Full-Day Penguins and Wildlife Nature Experience from Melbourne

Just a great day out

The penguins were just delightful. However seeing a wombat at Moonlit Sanctuary and an echidna while driving along was special. Ryan was informative, cares about the environment and showed us why Philip Island is special.

Mid-experience...not worth it

There were many aspects of this tour that give me reason to not give it 5 stars. First, our tour guide was sick and coughing up a storm the entire time, which is not a good idea if you're going to be driving a small vehicle with a total of 6 people. I am now sick as well. Second, I feel like the timing of everything was not allocated well. We had two hours at Moonlit Sanctuary, which was way too much time. We finished walking around in about 45 minutes, even with two school groups there. There was not enough time at the Noobies or Cowes. I would've specifically liked to have more time in Cowes to have time to check out more shops and cafes. I reckon the day was just overall poorly planned. Which lunch not included, the price isn't worth it. I wouldn't do it again.

good holiday tour

Ryan made our day fantastic good job Ryan, will come back go support you all. A fantastic team to arrange this

A wonderful full-day tour

We really enjoyed this tour and our driver very much, and highly recommend it. In the Moonlit preserve you see (and can feed) animals up close. The Phillip Island and the penguins coming out of the ocean in the dark was magical. Bring a warmer jacket for the evening.

Amazing experience

Seeing the tiny penguins waddling to shore. Amazing resilience. Well worth the time . Will be a most memorable experience of the Australian trip.

Amazing Australian Adventure!

Our guide was absolutely lovely and knowledgeable. It was an amazing full day trip. I highly recommend this beautiful tour.

Highlight of our Melbourne visit!

This tour was a true highlight of our time in Melbourne!!! We got to pet a koala and feed kangaroos & wallaby! The nature center was awesome. Watching surfers was unexpected and cool. That we had priemere seating for the penguines was another surprise. Watching the waves of adorable, little peguines arrive en masse ... indescribably amazing!!! Icing on the cake - our driver/guide, Darren was fantastic!!! His care of us, his commentary en route ... top notch and greatly appreciated!!! He is a definite company asset!!!!

BEST DAY!!

Would 100% recommend this trip! Our guide Matt was so fun and energetic all day, and full of knowledge. His passion and enthusiasm for the wildlife really showed.

Fantastic tour with Gina

Such a fantastic day! Gina was an exceptional guide that had in-depth knowledge of the local area, but knew extensive details regarding Australia’s history, including its native ancestors, and about the extraordinary local wildlife including the wallabies, penguins, and so much more. The tour itself was spectacular but Gina’s amazingly warm attitude and expertise really helped make this trip memorable. Thank you again for an excellent tour!

A perfect day spent in nature

The anima sanctuary was so fun! We got to pet kangaroos and wallabies and see all kinds of animals. The stops were all really fun and we got some amazing views. I won’t lie, those sweet little penguins popping out of the ocean made me tear up. It was beautiful. As a tour it was seamlessly done and absolutely worth every penny. I would have spent more money for this tour.

The ideal family day trip down to Phillip Island

Ryan was an excellent guide, friendly, knowledgeable and entertaining making for a fun day out. The trip down was broken up into many stops making it more manageable and exciting. Moonlit sanctuary was a really lovely experience with many animals, all well looked after and very easily done in 2 hours including lunch at the cafe. The stops down to the penguins were beautiful, including a stop at Cowes with shops or just a walk along the beach and then walking along the boardwalk at the Nobbies we saw some penguins having a little snooze in their hatching boxes. When seeing the penguins, anywhere on the boardwalk you will see the penguins once they have come up off the beach, but try and get to the stands early to see the penguins coming out of the water and making a run for it up the beach! The purple bus made it easy to find and the trip home was smooth. We did the trip with 6 adults and 3 children (7, 11 and 14 years) and it was just perfect, plenty of toilet stops along the way, time to eat and just relax!

Ticks all the boxes and more- and great value to boot!

Fantastic tour! So many highlights, of course the tiny penguins stole the show but the whole day was perfect- the wildlife park was interactive and informative, all the scenery was spectacular and a stop at the charming village of Cowes. Our guide Ryan was friendly, relaxed, informative and we felt we were in safe and capable hands. I would highly recommend Explore.

Perfect Melbourne Trip

This amazing trip was perfected by our super host RYAN!! He deserves recognition for his humour, knowledge and safe driving skills! You will not be hungry as there are plenty of opportunities to have food and snacks. Thank you Explore Australia.

Excellent tour, excellent guide, excellent value

This was an excellent tour with an excellent guide Ryan who was friendly, funny, knowledgeable about local and wildlife facts and above all, happy to go the extra mile to accommodate everyone, even difficult customers! Thank you, you have us hooked.

Amazing tour and adorable penguins!!

I went on this tour with family to see wallabies, roos, koalas and penguins. What we got was that plus multiple opportunities to explore little towns and beautiful beach areas. We were very comfortable in the tour bus and Ryan was an amazing tour guide. Would very much recommend this day trip to anyone visiting Melbourne!!

Mornington and Phillips Island

Our driver was very informative and helpful. Connected us with rangers who provided experienced information about the penguins’ patterns. Such a unique experience.

Very good experience.

Our driver, Darren, was very friendly and helpful. He always kept us informed, and took very good care of us. We enjoyed the Moonlit Wildlife Sanctuary very much.

Full day of great activities.

Gina our driver made it a very pleasant experience. The highlight for us was the Koala encounter and the penguin parade was exciting. Glad we took this tour

Lovely trip with great people

The trip was great fun! Our guide Matt was good fun and very kind. The sanctuary was nice experience and we got to feed Wallabies. Loved watching the penguins coming in and going to their little burrows!

Great tour from Julia!

Really relaxed and comprehensive tour to Phillip Island, which was made extra smooth and enjoyable by Julia. She made us feel so welcome, and she clearly has a real enthusiasm for what she does; she knew loads of cool facts about the places we went. It's a great itinerary as you get to see a proper animal sanctuary, different spots in and around the Island, and PENGUINS!! Thanks Julia!

An Unforgettable Experience!

Loved, loved, loved this small group tour! It was a fabulous, special tour and we had an amazing tour guide. This tour was a perfect mix between receiving information about the sights we were seeing and having time to explore the places we visited on our own…perfect! I have never been to Australia so hanging out with and feeding the wallabies and kangas at the sanctuary and petting the koalas was magical and heartwarming. The penguin march at end of the day was the icing on a triple chocolate layer cake! It was so incredible to be a part of that and witness their journeys from the ocean back to their burrows in the hills. Some people complain on these reviews that the penguin march overrated, but I entirely disagree! It’s wonderful: you get to see the penguins close, even as you walk back to the parking lot on the boardwalk, when they are convening around their burrows and chatting about their day at sea. If you know anything about animals at all then you will understand the fact that we are guests on their land and we must respect them and their life processes with calm, reverence, and joy. I recommend this tour to everyone who loves animals and nature and wants to experience, first hand, a day that gets you up close and personal with some of the special creatures we share this planet with. Simply marvellous!

Fun but a bit overrated

Pros: we had a really sweet and nice tour guide that also provided really interesting history and knowledge about Australia and the different places along the way. Very entertaining. Cons: we spent too little time at the sanctuary, which was the main reason I payed for this trip. Instead we stopped at other places that was not of interest of us. It felt like the tour could have been half as long. We were really tired when we finally got to the penguins. Also , you are not allowed to take photos of the penguins but they say this right before you go in there....really douche move. We had really good camera equipment with us and nothing about this when we booked the tour. There are also A LOT of others there so it is extremely crowded, if you could go alone by any change I would recommend you to do so. Nevertheless, it was really fun to see the penguins and to see the kangaroos, wallabies and koalas. Even tho they were completely nocked out by the extreme heat. We had 37 degrees so it was bad luck. It got really cold in the evening tho so bring a jacket no matter how hot it will be during the day. We made this mistake and we were freezing a lot during the penguins parade which is in the evening at sundown.

Fun filled day

Very good day out. Plenty of time at each place and very friendly. Best way to have a bit of a taste to what Victoria has to offer

A good day out

We really enjoyed our trip to see the penguins . It was a full day with a visit to the Wildlife sanctuary , beach walk , dropped in to cowes then the nobbies and lastly the penguins .Gina our guide and driver was excellent.

Excellent

Had a great day. Very polite guides who endured we had a wonderful experience. Good wildlife sanctuary where we witnessed Kangaroos and koalas. There were a couple of good picturesque spots where we stopped for a while . The cherry on top was the penguin march which was worth the wait. Highly recommend

Great way to spend the day in Melbourne!

The tour was fantastic! Our tour guide Hunter (and trainee, Leah) were very friendly and personable. The Moonlit sanctuary was amazing as we were able to meet the koalas (paid extra) and hand feed the kangaroos and wallabies. A couple of extra stops that let us stretch our legs were very welcome. Lovely dinner at Isola in Cowes, followed by the Penguin Parade. We didn’t get the best seat (maybe Penguin Plus is worth the upgrade) but after ten-fifteen minutes, people had moved so we could get a better view. Walking back along the boardwalk we saw so many penguins which was lovely (hard to resist the temptation to take photos, but lots of people didn’t). Back home around 12:15am in Melbourne, so it was a very long day, but worth it. Would highly recommend!

Exhausting

The driver was amazing but there was a major car accident and little upset I didn’t get to see cowes and or was hungry for 2 hrs. My only choice was eating at the penguins parade which was okay. I should get a discount for not seeing some things on there.

Fantastic and well worth money

Toby our guide was excellent and really seemed to enjoy his day as much as us. Both of the main attractions were so memorable and the additional stopping points added great value

Amazing experience with heaps of wildlife

Had an amazing time! Alena was very knowledgeable and helpful. With each destination we got plenty of time to explore the place on our own, and on the bus we got to learn about the area we were visiting.

Touring with Matt

Matt was a fantastic guide! Tour was exactly as described and highly recommended. As a solo traveler he made me feel welcomed and went above and beyond with travel tips during my Melbourne stay.

Great experience

This was an amazing tour. Our guide was Margaret and she is great. We went to some nice places and saw a lot of local wildlife both during the trip and in our destinations. Our guide told us lots of interesting stuff both about the places and the animals.

penguins good itinerary bad

The five stars are for the driver (a former surfer who used to live on Phillip Island). She did an outstanding job managing a full van and creating an atmosphere that was informative and fun. The tour program leaves a lot to be desired. The "Moonlit sanctuary" is a glorified petting zoo with a few cages of unhappy-looking eagles, owls and dingoes, a few wallabies and kangaroos sauntering among dead branches surrounding a muddy lake. Access to most facilities was forbidden without a special pass. The stop is useless to anyone who has ever visited an Australian zoo or a real sanctuary a la Currumbin yet takes 1-2 hours. This means that you run out of time for gems like the Woolamai Beach (15 min stay, ridiculous). The penguins were great.

Penguin perfect!

Our day started with a happy greeting from Brook, who was a phenomenal guide. She was very knowledgable about the areas we visited, as well as the wildlife we saw.

Incredible

An incredible day. Highly recommend! The guide was incredible and knowledgeable. I enjoyed the freedom of roaming about. Really well structured tour, full of jam packed fun!

Australian penguins

Great local guide who was very knowledgable about the region and animals. She really made a difference with her passion and spirit -thanks again

Awesome Experience & Adventurous with Explore Australia Tour.

Moonlit Sanctuary & Penguin Parade tours were Great, keep up the fantastic work Ms Margaret, our Tour Leader was very patient & informative with us. Unfortunately, we had booked 2 more up coming tours earlier on but rebates is only given now, thanks.

Great day filled with animals and good vibes

Had a great day with the group and our tour guide Matt! Matt really made us all feel very welcome, shared some great information throughout the day and was really the best tour guide ever! Very happy about all the animal encounters, both at the sanctuary, the penguin parade and in the wild. 10/10 would recommend!

Koalas and penguins. Fantastic

This is an amazing tour to do from Melbourne. Picked up around noon and dropped off at hotel at 11pm. Small group in minibus. Moonlit sanctuary was brilliant. Kangaroos and wallabies wandering free. You can get up so close. The koalas were lovely. Much less formal than a zoo. And as for the penguin parade that started around 8pm-such a unique experience. Magical. It’s a long day but so worth it.

An enjoyable tour

This was my third time visiting Philip Island, and I still enjoyed the experience. The penguin parade was amazing. Our tour guide Matthew was nice and funny. We enjoyed the tour very much.

Aussie wildlife adventure

Awesome tour. Brooke was a great tour guide and was so nice and informative. Feeding wallabies and seeing native Aussie wildlife at Moonlit Sanctuary is amazing, and the views from the Nobbies are so spectacular, make sure you look out for wildlife and you may see some geese, penguins or even a snake! We would die for the penguins.

it was such a wonderful day

I am glad that I chose the day tour! The guide and the customer service were very nice and helpful! Thank you so much for the amazing journey!

Fantastic Experience

What a great experience. Totally worth it. Full day but never felt rushed. Toby our guide was a wealth of knowledge and provided humorous and insightful historical information during the day. A great trip to get out of Melbourne and see some other great features of Australia.

What a great tour with the nest tourist guide

The tour was great from start to end. Very organised and definitely worth it. Our tour guide Margaret was amazing sharing details about Melbourne and each place we visited that gave us sufficient background to understand What we were visiting. Super chatty and friendly. I could tell she loves her job! Thanks Margaret! :) Laura and Silvio.

Not rushed and lovely tour guide

Brooke was our tour guide and did a wonderful job driving. She had so much knowledge about the island and knew all the tips and tricks to make the most out of this experience. Highly recommend this trip and Brooke as your guide. The best part about this tour is that it is not rushed at all and you have plenty of time at all stops to explore. The penguin parade was amazing and I did notice that we were ahead of other tour groups at most spots which gave us an advantage. Buses are very comfortable. Great experience. Highly recommended.

Great times

Excellent your guide and locations visited. Very knowledgeable and took time to explain the culture and relevance of areas. Overall a brilliant day.

Great day trip from Melbourne

We had an excellent trip with the lovely Brooke who was so energetic and kept us positive despite torrential rain and us all getting very wet. The trip was really well paced so we covered a lot but didn’t feel rushed at all. Moonlit sanctuary was great and we enjoyed feeding the kangaroos and spotting the lovely Annabelle and her joey was a real treat. Cafe there was good for lunch or coffee. Penguin parade didn’t disappoint but please abide with the rules to protect the penguins, really unhappy to see so many people putting their own need to photograph everything over the well-being of these wonderful penguins, enjoy watching them instead and download photos from the website instead!

Great day of sights and wildlife.

It was a very well run tour with a very nice and knowledgeable guide, Brooke. The scenery was beautiful with lots of wildlife to see and take pics of. Great day!

Great tour, just don't get your hopes up over the parade lol

A fantastic tour! Our lovely guide, Brooke, was super funny, knowledgeable, and passionate about her job. The guided tour she gave us at the Nobbies was, for me, the highlight of the day! The view was so gorgeous, and we even found wild penguins! Later we also stopped to see wild echidnas as we drove to Phillip Island! I think the penguin parade itself was overrated, because the viewing platform is pretty far from where the penguins actually land which is on the faaaar right side. But once the little ones go onto the grass, you get to see them very closely from the boardwalks. Overall, it was a pleasant tour. Thanks to Brooke for giving us all a wonderful day! :)

A must in Melbourne

Amazing trip, our guide Mat was lovely had a great time. Definitely recommended. The animals in moonlight sanctuary were very cute and friendly specially the koalas and the kangaroos. Woolami beach was stunning. The gelato at philip island was out of this world. Penguins were also very cute but it is a bit dark during the parade.

Packed day of animal experiences

Well organised content, very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide/ driver. Got help for initial pickup as needed. It was a long day, but well worth the time and cost.