This tour is the perfect pairing of Mornington Peninsula wineries and the Phillip Island Penguin Parade. The tour comprises a full day touring Mornington Peninsula, exploring the wineries and gourmet food providores then in the afternoon, we depart for the iconic Penguin Parade at Phillip Island.
This Combined Tour takes in the best of region for those who want to get the most out of their day. We first travel to the Mornington Peninsula for a scenic chairlift ride atop Arthurs Seat, offering magnificent views of the bay and beaches. Then we head to the wineries to taste the regions’s cool-climate maritime wines.
You’ll enjoy lunch at the award-winning Montalto Estate before we visit the Moonlit Wildlife Sanctuary for kangaroo and koala encounters. The wildlife park features all-Australian native animals in a small, family-run environment that enables you to hand feed many of the marsupials.
In the late afternoon, we head off to Phillip Island to see Seal Rocks and then on to view the famous Penguin Parade, where thousands of Little Penguins return to their burrows after a day at sea. We upgrade you to Penguins Plus viewing platform for a premium encounter with the penguins.
Dinner is at the local seaside town of Cowes on Phillip Island. There is a range of restaurants for you to select from and your guide will pre-book for you. Dinner is not included in price.
Alfresco Piazza Dining Restaurant – The Piazza Café is all about sharing: food, wine and good times with loved ones. Connecting with each other and to the surrounding environment. The menu is designed to share, with a generous selection of the best of the seasonal menu arriving as it is made.
The relaxed elegance of the Montalto Restaurant is set in a striking and harmonious landscape building featuring rammed earth walls, timber frames and rough-hewn floor boards. Floor to ceiling windows take advantage of the breathtaking and rambling rural outlook of vines, olive groves, sculpture, lakes and wetlands, with pasture, and a hint of the ocean as the backdrop.
Expert guide, luxury vehicle, lunch at Montalto (Alfresco dining), wine tasting and entrance fee’s, Arthurs Seat Chairlift, upgrade to Penguin Plus viewing platform.
The cost is based on a minimum of 1 passenger.. Extra passengers above 1 are charged an additional $ 100.00 pp.
Children 4 and under are free of charge.
The award winning Montalto Piazza Cafe Restaurant serves up a selection of the meals on offer for all to share. Set on the patio of this award winning winery. If you want to upgrade to fine dining at Montalto please choose our Mornington & Phillip Island Indulgent Tour.
Alternatively if you want something else please ask and we can take you anywhere. You may just want Fish & Chips and a bottle of wine by the beach..we can do that too.
Mornington is only 1 hr from Melbourne and Phillip island is a further 1.25 hr from Mornington.
Tour departs from your accommodation at 10.00 am and your return is approx 10.30-11.00.
This tour includes visiting wineries but it is not specifically a winery tour. If you prefer to visit more, or less wineries, we can arrange this. The standard is to visit 2-3 wineries. Alternatively if you prefer exploring the region and visiting beaches and other specialist food providers like chocolatiers, cheese makers, glass blowers etc, we can arrange on the day.
No. We provide the Hotprings on our Indulgent Tour. If you would like to add to this tour select in options.
Our guide Steven Andrew picked us up at our hotel in St. Kilda at 7:30 am and got us to the far end of the Great Ocean Road first, to... read more see the 12 Apostles before the big tour buses would arrive. On the way we...More
We had a wonderful day touring the Dandenong Ranges with our guide, Steve. From the moment we were picked up, the seven of us had a fantastic day. Steve was... read more very knowledgeable about so many pertinent aspects of the tour and the greater Melbourne area,...More
Steve took us on a half a day tour of Melbourne and we enjoyed it so much we asked him to take us on a full day to Dandenong Ranges/Rickett... read more Sanctuaries/steam train tour. He was friendly and very knowledgeable but what made the tours special...More
Can't tell you how happy my group was with the Great Private Tours experience! We were visiting from the US (Los Angeles and New York) and for many of us... read more it was our first time to Melbourne or Victoria. Steve set up a multi-day itinerary...More
Such a lovely memorable experience ...
Everything was absolutely PERFECT
He raises the standards of a Tour experience.
We were picked up at our hotel by Brenden. He was a great guide and gave us a lot of information about the tour, but also about Australia. On... read more forehand we changed the restaurant for lunch (our kids do not like seafood) and we went...More
Steve picked us up at our hotel in St. Kilda in his Mercedes van, roomy and comfortable which is important if you're going to be driving around for almost 12... read more hours! There were five of us including Steve and we hit it off immediately especially...More
Wonderful day from beginning to end. The lunch was good and we enjoyed Steve's company. However, we find out there was a new interesting bakery just opened where others in... read more our group had lunch. Would suggest they omit option to pay for lunch ahead. We...More
My family and I had a truly memorable day with Steve. Not only did he take us to some wonderful spots that were in addition to the usual tourist areas,... read more but he is incredibly knowledgeable about so many different topics. We would highly recommend Great...More
Despite the bad weather the day we had the tour, Steve still made it an absolutely enjoyable tour, he was very knowledgeable and answered all the questions we had and... read more we had great conversations on our journey. We got to see the beautiful natures of...More
My wife and I spent six nights in Melbourne and three days on the Great Ocean Road in February. I researched and talked with many tour operators when I planned... read more our month-long visit to Australia, including at least five tour operators in the Melbourne area....More
Steve, our knowledgeable and very personable guide, took us out to the Dandenong area and delighted us with visits to some wonderful spots that we would never have been aware... read more of, otherwise! Beautiful botanical park, very meaningful sculpture garden, quaint little town for lunch, a...More
Steve drove my husband and I to the Yarra valley and we had a lovely time. He was very flexible and helped us tailor the day to suit our interests.... read more We highly recommend him as a tour guide to those interested in a private and...More
We had a fabulous day touring the Great Ocean Road and the 12 Apostles with Steve. Steve was a knowledgeable and friendly tour guide who kept us moving throughout the... read more day. Starting with pick up at our hotel in the morning until he dropped us...More
We booked Steve for a guided wine tour of the Mornington Peninsula. Steve was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the region as well as the wines produced in the... read more area. He planned a great day allowing us the chance to get to see the...More
Steve took us on a half a day tour of Melbourne and we enjoyed it so much we asked him to take us on a full day to Dandenong Ranges/Rickett... read more Sanctuaries/steam train tour. He was friendly and very knowledgeable but what made the tours special was his flexibility accommodating my disabled friend so she could enjoy the experience fully. He went out of his way to spot wild life for her since she wished it so much. We’re thankful to Steve for helping us enjoy Melbourne and showing us great places for shopping and eating too!
Highly recommend Steve. He was knowledgeable & really helpful. Nothing beats a private tour with a great smile. The kids love him too. We traveled in a family of 14... read more with 7 young children. So imagine the chatter & chaos! But Steve was really good...More
Steve, our knowledgeable and very personable guide, took us out to the Dandenong area and delighted us with visits to some wonderful spots that we would never have been aware... read more of, otherwise! Beautiful botanical park, very meaningful sculpture garden, quaint little town for lunch, a...More
We were picked up at our hotel by Brenden. He was a great guide and gave us a lot of information about the tour, but also about Australia.
On... read more forehand we changed the restaurant for lunch (our kids do not like seafood) and we went to the best lunchplace ever, great burgers and curry!
The helicopterride was really a bonus, what a beautifull views and because we did the reverse tour we were there just before the big crowd arrived, this also was the case for the walk to the 12 Apostles. Seeing those made me emotional.
Super fun day with Steve,our informative, articulate guide. We saw a non touristy side of just outside of Melbourne in the Dandenong mountains. We saw moving art celebrating aboriginal culture... read more in a serene forest, fed enormous whitecockatoos, enjoyed the green wonderland of the botanic garden,...More
After reviewing several private tour offers of the Ocean Road & the 12 Apostles, my friend and I decided to choose Great Private Tours which provided us a decent tour... read more quote. Steven, the owner of the company, was our guide and drove us for nearly...More
Best way to see Australia! I can not say enough good things about Steve Andrew and our day with him on the Great Ocean Road. Approaching the GOR in... read more reverse was exactly what we were looking for to avoid the crowds. Steve was very knowledgeable...More
My wife and I used Steven for a private tour of Phillip Island and Great Ocean Coast. These were two separate trips each lasting about a full day. He was... read more very professional and knowledgeable of the area. We had decided on a private tour which...More
Steve drove my husband and I to the Yarra valley and we had a lovely time. He was very flexible and helped us tailor the day to suit our interests.... read more We highly recommend him as a tour guide to those interested in a private and...More
We were with a group of Ten people and Steve was our tour guide. It was a full day 9:00am to 5:00 pm. Steve was so knowledgeable about the area,... read more animals, fauna, and history of the Aboriginal people. We started with the William Ricketts Sanctuary,...More
Super fun day with Steve,our informative, articulate guide. We saw a non touristy side of just outside of Melbourne in the Dandenong mountains. We saw moving art celebrating aboriginal culture... read more in a serene forest, fed enormous whitecockatoos, enjoyed the green wonderland of the botanic garden,...More
We booked Steve for a guided wine tour of the Mornington Peninsula. Steve was extremely knowledgeable about the history of the region as well as the wines produced in the... read more area. He planned a great day allowing us the chance to get to see the...More
What a fantastic trip!!! Steven Andrew was a phenomenal guide - so many fun and interesting facts plus first-rate tour experience. Could not have been more pleased! A... read more must item to book when you are in Melbourne!