Full-Day Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles Sunset Tour from Melbourne
Overview
- Great Ocean Road day tour from Melbourne with special sunset viewing
- Enjoy the stunning coastal views and long golden beaches
- Visit an historical lighthouse
- Enjoy stunning coastal views while passing through the towns of Lorne, Apollo Bay and Port Campbell
- Step down to the beach at Gibsons Steps, the gateway to the Twelve Apostles
- Round-trip transportation from Melbourne
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Once out on the coast-hugging Great Ocean Road, you’ll be treated to breathtaking views and constantly changing scenery, from expansive sandy beaches to rugged cliffs dropping straight down into the sea. You’ll pass the scenic towns of Lorne, Apollo Bay and Port Campbell and visit the historic Split-Point Lighthouse. Keep a sharp eye out for wildlife along the way. You’re likely to spot koalas in their native habitat at the lovely Kennett River, where you’ll also enjoy lunch at a local café.
Admire the greenery of the Otway Ranges as you approach the notorious Loch Ard Gorge. Climb down a steep staircase to stand on the beach where the sole survivors of a shipwreck washed up in 1878.
The grand finale of your tour awaits at the Twelve Apostles — a natural geologic wonder created by the erosion of cliffs over millennia, leaving a cluster of limestone pillars jutting majestically out of the ocean. You’ll arrive in time to witness this jaw-dropping sight bathed in the fiery hues of the setting sun. Once the light has faded, hop back in your comfortable coach and relax on the approximately 3-hour return drive to Melbourne.
Reviews
Viator Traveler's Reviews
Ian was such a great driver and guide. Made tons of dad jokes which I enjoyed hahha! He also shared a lot about australian aborigines which made this tour very insightful as well. This is my second time to the 12 Apostles and the sunset view is definitely much better than going in the afternoon (IMO). Highly recommended!
Go see 12 Apostles, which is amazing, just make sure to avoid Duff Man who is not a good tour guide. He skipped stops in the listing, until the customers in the group corrected him. He also rushed the group through sunset at 12 Apostles and actually left before sunset. Given that this tour is emphasizing both the 12 Apostles and seeing that particular site at sunset to rush the group at that point was particularly irritating. Great scenery, bad guide.
Our driver, Brett, is extremely knowledgeable. He went out of his way to serve us, and explained everything to us. He showed us many beautiful sceneries. The vehicle is however very old and looks like a 1950s model. The vehicle is so crowded and small for a 16 hours trip. Timing is poor. Lunch is at 11:00 am, and dinner is after we come back which is 10 pm. Our kids were so hungry. Each stops were just a few minutes long, so it wasn't relaxing at all. We would have liked more time to take a short walk at the rainforest or at Kenneth river.
The Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles are absolutely stunning, but the tour itself was just okay. Our driver, Brett, seems to spend a great deal of time biking and swimming in the various villages along the way and was extremely knowledgeable about the area. We made some stops at view points for pictures, but often we would only have five minutes to hop out of the van, snap the picture, and then climb back in, and after awhile this became too tedious to bother with. Also, we stopped for lunch at a cultural center that basically involved a guy playing three different animal sounds on a didgeridoo and then showing us some hand-fed kangaroo. Lunch was served at 10:30am and we didn't arrive back at our hotels until after 8pm, so this was not a well-planned event.
Loch Ard Gorge and the 12 Apostles were amazing! It had rained all day, but cleared up an hour or so before sunset, so we were able to get some brilliant colors and even a complete double rainbow, so the day wasn't a total loss. It's definitely worth the drive along the ocean road because the scenery is beautiful, but renting a car and doing it yourself seems like a better way to go.
The scenery is breathtaking - truly a stunning place. The tour was fairly well organized with rest-and-activity stops every 1-2 hours. The first stop at a aboriginal wildlife park was a waste of time. I've been to a number of these parks in Australia, and this one was pathetic. They had exactly 1 kangaroo very cute and friendly, though, two anti-social wallabies, and two emus - that's it. So everyone crowds the poor kangaroo, trying to feed it. The company should find a better wildlife park, or skip this altogether and spend more time at the other stops, like the rainforest or the wild koalas and birds. It's a long drive, and the driver was anxious to keep us on schedule, but eventually it started to feel stressful. The driver was knowledgeable and polite, but I wouldn't exactly call him approachable and friendly. The bus was old, with a rough ride, and the worst part was that the windows were constantly fogging, obscuring the incredible views. Overall, though, this was definitely one of the best trips I've done here in Australia. By the way, it turned out that the prices people paid for this trip varied wildly. So it's worth to shop around.
