure leaves between 9 and 11 AM, puts you at the Twelve Apostles in golden light with the morning coaches gone, and returns late. Both are 12 to 14-hour days; they are just different 12 to 14-hour days.

How many people are in the vehicle. The spread on this site runs from full-size coaches to a private car. The 24-guest cap that several operators advertise is a genuine difference at a crowded lookout — but it is not a minibus, and if you want single-figure company you are looking at a private tour or the Otways walking trip.

Whether lunch is included. It almost never is. Nearly every tour here excludes food, stops at Apollo Bay for an hour, and expects you to buy your own or bring it. Morning tea is included on a few. Budget for it and it is a non-issue; assume it is covered and you will be hungry somewhere around Lavers Hill.

What the stops actually are

The route has a rhythm to it. Torquay and Bells Beach open the day on the surf coast, usually with a stretch of the legs and, on some tours, morning tea. The Memorial Arch at Eastern View is the official gateway and the photograph everybody takes — it commemorates the returned servicemen who built the road by hand between 1919 and 1932, which is a better story than the sign suggests.

Kennett River is where wild koalas live in the roadside eucalypts, along with king parrots that will land on your arm if you stand still. Sightings are likely but nobody guarantees them; the guides know which trees to check. Maits Rest in the Great Otway National Park is a short boardwalk loop under tree ferns and myrtle beech that feels like a different country from the coastline you were on twenty minutes earlier.

Apollo Bay is the lunch stop. Then the road turns inland over Lavers Hill before dropping back to the coast at Port Campbell National Park, where the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and — on longer or reverse itineraries — London Bridge and The Grotto are all within a few kilometres of each other.

Choosing between them

There is no single best Great Ocean Road tour, only the one that fits what you want from the day. If you want the most-booked option with commentary in your own language, the wildlife and forest tour has more than 6,400 ratings behind it. If you want the photographs, take a sunset departure or the reverse-route trip. If you would rather walk than sit, the Otways hiking tour is the highest-rated on this site. If the eight hours of driving is what puts you off, the two-day Grampians trip solves exactly that problem.

We have written the comparison out properly in our guide to which Great Ocean Road tour is right for you, including who each one genuinely suits and who should skip it.

Weather, and why it matters more here

The Southern Ocean sets the conditions and it is not gentle. It can be sunny in Melbourne and blowing sideways at Port Campbell on the same afternoon; the coast is reliably several degrees colder than the city and the wind at the Twelve Apostles is relentless even in February. Every tour on this page runs rain or shine.

Pack a windproof layer regardless of the forecast, and treat a clear sunset as a bonus rather than a plan. The coast is dramatic in bad weather — arguably more so, since the swell that carved these stacks is doing it in front of you — but it is genuinely unpleasant if you turn up in a t-shirt. Our guide to the best time for a Great Ocean Road tour breaks down what each season actually delivers.