Philip Island is a popular day trip from Melbourne. If you want to visit the island without driving, you can join a day tour that departs from Melbourne. The island is home to the Little Penguins, which is one of the reasons why it is a favorite destination for locals and visitors. This blog post is about my experience of the Philip Island day tour.
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Pick up and drop off
The tour includes round-trip transfers to and from our hotel. We booked our day tour from Klook, you can find more details here. On the booking page, you can choose from a list of hotels where they can pick you up. Our hotel was not on the list, so we chose a nearby hotel. The local tour operator, Go West, sent us a confirmation email right after our booking.
For some reason, a few weeks before our tour, we received an email from Go West informing us of a new pick-up location. The new location was still near our hotel so I didn’t have a problem with it. I guess they are trying to reduce the number of pick-up spots to save time.
We were picked up around 11:30 a.m in the morning. Our guide, Monique, made three more stops to pick up other participants before heading to our first destination, Brighton bathing boxes.
Philip Island Tour itinerary
The tour includes a visit to the famous Brighton Bathing boxes, Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park, Nobbies Center, and Penguin Parade. The tour included admission to the Moonlit Sanctuary and to the Penguin Parade.
Brighton Bathing Boxes
Our first stop is the Brighton Bathing Boxes. Monique shared with us the history of the bathing boxes. Back in the old days, it was not allowed to change at the beach. Hence, the bathing boxes were built so that people could get changed in private.
The colorful bathing boxes are the main attraction on this beach. There are about 90 bathing boxes on the beach, some are privately owned by the residents. Nowadays, the boxes are used for storage purposes.
We stayed on the beach for 20 minutes before going to our next destination.
Moonlit Sanctuary Conservation Park
The sanctuary is about a 45-minute drive away from Brighton Beach. We arrived at the sanctuary around 2:15 p.m. Our guide informed us that there was a cafe near the souvenir shop where we could have our lunch. In addition, she told us that there was a 15-minute show in the sanctuary that showcased different Australian wildlife.
On the other hand, those who want to have a close encounter with koalas can pay an extra fee. We decided to just see the koalas without paying, we found two active koalas, but most were sleeping.
Since we have limited time here, we decided to skip the conservation show and check out the animals in the sanctuary. The animals that we saw are wallabies, kangaroos with their joeys, birds, koalas, Tasmanian devil, and many more.
Besides holding a koala, guests can feed kangaroos and wallabies here at the sanctuary. There were a lot of people feeding kangaroos and wallabies that were roaming freely in their rest area. Before we went back to the bus, we bought some toast from the cafe for our lunch.
Next stop, we head to Philip Island.
Philip Island: Nobbies Discovery Center
After visiting the Moonlit Sanctuary, it was about a one-hour drive to Nobbies Discovery Center. Nobbies Discovery Center is located at the western tip of Philip Island. The center is managed by Philip Island Nature Park and there is an interactive zone called Antarctic Journey, a cafe with a stunning view, and a gift shop.
Unfortunately, the ticket to the Antarctic Journey is not included in the tour, and we do not have enough time to experience it either. So, we went outside the center and checked out the panoramic view of the surrounding landscape instead.
The boardwalk outside the center is about 1 kilometer long. Our guide told us to watch as we might also spot Australian fur seals on the rocks or in the water, or whales. Unfortunately, we did not spot any seals or whales. But strolling along the boardwalk, we saw some boxes with Little Penguins inside!
We were not able to complete the walk until the end of the boardwalk because we spent too much time looking at the Little Penguins inside the boxes.
Philip Island: Cowes
Before we went to the penguin parade, we stopped by a nearby town – Cowes, to have our dinner.
The itinerary did not mention that we would visit Cowes. In fact, my friend who joined the tour last year did not visit this town either. My friend even advised me to buy something to eat for dinner because the cafe in the Penguin Parade gets very busy.
Anyway, I’m satisfied with this arrangement because there are a lot of food options to choose from. We stayed in Cowes for around 50 minutes. We did not have enough time to explore the town because, by the time we finished our dinner, we only had 10 minutes left. But we had a short walk near the park.
Philip Island: Penguin Parade
Tickets
Finally, the highlight of the tour is to see the Little Penguins. There are three types of viewing tickets: General Viewing, Penguin Plus, and Underground Viewing. For general viewing, guests will sit on the benches on the beach. For Penguin Plus and underground viewing, they have another viewing platform, separated from the benches.
Penguin Parade Center
Inside the Penguin Parade Center, there are various information and fun facts about the penguins and other wildlife such as bandicoots. In addition, the center also shows the number of penguins that came back the previous night, the estimated time of arrival, etc.
The penguins’ eyes are sensitive to flashes, so we are prohibited from taking photos and videos after sunset. We were given a link that contained professional photos of the penguins for us to share on our social media.
It was breeding season, and it came early this year, so we heard chirping sounds from the chicks. On our way to the beach, we spotted a baby penguin out of its nest. We felt lucky that we were able to take a photo of the chick before sunset.
General Viewing
We got general viewing tickets and sat on the beach, waiting for the sun to set. Listening to the ocean waves, was very soothing and relaxing. The first group of penguins came around 8:20 p.m., they were quite anxious. They stayed in the water and waited for their penguin friends, before making their way to the beach.
We stayed on the beach and watched a few groups of penguins coming back, and went to check out the boardwalk. The park ranger told us that the real action happens on the boardwalk when they walk back to their homes.
We found a few penguins walking just beside the boardwalk and their size is really small, about 30-40 cm. The way they walk is really cute too. We left the penguin parade at around 9:10 p.m. and arrived at our drop-off point, around 11:30 p.m.
Philip Island Tour Conclusion
The tour was a great way to explore Philip Island without driving. Although the time for some destinations seemed a bit short, we understood that we had a schedule to stick to, so that we could visit all the places in the itinerary. Nevertheless, we still had a great time.
Our guide, Monique, was very professional and knowledgeable. She shared a lot of information including a brief history of Melbourne, and trivia about whales, kangaroos, and other Australian wildlife.
For the penguin parade, I am not sure how close the Penguin Plus or Underground viewing platform is to the penguins, but general viewing was good enough for us to see the penguins. We just have to be early and try to sit closer to the front. Better yet, bring binoculars. We only spent around 20 minutes on the beach. And, I agree with the park ranger that there was more to see at the boardwalk than on the beach. At the boardwalk, you will see the penguins up close. We were so excited when we saw them, but we kept quiet as we didn’t want to startle the penguins.
It was a very special experience, and I highly recommend it.