Melbourne: 12 Apostles, Otways & Great Ocean Road Day Tour
About This Experience
Most Great Ocean Road tours are drives with viewpoints attached. This one is built the other way round: the stops are places you walk into, and the coastline is what you drive between them.
The centrepiece is a Grade 2 hike to one of the Otways' waterfalls — a compacted track with some gentle hills and occasional steps, which the operator is careful to say needs no bushwalking experience. You also get the Californian redwoods, a stand of planted sequoias in the middle of Victorian rainforest, and Gibson Steps, the staircase cut into the cliff that puts you on the beach beneath the Twelve Apostles rather than on the boardwalk above them.
At 4.9 it is the highest-rated Great Ocean Road tour on this site. The review volume is modest because the groups are small, not because travellers are lukewarm.
Two practical differences from every other tour here. There is no hotel pickup — you meet at the undercover taxi rank beside Hamer Hall in Southbank. And there is no audio commentary in other languages; the guiding is in English and one reviewer specifically missed an Italian option.
Highlights
- A Grade 2 waterfall hike in the Otways — no bushwalking experience needed
- Gibson Steps, down onto the beach beneath the Twelve Apostles
- The Californian redwood stand in the Otway Ranges
- Coastal town stops at Apollo Bay and Lorne
- The highest-rated Great Ocean Road tour on this site
What's Included
- ✓ Twelve Apostles and Gibson Steps
- ✓ A Grade 2 hike to an Otways waterfall
- ✓ The Californian redwoods
- ✓ The Great Ocean Road with stops at Apollo Bay and Lorne
Not Included
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Lunch
What to Bring
- Shoes you can walk a few kilometres in
- Warm clothing
- Sunglasses and a sun hat
- Sunscreen
- Cash or card for lunch
Good to Know & Caveats
- There is no hotel pickup. You meet at the undercover taxi rank between Hamer Hall and the Arts Centre on St Kilda Road.
- The hike is roughly 4 km on a hardened track with gentle hills and some steps.
- Guiding is in English, with no multilingual audio option.
- Gibson Steps can close at short notice in rough seas or high tides.
- Pets and large luggage cannot be carried.
Not Suitable For
- People with mobility impairments
- Travellers who need hotel pickup
- Anyone wanting commentary in a language other than English
Meeting Point
Undercover taxi rank between Hamer Hall and the Arts Centre, 100 St Kilda Road, Southbank VIC 3006. There is no hotel pickup on this tour.
What Travelers Say
Rated 4.9/5 by 79 verified GetYourGuide travelers.
Excellent trip. The guide, Jayda was helpful and very well informed. Would definitely recommend this tour!
— Ralph, March 2
Very nice. I had a good time. Thank you to Curtis.
— Hilde, March 3
It's a shame there are no audio guides in Italian and cell phone battery chargers. Other than that, excellent experience
— nicoletta, March 2
Frequently Asked Questions
How hard is the hike?
Grade 2, about 4 km, on a hardened or compacted track with some gentle hill sections and occasional steps. The operator states plainly that no bushwalking experience is required. If you can manage a few kilometres on an uneven footpath, you can manage this.
Is there hotel pickup?
No — this is the one tour on this site without it. You meet at the undercover taxi rank between Hamer Hall and the Arts Centre at 100 St Kilda Road, Southbank. Allow time to find it; it is under the building, not on the street.
What are Californian redwoods doing on the Great Ocean Road?
They were planted in the Otways in the 1930s as a forestry trial and never harvested. The stand is now a grove of mature sequoias growing in Victorian rainforest, and the quiet under them is unlike anything else on the route.
What is Gibson Steps?
A staircase cut into the cliff face near the Twelve Apostles that takes you down to the beach at the foot of the stacks — the same rock formations most visitors only see from the boardwalk above. It closes in rough seas, so access depends on conditions on the day.
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