Phillip Island Penguin Parade, Wildlife and Beach Boxes Bus Tour

Sweet little penguins

The little penguins were very sweet and it was really cool to see them waddle up to their burrows. Our driver Terry, was great, it was only his second tour but he was a wonderful guide, super friendly and very accommodating to all of us.

Great Must-Do-Tour if you’re around Melbourne

My tour guide Joey was great. He was so friendly and had great stories to tell but also a lot of really interesting facts. I enjoyed the Tour and was amazed. The penguin parade is beautiful and it is a must do if you’re around Melbourne, but also the Nobbies and the Maru and Koala Animal Park was great. I’ll definitely recommend doing it!

Couple from Brisbane

Really enjoyed the day. Host very friendly and helpful with information to get the best from the day.

Fun Experience

Joey was very good with all the insights. Fun, interactive and professional. It was a full group. And the mini bus is a little cramp.

Bus journey spoilt the day

I am an older traveller accompanied by my daughter. We were last to be picked up and the only two seats were the front seat next to the driver which had to be accessed through climbing over the console. Which I was not able to do. My seat was a single lower seat at the back with no headrest with a box stored which meant I could not put my feet down. The venues we visited were good as was the driver but after every stop I dreaded getting back on the bus. My advice is make sure you are not on the last stop. My view is this vehicle was comfortably a 22 seater and that profit over passenger comfort was clearly the driver for the company. The penguin march was probably worth the discomfort but only just.

Brilliant penguins, mediocre rest of experience

Phillip Island was a brilliant experience, seeing the penguin parade was a once in a lifetime. The koala sanctuary and beach were lovely extras, but if you’ve been to one before then they probably don’t add much. Matt was a brilliant tour guide, giving insightful commentary and plenty of time to explore. The bus was not great for the number of people, very cramped and uncomfortable. Suggest bringing snacks/lunch with you just in case

Awesome Experience and tour guide!

I booked this trip very last minute, literally the night before however Matt was very efficient and called me 10 mins after to confirm the booking! Our tour guide, Warren, was absolutely amazing and hilarious. He kept the long bus rides entertaining and informative. I would definitely recommend this tour group in particular to avoid the large crowds as the other tour buses seem to travel together as they are all part of one big company. I recommend checking the weather before you go, it was raining A LOT when we went and you will need rain wear to get through comfortably. Would also recommend you buy a rain poncho at Maru ($5) or the penguin parade ($6). Also, pack food - there are opportunities to buy food on the tour but we found it was best to not waste time on food at the stops but to pack food and eat on the bus to get as much of the experience as possible! We were picked up in a convenient location in Melbourne cbd, then the first stop of the tour was the St Kilda Beach Boxes. Warren very kindly pointed out the famous beach box where the tennis stars all take their photos. Then we were off to Maru Koala & Fauna Park where we got to feed Kangaroos in a large free open space! We also saw 2 albino kangaroos and got to take many photos. Then we had a short stop off at the Nobbies lookout which is movie levels stunning. We took many scenic shots there, definitely recommend that you walk at least part of the trail to get as close to the cliffs as possible! Last stop was the Phillip Island Penguin parade. This was an amazing experience. Don't expect to see thousands of penguins appear on the beach at once - it's more small little groups that pop up every 5 mins or so (and you have to be seated very well to see them somewhat closeby) but it was still amazing seeing them fight their way out the water. Don't worry though, you get to see the penguins up close when you follow them along the walkways (Warren kindly pointed out a good spot for us). After that it was home time. Was a very smooth and quiet trip back to the Melbourne cbd. Overall, was a fantastic tour! Would highly recommend this to everyone who would like to see the famous penguin parade! Thank you Warren for a great day, you put a big smile on our faces through the tough weather :) Hope to tour with you guys again!

Great family-friendly experience

Our group (two seniors, four adults, two children under ten) went on the Phillip Island bus tour from Melbourne and it was absolutely lovely. Warren was a warm and friendly tour operator who was very clear about where and when to meet back up again for the next stop, and also gave us great tips about the best views and places to see the penguin parade. At the penguin parade, he also helped arrange a cart ride for our family member who had trouble walking long distances. We got a text confirmation the day before the tour about where and when to meet, and arrived back in Melbourne in the evening with no problems. As a bonus, when we figured out the next day that we'd left some personal items on the bus, we were able to get someone on the phone who tracked down the items within half an hour and gave us several options to get them back before we left the city. Amazing service, great people, definitely recommend.

Highly recommend this tour

The trip was amazing. Dirk was so good and sweet. He recommended the perfect spot for penguins spotting. Must-take tour!

Worth every penny. Had great time.

Worth every penny. Had great time. Thanks Tony for making the trip memorable. I would recommend this tour. Hoping any one taking to tour gets Tony as your guide.

Amazing creatures

Watching penguins coming out of the ocean was nice but the real show is watching them walk alongside the walking deck.!

Long busy day, saw everything as expected, had fun overall

A few long drives, on a very hot bus, ? no air-con or it wasn't on, and unable to open windows. Bus quite old and not overly comfortable -felt every pothole and there were a lot of them in some stretches of highway. I'm not overly tall, and my knees were jammed up against the seat in front of me the whole day. The content of the tour was good, a nice variety of spots to visit and driver was attentive and chatty. Bus was full and same group were late back to the bus at EVERY stop. Drivers perhaps need to do a better speech about time keeping and this ruins it for everyone else. Fabulous mini-golf course at Maru animal park, if like us you've seen a million animals already, this is one of the best mini golf courses I've ever visited. Not much time at the Nobbies area (due to the late running of the tour thanks to the group mentioned earlier) and we didn't see too many penguins as we tried to get back to the bus by the set time. Given the unpredictability of the penguin arrivals, perhaps clearer instructions on time frames would be better. All well & good to say be back on bus at 8:45, however if penguins don't begin arriving until later that day, it may be better to say, "watch the penguins on the beach for 30 minutes after the first arrival then take 15-30 minutes to walk back up the boardwalks, before making your way back to the bus" - or seat everyone together and have the driver closeby to make time adjustments on the go for better penguin viewing. On the whole we saw everything we wanted to see and I didn't have to self-drive. Less time waiting around for others would have been nice.

Phillip Island Pinguin parade

The good guide and the Wildlife. Guide got mich Informations about everything on the to do list and was very communicative. For me a must do Tour;)

Great tour, guide really informative

The tour was great! I was a solo traveller, but did not feel left out! The guide was super informative (he was the owner), and gave good info throughout the tour. We got 2 c the penguins up close on their walk up from the beach to their "home". It was a great up close experience. The native animals at the sanctuary portion was lovely. We gor ro feed kangaroos, and a close encounter with a koala and dingo. I would recommend this tour highly.

Great experience, loved...

Great experience, loved seeing the penguins, the tour guide was really friendly, entertaining and helpful!

Go see the Penguins

Great tour with Matt!! What a treat to have someone so knowledgeable - loved every part of it, and the penguins were the highlight of the trip!! Totally recommend this tour if you have a free day in Melbourne - do this !!!

A great disappointment

The firm needs to ensure customers wear masks in the bus. The driver was friendly but not very well organised. He was a poor tourist quide with minimal information.

Il tour tocca cose molto...

Il tour tocca cose molto turistiche ma comunque ne vale la pena. Portatevi una coperta perché bisogna stare 1h30 fermi ad aspettare

Tolle Tour mit nettem Tour Guide

Netter Tour Guide. Wir haben viele Informationen erhalten. Positiv war auch die Gruppengröße. Wir hatten auch genug Zeit für die einzelnen Sehenswürdigkeiten.