Phillip Island Penguin Parade Day Trip with Koala Conservation Reserve Visit

Philip Island + Koala Conservation + Penguin Parade

Loved the whole day! Learned a lot from our tour guide Doug, and his trusty friend Barry the platypus. Besides the weather and the no photo rule at the Penguin Parade, the tour was well worth the money! A definite must do if in Melbourne.

10/10 recommend it

I was concerned about the cost of this, as I don’t usually do tours when I’m travelling. But this was 100% worth it. The tour was fantastic. The bus driver was very friendly and knowledgeable. She gave us facts along the drive. It was really nice to have all the logistics taken care of and not have to worry about finding things and navigating around at night. The timing at the different stops on the way to the Penguin parade is relatively short- which I was also a little skeptical of- but it was actually really well timed. Sure, you could spend more time at any of those places, but the time allotted felt like enough to experience each of them, while also getting us to the Penguin location early enough to get good seats! (If you really wanted extensive time at the other stops, you’d probably want to do a multiple day tour or do it yourself across multiple days). The penguin parade was so cool and so cute. I loved it. Thanks for the great tour!

Great guide and wonderful experience

Our guide/ driver was Fiona and she's amazing! She knows each place inside out and gave us useful tips in penguins viewing. She's absolutely passionate about her job and very professional. We had a great time!

Outstanding tour

Craig who was our driver and guide did an outstanding trip. The main concern was safety of the passages. Several 5 star items..pickup at selected hotels, no rush stops, bus driver/guide interaction with the guest's, bust locations to go when stopped at visited locations and having a great personality. Thank you

Great time, unique memory

Places, scenery and exotic animals were a joy to watch. The tour guide/driver was fun, courteous and managed our crowd pretty well to ensure we were always at the right time back in the bus to carry on the trip. We had a great time at the three locations we visited. Thank you for such a great time.

Natural Wonder

The day was a bit cold and rainy but the Penguin Parade was awesome! So worth doing to see the penguins come from the surf and band together talking and chattering as they made their way back to their burrows. Just so you know…no cameras after dark, the light is disrupting and since they don’t come out until dark…Photos are available through the park service.

not enough time to see

tour started from 13:45 to 23:00. It is less than it should be (12 hours). we had not enough time to see, to eat (not allowed to eat or drink in the bus), even not enough time to go to the wash room. we were told "if you are late, you will stay here until tomorrow".

Cutest penguins - a must see!

Loved the penguin parade but wished we had a longer time to view them. Felt a bit rushed after viewing for 25 mins and had to make our way back (long walk) back to bus. We didn’t have enough time beforehand to eat (too crowded, long waits) and shop.

Mediocre

We really enjoyed seeing the penguins, however the overall day was a bit underwhelming. The drive took exceptionally long, we had only 20 minutes at the koala sanctuary, 15 minutes as Nobis, which was already closed and then were rushed to the penguins. Because of our late arrival we didn’t have time to stop for food, we stopped for a snack and were told that we could get a proper meal later. Unfortunately this didn’t come and we didn’t have enough snacks for our young son, which made the overall experience much more stressful. So penguins were cute, but with some better organization, it could have been much better. I would book the penguin tickets and organized ourselves independently if I could do it over.

Highly recommend

This trip was amazing, would highly recommend. The guide Fiona was brilliant and really knowledgeable about all the different aspects of the tour. The bus returned to Melbourne just after 11.30pm so public transport was still running making hotel return quite easy.

Fantastic koala and penguin experience!

The tour was great. Our tour guide, Fiona, was terrific. She was very enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and informative. The koala sanctuary was great. We got to see a few koalas moving around and eating, and we saw a few wallabies as well. The penguin parade was fantastic!! Watching the little guys waddle up to their burrows was definitely worth the trip.

Fab day

Getting the chance to see both koalas and penguins really up close and personal. Fions our guide was great

Excellent Tour

The tour was excellent . The driver/guide was enthusiastic, completely engaged and a wealth of information. Thanks to Fiona! Would absolutely do again.

Koalas and Penguins in one fun trip!

At the Koala Reserve we observed many koalas, wallabies and birds. The Penguin Parade was great fun. We enjoyed seeing the little penguins up close along the boardwalks. Our tour guide/driver, Vicky was delightful!!

Full and Fun Day

The Penguin Parade is very special. It really is all that people say it is! If you can make sure to spring for the enhanced/upgraded viewing experience—you will not regret it. Vicky our guide and bus driver was great. Entertaining, informative, great bus driver (can’t believe she is asked to be both!) and kept all of us on time. The Koala Conservancy and the Nobbies were good adds. A lot packed into the 12 hour tour!

Philip island review

Good Trip, The Guide Cum Driver was very helpful. Lots of Animals to see and a scenic drive to Phillip Island Penguin Parade Day Trip with a Koala Conservation Reserve Visit.

Wonderful experience!

The koala reserve was wonderful, as was the penguin parade. The only down point was that the driver was somewhat grouchy.

Great guides!

Craig (and Barry the platypus) were excellent guides and really informative. It was great to also learn about some aboriginal history along the way. It felt like we had lots of time at some of the stops so would suggest maybe stopping somewhere else for dinner other than the penguin visitor centre as it was very very busy. Otherwise, a really special experience.

Which one is my Burrow??

Seeing the cute little grey blue and white little buggers come swimming up to the beach on cue during the initial viewing then watching them scamper to their holes on from the above walkway on the walk back was nothing short of amazing. You won’t see hoards of them at once, but the once you will see, you will remember always. Really a memorable experience!

Once in a lifetime nature experience

Amazing scenery throughout the bus tour. We had just enough time at each stop. The koala sanctuary was peaceful. The stop at Nobbie’s resulted in dozens of beautiful pictures, even saw some wild animals like echidnas and wallabies. The penguin parade was different than expected, but definitely worthwhile. The penguins come out slowly. Dress warm, even in the summer. Thankfully we had towels to sit on the beach and sweaters but it was windy and cool enough for blankets and heavier jackets. Highly recommend!

Penguin's parade

We had the best day on this tour. Got amazing shots of the koalas close up and were in awe of the little penguins coming up the beach. Loved the experience and highly recommend it.

Penguins on parade must go on your bucket list! We took a day tour that left from Melbourne and took us to

This entire day trip was absolutely amazing! We didn’t get back to our hotel till close to midnight because of the long drive from Melbourne but it was probably the best thing we did in the two weeks we were in Australia! We were thrilled to see so many koalas and wallabies up close in the koala Conservatory. There was plenty of time to grab dinner, and then head onto Phillip Island to watch the Penguin parade. We waited patiently for the penguins to arrive, and the first ones came out from the water around 9:15 PM. There were thousands of us, but somehow the workers kept us all quiet, while the penguins screwed out to find their babies waiting for them in the bushes along a walkway. I didn’t realize how small they were until I was actually standing above them on the wooden boardwalk. Taking pictures is absolutely forbidden since the flash and cameras scare them but of course there were some idiots who didn’t want to follow the rules and took pictures anyways. I seriously wanted to knock their phones out of their hand. Apparently looking at pictures on the Internet was not good enough for them. My advice is if you do go, please enjoy the moment and put your phones in your pocket. Who would have thought that watching little Penguins paddle up to see their chicks would be so enthralling. A great tip is once they start arriving on the sandy beach head on over and get your spot on the boardwalk and position yourself right above the path and you will have the best position to see thousands of little blue penguins waddling up ever so slowly listening for the sounds of their young. It truly is a remarkable sight!

Great tour with the chance to see a variety of Australian wildlife

We loved seeing the Koala Preserve and viewing the koalas on boardwalks at the level of their tree habitats. The penguin parade was amazing, and our driver/guide did a great job of giving us history and education about Phillip Island and its wildlife. Would suggest that more emphasis should be placed on bringing layers of clothing in case of rain and high winds. We would have stayed longer if we hadn't been so cold.

Great trip with beautiful views and some cool animals

This trip was a great experience. I would highly recommend it if you want to do any day trips outside of Melbourne. We went to see koala bears and wallabies which was really cool. Then, we went to one of the beaches for dinner which was beautiful. Then, we went to the noble point. Then, we went to see the cute penguins and they were so close to us when we walked back which was cute. The feedback for improvement I had was to spend more time at the noble point to see the beautiful views of the water. 20 minutes was just not enough and the itinerary said we would have 1 hour there. Also, the trip description should make it clear that we are stopping for dinner as we were not sure if we should bring food.

Lovely day out and so memorable

Lovely experience with the koalas and penguins. Such a special day and the organisers did a great job picking up everyone and taking us back into Melbourne. Super easy and really memorable would recommend to anyone.

Amazing daytrip from Melbourne

I have visited the Philip Island and watched the penguin parade. Everything was well organized and our tour guide Craig with his helper Barry were amazing. I really enjoyed the trip. Good job Craig! So kind and helpful. He was also explaining to us everything and sharing a lot of interesting information.

Awesome experience

Amazing experience……must do …… new year started with penguin parade is an awesome thing . Tour was organised very well .

Penguin Parade must visit!

Must see on any Melbourne Itinerary! Watch the penguins come onto land for a while then follow them as they waddle along the boardwalk. For best seating bring a blanket so that you can sit in the sand up front. All the entry fees, concessions, and gifts go towards conservation of the entire area!

Great trip to Phillip Island and the penguins!

This was a brilliant tour, thanks very much! We didn't get the name of the driver but please do let him know of our deepest appreciation for his patience and sense of humour throughout! We enjoyed this tour very much, and the driver was indeed the most good looking one of them all, so we could find the bus easily. He might not remember us, my wife was the one that bought the hat. We are from India and this was the highlight of our trip this far, we really liked the penguins and have since been told we can't take one back with us, sadly. Keep doing the good work! To everyone reading this, I fully recommend this tour company for this tour. We'll be doing another one tomorrow, and will review that too. But the Phillip island trip was excellent, and very well organized, and we managed to get a booking seamlessly through their website. Cheers and all the best!

Being stuck in a traffic jam for 6 hours with no food or water.

The worst possible experience-we didn’t see anything on the itinerary except the penguins. Due to the holiday traffic and a motor accident it took 6 hours to reach the island.

Super cute!!

Fiona was such a nice and lovely person! She welcomed us all and filled us in with all different kinds of historic facts! To be able to see koalas out in the wild and to see all those tiny little penguins returning home is just incredible and cute! I never wanted to leave after the penguins came out of the water!

Could be better. Give us more time to enjoy the Penguin parade.

The tour was good. However, couple of things were missed to make it a great experience: We were dropped off at Nobbies without any introduction to the Penguins homes, or otherwise. Second, the time given at the Penguin parade was so short that it was stressful. We needed to rush to see things and couldn't enjoy it.

Fantastic day out

The trip was amazing from start to finish, and this was helped by our amazing tour host called Fiona. Her passion and excitement of meeting the Koalas and penguins was great. It's totally worth doing whilst staying in Melbourne

Awesome guided tour and professional service by tour operator

Penguin parade , Koala board walk and guided tour by gentleman. We enjoyed the one day trip to Philip island thoroughly. If you have limited time and cover beautiful places near by Melbourne, this would be the apt one. Go for viator

Tour guide made the day even better

This was such a fantastic tour! I enjoyed each aspect of the day. Fiona was our driver and guide, and I've never encountered someone so enthusiastic and passionate about their job. She made ever moment enjoyable and informative.

Penguin parade and koala reserve was special but the road to Phillip island was horrible due to the tour guide .

The coach was 45 minutes late, without notification. Missed half our time in the koala reserve. I was not impressed with The tour guide. He gave us very little information and insisted on having the radio on too loud even after he was asked to turn the volume down. Had the experience at the koala reserve and the penguin parade not been So special, I would be asking for a refund. I would not take a tour from this sublet company again.

Penguin Plus is worth it—but make sure you have the right ticket

It was great; went smoothly, and our guide was friendly and knowledgeable. The penguin parade was incredible! However, do make sure you have the correct ticket for the penguin parade—the guide almost gave away our Penguin Plus tickets to some other people without checking, which would have been horrifying.

a

Awesome amazing experience. Cant wait to do this again. Great location. Well equipped and facilities

Penguins in Australia

It was the most amazing trip and our guide Fiona was the best. Seeing the penguins was magical. Fiona provided great information and tips. Highly recommend this day trip!

The perfect day trip!

I had a fantastic day trip! Despite starting in the early afternoon (which I initially thought was late), it was filled with enjoyable sightseeing and observing animals. I had the opportunity to see koalas up close, spot wallabies in their natural habitat, and witness adorable little penguins. It was an exhilarating experience, especially for someone like me who was experiencing it for the first time 😊

Perfect day trip

Perfect day trip! We had a fantastic and funny guide. The sites along the way were beautiful. And of course, getting to spend time with koalas and penguins was magical!

Epic!

Penguin plus was the best! Baby penguins! Baby koalas! Echidna! Kookaburra! Wallabies! Great guide! Well organized.

Phillip Island Fairy Penguins

I took my 3 granddaughters (7-10 years old) on this tour. The stops prior to the penguin viewing included a beach and a koala park which they found fun and interesting. We had Penguin Plus tickets and were able to see the penguins up close. The underground viewing area had us at ground level with the penguins. The bus driver was informative and professional.

Day with the Penguins

The koalas we’re amazing and I to guide how to point them out. She was the best guidethat I have had for a long time. She was enthusiastic and full of information. It was very cold at the penguin parade, but to see all the little penguins come up from the water was truly a wonderful experience. It was a wonderful day and when you’re in Melbourne, you need to take this tour as it is one of the best.

Fantastic

Vicky was the best tour guide ever. Vicky had lots of knowledge of the area. She made the trip so enjoyable. The experience was wonderful. Vicky took time out to talk to the children.

Sleep walking

Both the koalas and penguins did not disappoint. The driver was very helpful and gave great insight as how to view each the best way

Super cute Impressive penguins parade experience

It was Great watching the really cute / adorable little penguins emerge from the sea and hurdle themselves together before waddling down through the sand to their burrows. Was really an amazing sight and experience. A shout out and much “Thanks” to the “star 31” bus driver and tour guide. We are very grateful!

Good experience :)

Pick up on time. Convenient in Big bus. Good driver and also he took care everyone really good. Didn't meet Koala as much as expected but overall experience, scenery and the penguins are worth to visit when you are in Australia.

Great trip!

Our guide, Vicky, was very knowledgeable and fun. She had A wealth of information available and I can see how passionate she is with her job and it translates to how she looked after us during h the trip. The penguin prade was awesome! Just be prepared for the very climate. Got a close look at the Koalas too which was absolutely fantastic.

Totally worth the visit !

It was an amazing experience to see 3 koala mummies with their babies and to see the adorable penguins , waddling back home. Penguin view plus gives a better view . Fiona , our super friendly and knowledgeable tour guide and driver made the experience incredible.!