Tours, sightseeing tours, activities & things to do | Viator.comPhillip Island: Penguins, Koalas and Kangaroos Day Tour from Melbourne
based on 41 reviews
Duration: 10 hours (approx.)
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Product code: 2230M10
41 reviews of Phillip Island: Penguins, Koalas and Kangaroos Day Tour from Melbourne
Read what other Viator.com travelers think about the Phillip Island: Penguins, Koalas and Kangaroos Day Tour from Melbourne. What they loved, what they liked and what they think could be improved, it's all here to help you make the most of your next trip.
The trip was ok. First of all, the penguins were amazing. Very cute and cuddly. Best piece of advice I can give is to pay the extra $40 or so and get to the platform that only has 150 people or so. Much better views and the majority of the penguins come by the boardwalk that leads to the small viewing platform. Otherwise, you are with 2,000 of your friends watching from a distance. The Koala adventure center was very nice, well done and pleasant. My biggest complaint was the Warrook Animal center. There were 4 very over-touristed kangaroos and hundreds upon hundreds of tourists trying to force feed them. On top of that, many of the animals were behind several layers of fencing and you couldn't get good views. Finally, the place smelled awful. It is a farm, but it smelled worse than your typical farm. We went to other conservatories that were delightful, but this one was not. If the evening only penguin tour skips this step, then I would recommend the koalas and penguins only.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United States, January 2008
I didn't realize we couldn't take photographs of the penguins, and that was one of the main things I was looking forward to taking back wtih me. Other than wallabies, there wasn't much else to see.
Reviewed by: Laura B, United States, November 2007
The biggest disappointment was not knowing in advance that any kind of photography was prohibited. If that fact had been explicit in the publicity, then I would not have gone on this trip.
Reviewed by: Keith S, United Kingdom, November 2007
This was a great trip, which was marred by the fact that we were only able to spend 20 minutes of the 10-hour trip on the penguin beach. I wanted to see the penguins walk up alongside the boardwalk, too - a major feature of the advertised trip. I had paid extra for the private guide with commentary, so I felt entitled to the whole trip, not just the beach part. I was 5 minutes late back to the bus. The driver made me apologise to the others on the bus, which really upset and hurt me, and it totally spoilt the magic of the trip for me. He made several subsequent references to my holding up the coach during the journey home, which was hurtful. I felt that as the clocks had changed, the timing of the trip should have also changed so we would have enough time with the penguins for the whole experience that I had waited months for as the highlight of my Australian trip. The driver was a bit of a job's worth, as we call it in England. His only priority seemed to be to rush us back as quickly as he could to Melbourne, whether or not the experience was completed or not. I would never recommend Viator for this reason.
Reviewed by: Anne B, United Kingdom, November 2007
The description of this tour did not fit exactly what happens. Do bring dry clothes if you are going in August. It was cold and raining hard. A raincoat with hood would be best, because an umbrella blocks view for people sitting behind you, and there are a whole bunch of them.
Reviewed by: Kirsten Z, United States, August 2007
Wish I knew how cold it could be and was better prepared for the weather, also number of penguins less than anticipated.
Reviewed by: Marilyn B, United States, April 2007
Penguins were wonderful but we were not given enough time to spend there as we had to return to coach. Should have reduced eating time allowance prior to visiting penguins as that was a waste. There was not much time to spend in the gift shop because of the wasted previous meal stop.
Reviewed by: Linda O, United Kingdom, March 2007
This was just OK for us - there was too much verbiage on various types of domestic architecture to be seen in the 'big smoke'. Precious time was lost doing this and more time could have been spent on the beauty of Philip Island.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, Australia, March 2007
We paid extra for the opportunity to tour with the ranger. We enjoyed our time at the stops prior to reaching the penguins, but there were too many people on the bus, which made us late getting to the beach for the penguin parade.
Reviewed by: Janet K, United States, September 2006
We paid for the ultimate experience, and even though it was good, it was not what we paid for. We did have our own guide, but we were no better off than if we had paid less and joined the crowds. The only advantage given to us was a cushion to sit on and a 10% discount in the gift shop.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, United Kingdom, August 2006
Penguins were great but kangaroos were terrible, kept in a tiny space with far too many visitors around them. Also after finding out real price of penguins I realised what a rip off your tour really is.
Reviewed by: Anonymous, Ireland, March 2008
