Phillip Island and French Island Wildlife Expedition

Recommended by 92% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Victoria, Australia

12 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Pickup offered
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Price varies by group size

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Overview

Australia is home to a number of unique wildlife species and this tour to Phillip and French islands, just outside of Melbourne, lets you get up close and personal. Join a small group and board the ferry to French Island where you take a guided tour and see koalas in their natural habitat. Then head to Phillip Island to observe a seal colony and the famous penguin parade at sunset.

Observe local wildlife in their natural habitats
Take in the coastal scenery on the ferry crossing
Explore the sea bluffs and ocean views of the “Nobbies”
A small group means more attention from your guide

What's Included

All Fees and Taxes
Air-conditioned vehicle
Ferry Crossings
Entrance to the Penguin Parade

Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Pickup points

Select a pickup point

Pickup details

We offer 4 pickup locations from Melbourne CDB which are listed above. Your pickup depends on the time of year you have booked. Your exact meeting times are listed below and our team will confirm this with you after a booking is placed. 12:30 pm (Oct-Mar, Daylight savings) Penguin Parade & Wildlife Tour departs from our main pickup location Mail Exchange Hotel - 688 Bourke Street @ 12:30pm and below are the pickup times from our other locations: * 11.45am Mercure Melbourne Southbank - 9 Riverside Quay, Southbank * 12.05pm Regent Theatre - 191 Collins St * 12.15pm Her Majesty’s Theatre - 219 Exhibition St 10:00 am (Apr -Sept, Non -daylight savings) Penguin Parade & Wildlife Tour departs from our main pickup location Mail Exchange Hotel - 688 Bourke Street @ 10am and below are the pickup times from our other locations: * 9:20am Mercure Melbourne Southbank - 9 Riverside Quay, Southbank * 9:35amRegent Theatre - 191 Collins St * 9:45am Her Majesty’s Theatre - 219 Exhibition St As the time that the penguins arrive on the beach changes significantly during the year, our return time to Melbourne also varies significantly from 21:00 to 0:00

Itinerary

Stony Point Ferry Terminal

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

French Island National Park

3 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Stony Point Ferry Terminal

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Included

The Nobbies Centre

30 minutes • Admission Ticket Free

Phillip Island Nature Parks Penguin Parade

2 hours • Admission Ticket Included

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Near public transportation

Infant seats available
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 11 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Reviews

4.7

based on 37 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Not really a tour...

Ted_B, Feb 2024

The penguins get 5 stars, the rest of this "tour" do not. Perhaps our "tour guide" is to blame, but this was not much of a tour. It was a large bus shuttling a large group between points with little or no instructions or guiding. This was a 48 passenger bus and our guide barely spoke loud enough for the first three rows to hear. We spent a lot of time in the bus which had no information of any kind while traveling. Example: we were driving through some kind of nature park with wallabys everywhere. It would have been great if our guide got on the PA and shared info about them, described the difference between them and kangaroos, or said anything. Ours did not. Example #2: the tour ends around midnight. Our "guide" gave no instructions as the bus was making drop offs. So much so that we arrived at the final stop and a large group of people were still sitting on the bus completely unaware we had reached the final stop. We all just sat there staring at our guide who was not saying anything. French Island was okay, but felt like we were just killing time until the penguins. To be perfectly honest, our family would have been much happier with buying tickets to the penguins directly and finding our own way there.

Response from Host, Aug 2024

Thank you for sharing your feedback. We’re glad you enjoyed the penguins, but we’re sorry to hear that the rest of the tour didn’t meet your expectations. We apologize for the issues with the guide’s communication and the lack of informative commentary during the trip. Your feedback is invaluable, and we’ll use it to improve our tour experience and guide training. We appreciate your input and hope to have the opportunity to provide a better experience in the future.

Beautiful nature

Brigitte_H, Nov 2022

Lovely to see a koala and its baby, the landscapes, and cute little penguins. The guide was very friendly and knowledgeable.

Response from Host, Nov 2022

Thank you for your kind words about our tour, Brigitte. We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed your experience and got to see some of the amazing wildlife Australia has to offer! Our guides are passionate about sharing their knowledge with our guests and it's great to know that you had a positive experience. Thank you for choosing Explore Australia Tours and we hope to welcome you on another tour soon!

Australian wildlife and conservation.

LanceCarrothers, Jul 2022

Visiting the local's home on French island was good. Seeing the penguins and learning about the conservation efforts on Phillip Island was rewarding. Chris did a great job as guide.

Response from Host, Jul 2022

Lance, we appreciate your feedback and are glad you got to experience French Island and its remote location as well as the little Penguins and the conservation effort by the team at Phillip Island Nature Park. Guides like Chris really make our guest's day memorable.