Puffing Billy And Phillip Island Penguin Parade Bus Tour
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Melbourne, Australia
- 11 hours (approx.)
- Pickup offered
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Many Melbourne highlights, such as Puffing Billy and the penguins of Phillip Island, are far from the city and tricky to visit on your own. But this seamless full-day tour makes it easy for you to go. Relax as the bus takes you out to the Dandenong Ranges and down to the coast while your guide arranges your steam train tickets and the timing to see the adorable penguin parade.
- See a range of different outer attractions that many people miss
- Travel around with a guide who can assist you throughout the day
- All entrance fees are included for your convenience
- Escape the city to see other sides of Victoria beyond Melbourne
What's Included
- Entry to Emerald Lake
- Entry to ride Puffing Billy (Belgrave to Emerald Lake)
- Air-conditioned vehicle
- Entry to Phillip Island Penguin Parade
- Entry to The Nobbies
- Guide
- Bottled waterAll food and beverage is excluded but there will be opportunities to purchase these items while on tour.
Meeting and Pickup
Pickup point
- The Windsor111 Spring Street, Melbourne, Victoria 3000 Australia
Pickup details
Pick up from: Hotel Windsor, 111 Spring St, Melbourne.
Itinerary
1
Puffing Billy Railway Lakeside Visitor Centre
4 hours • Admission Ticket Included
2
The Nobbies
1 hour • Admission Ticket Included
3
The Nobbies
2 hours • Admission Ticket Free
4
Penguin Parade
4 hours • Admission Ticket Included
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Near public transportation
- Stroller accessible
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Most travelers can participate
- Please note: ALL babies/toddlers/children up to age 15 must purchase a CHILD ticket.
- During peak periods larger vehicles may be used
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 24 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
This tour was amazing and the best tour we’ve been on because of our tour guide, Lorraine. Lorraine was so knowledgeable about the history of Melbourne and brought a fun energy to the time on the bus with her wit and sense of humor!! Lorraine is the best at what she does and a true professional. I would highly recommend any tour she is a part of!!
Reviews
4.4
based on 421 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Highlights of Puffing Billy and penguin walk were good but too much dead time in between. Tour guide was great
It was a lot of fun. Get to the train early if you want sit on the edge and dangle your legs over.
Long day but well worth it oh and Phillip Island is cold so bring lots of warm clothes or do what I did and buy a cosy and very stylish beanie from the shop there 😜
An experience worth having at least once in a lifetime. Much appreciated the driver taking us to ride the amazing train and watch the penguins. The beautiful view of the Nobbies was also unforgettable.
Dirk, our driver, was wonderful...friendly, very helpful taking photos of the group and very knowledgeable about the things we saw. The Puffing Billy was the highlight of the tour...we loved every minute of it. The Penguin Parade was okay but I wouldn't go back again. The seats are too low so unless you get a front row or maybe a second or third row seat it's pretty much a waste of time as you cannot see the penguins, only a peek or two. All you get to see is a view of the people's backs and heads sitting in front of you, so it was disappointing for us. Of course, this is no fault of the tour operator as they only take you there and do not run the Penguin Parade.
We had a great time on our tour! Our guide from Wine & Hop Tours (I’m drawing a blank on his name - Durk?) was friendly & very informative! He kept us up-to-date on our itinerary throughout the day, as well as shared his knowledge about the nature & wildlife.
We started at Puffing Billy, an hour long train ride, which was fun & the scenery was gorgeous! We had time for food (if you wanted) & to explore the nature around Emerald Lake. After, we had a bit of a drive to Phillip Island where we stopped for DELICIOUS fish & chips. We recommend Nat’s!!
Next we headed to the Nobbies - absolutely stunning scenery as the sun was getting ready to set on the horizon. On our drive to the Penguin Parade we saw many geese with their chicks, black swans, & wallabies! We got to witness quite a few penguins waddling up the beach, as well as penguins in the sand dunes making their way into their burrows after sunset at the Parade - what a privilege! Overall a long, but incredible day exploring some nature & wildlife in VIC. I definitely recommend!
It was a lovely trip! Our tour guide is very kind, patient and profesional. He is also a good driver. We really enjoy the trip.
Marky, our tour guide was really fun to be with! He’s taken care of his group during the tour like family. It’s a great and fun tour!
A fantastic journey through the forest on a very traditional coal-powered train.
The driver, who also served as our guide, was outstanding—polite, hospitable, and incredibly supportive.
Listen to driver advice on bathrooms and points of interest. Bring layers for variable weather, wind only, only, etc, layers not one size fits all in my opinion
This excursion was fantastic from start to finish. The Puffing Billy Steam Train is amazing and such great fun. The Nobbues, wild, rugged and beautiful. The Penguin Parade magical, to see the penguins in their natural habitat was a wonder to behold. This is a must do trip. Our guide Tony was helpful, informative and kept us to time. 100/10 from us.
This tour was well organised and informative I’m an older lady in my 70s ticking off my bucket list and this definitely is doable for an older person and did not disappoint. The scenery on the island is breathtaking Our tour guide Bonnie was very informative also taking the time to point out all the wildlife along the way and what steps have been taken to protect them I would definitely recommend. Thank you for an amazing day
Commune with nature. Appreciated the efforts of the local community in keeping the steam locomotive running; and somehow conserving the wildlife nature on Phillip Island, despite the swell of tourists.
Huge thanks to Adam from Wine Hops Tours for his local insights; and for taking us safely, and timely to
our various destinations.
For such an itinerary, -timing- is everything.
It has been really fun! Loraine has played a big part for this tour! Definitely will come back for this tour again.
This is a great experience. The Puffing Billy is excellent and the train ride was fantastic. The Penguins were disappointing...we didn't see any and although you are constantly reminded not to take photos or videos as this frightens the Penguins, lots of people still did. The bus driver, Molly, was a tremendous help with her knowledge and highlights. We were given plenty of time during stops to buy food, go to the toilet and a bit of shopping. The only drawback was the actual bus. It was too small and very uncomfortable for such a long trip. A Coach would've been a lot more comfortable and taken a great trip to fantastic!
Our tour guide Tony was amazing! He ensured we all had a great time and were on time for Puffing Billy and the Penguin Parade and even offered extra hints on how to see more penguins. During the day his knowlegde of the areas visited was next to none.
Steam train ride was fantastic and lots of fun. Out tour guide Tony was very friendly and accommodating. Didn't see as many penguins as we thought we would and lots of people standing and taking photos when they were repeatedly asked not to. We did have more luck walking off to the side along the board walk seeing penguins come in where it was quieter and less noise from people. Was still so glad we went but next time would research best time to see the most penguins. Plenty of food and rest stops given and comfortable bus as well.
Driver/guide Tony was very very good and all we saw was amazing. Somewhat disappointed in the penguin parade…not what was explained on your Viator booking site.
Great day, Puffin Billy a fantastic experience ending the day with Phillip Island and the penguins. I would say a once in a lifetime experience
Highly recommend Marty our tour guide on this trip who went out of his way to make sure we were all having a great day. Puffing Billy was a great adventure I will always remember, then onto San Remo for fish and chips and off to the magical penguin parade. It was a long day but extremely well planned out and super enjoyable. I definitely recommend this trip.
If you have Marty, you’ll have an amazing trek outside Melbourne. We had a wonderful train ride with outside video from Marty, some gorgeous town vistas and cliffside views with some helpful animal spotting and tips from Marty, as well as excellent tips for penguin parade viewing. All in all an amazing trip for me and my girlfriend.
The tour guide is wonderful and very good service. The activities are fun and love to see the animals, wallabies, birds, penguins… etc.
Great guide/driver and train was fun however broke down for 40 minutes making connection difficult. Phillip Island is a long way and on this trip no penguins were seen apart from a couple silhouettes a hundred metres or so away up the beach. 50 minutes including among the nesting area and nothing seen, not the operators fault however a waste of time and money for a penguin parade tour.
Experiance was amazong well planned . Only driver didnt saw each and every seat ,if passanger has arrived or not hence 4 peaple left back. But our driver then went to take them back hence they didnt missed the penguin parad.
For a must see experience this activity did not live up to expectations. There was limited communication from the tour guide about the sites we were seeing and what to bring. The tour guide bus was clearly one of the older models- little leg room, no padding in the seats leading to different joint pains, and windows seal breaking staining clothes. While sitting on the trains ledge was cool and the views beautiful there was little context about what you were seeing and your view could be blocked by someone taking a rail seat- none was communicated prior. The pegiun parade was the highlight but lack of organization at the site made it a mad dash to get to general seats and many tourists could not follow simple rules of not talking and no phones out which took away from the experience and more importantly disrupted the natural behaviors of the penguins. Also tourists have the common decency to leave wildlife alone! Then there were no meals provided (it said food will not be provided in the descriptions) so the expectation was that you would stop at a well stocked gas station, a take away restaurant or something. There was no opportunity. The food was slow to be delivered at the train station and the gas station was underwhelming with just snacks. So leaving at 10:30 am-9:00 pm with out a full meal or chance something more filling was rough. Thank goodness I always bring multiple snacks to help tied me over but I know other were not as lucky. Overall, the penguins were the redeeming factor for this activity and there needs to be some structural changes to help improve the overall experience.
It was a very great experience. I truly enjoyed the ride. The only thing is I couldn't sit on the bridge side
I wanted to take a moment to say a big thank to our guide Mr.Martin (Marty). He was have been one of the best tour guides we’ve ever had — extremely professional and genuinely friendly throughout the day.
The trip to Puffing Billy and then on to Philip Island for the Penguin Parade was wonderful, and he made it even better. Unlike other guides who keep talking non-stop just to stay “engaged,” he struck the perfect balance. He gave us our own space and time to quietly enjoy the scenic drive and the beautiful views, while still sharing all the important information and interesting trivia at the right moments.
It made the whole experience so much more relaxing and memorable. Martin, Thank you for your excellent guiding style — we really appreciated it!
Wishing you all the best,
Atul
Be prepared for the massive amount of tourists at the penguins. Take noise cancelling headphones. My coach driver was the nicest fellow and very pleasant. Loved how the puffing Billy was mostly run by volunteers who were all so happy and helpful. Beautiful scenery and our tour guide went out of his way to help make it memorable.
Simon the bus driver and guide was amazing. It's was a cold day but we did see some penguins at the end.
Simon did take us on small detour to see kangaroos in the wild which was amazing surprise addition to tour.
This was a brilliant experience, great value for money and would recommend to everyone. Especially since the activities are a fair ways out of Melbourne, it was really convenient to have them combined into a tour with transport provided. Our guide, Marty, was amazing and brought good energy for the whole day!
The guide was friendly, informative, and well organized throughout the tour. The itinerary was enjoyable, with enough time at each stop to explore and take photos. Everything ran smoothly, and it was definitely time well spent. I would happily recommend this tour to others visiting Melbourne.
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From $158.75
per personup to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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Puffing Billy And Phillip Island Penguin Parade Bus Tour
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