Short answer: Melbourne is the one Australian city where the city itself is the attraction: laneways, free trams in the CBD, a free national gallery, live music and the best coffee in the country. Then it is the base for four big days out. The Great Ocean Road and the Twelve Apostles is the must-do, as a 13-hour day trip from $159 or as the 3-day drive to Adelaide from $949. The Grampians day is $159, Phillip Island’s penguins with wild koalas on French Island $239, and the Yarra Valley $169. Give the city three days and add a day for each trip you want.
Prices are per person in AUD and update from our live listings. Every Melbourne trip we sell is on Melbourne tours by price.
The city, cheaply
Melbourne’s CBD is a grid, and the whole grid is a Free Tram Zone: ride any tram inside it, including the City Circle heritage tram, without touching on. Use it to get between the three things worth doing on day one.
- The laneways. Hosier Lane for the street art, which changes weekly, and the Victorian-era arcades (the Block and the Royal) off Collins and Bourke. Coffee in a laneway cafe is the Melbourne thing.
- NGV International. Australia’s most-visited gallery, on St Kilda Road just over the river. Entry to the main collection is free.
- Queen Victoria Market. Cheap food, and in summer a night market.
Two neighbourhoods hold the hostel crowd. Fitzroy, north of the CBD, is the live-music, op-shop and dive-bar side: Brunswick Street is a straight line of them. St Kilda is the beachside hostel hub, with a historic amusement park, Sunday esplanade markets and, at the end of the pier, a wild colony of about 1,400 little penguins that come ashore at dusk and can be seen from the breakwater viewing platform on free, ticketed nightly sessions. Winter is footy season; a general-admission AFL ticket at the MCG is the fastest friendship shortcut in the country.
Melbourne’s weather is the famous variable: January averages a 26°C maximum and about 47mm of rain, but a day can swing from cool and overcast to a 40°C northerly and back after a southerly change. Pack a layer whatever the month. The Australian Open runs at Melbourne Park from 11 to 31 January 2027, which fills the city and the cheap beds in the second half of January.
The Great Ocean Road: day trip or three days
The Great Ocean Road runs 243 kilometres along the Victorian coast from Torquay to Allansford. It was built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 as a memorial to those killed in the First World War, which makes it the world’s largest war memorial. The payoff is the Twelve Apostles in Port Campbell National Park: limestone stacks up to 45 metres tall standing in the Southern Ocean. There were never twelve; eight stand today, and the sea keeps reshaping them.
It is a long way from Melbourne, which is why planning matters.
The day trip
The Great Ocean Road & Twelve Apostles Day Tour from Melbourne, $159, is about 13 hours: the Memorial Arch at the start of the road, morning tea with kangaroos and emus, a guided rainforest walk in the Otways, Loch Ard Gorge and the Apostles in afternoon light, park fees included. It is a big day in a coach, and it is the way most travellers see the road. Book it for a day with a decent forecast, and know that the Apostles are at their best late in the day, which is when this tour gets there.
The three-day drive to Adelaide
If you are heading west anyway, the Melbourne to Adelaide 3 Day Great Ocean Road & Grampians Tour, $949, replaces a flight or a bus with the road itself: wild koalas and the Otways on day one, the Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, Tower Hill’s emus and kangaroos, then the Grampians (MacKenzie Falls and the Pinnacle) before Adelaide, with two nights in hostel dorms and most meals in. It runs in reverse as the Adelaide to Melbourne 3 Day, same price. This is the better value if you were going to do the Grampians as a separate day: it folds both big trips into one, finishes in a new city and costs less than the two day tours plus a one-way fare would.
The Great Ocean Road tours compared guide has the full comparison, including the add-ons.
From the air
The Great Ocean Road 15,000ft Tandem Skydive, $399, jumps over the surf coast near Torquay with a beach landing; it is a half-day from Melbourne, not a way to see the Apostles. How much skydiving costs in Australia compares it with the East Coast jumps.
The other three day trips
The Grampians. Sandstone ranges three hours west with lookouts, MacKenzie Falls and the Grand Canyon walk, and a good chance of kangaroos. The Grampians Day Tour, $159, is a 12-hour day with park fees and city pickup; the Grampians National Park Wildlife Tour, $149, and Grampians & Halls Gap, $189, are the alternatives. Skip the separate day if you take the 3-day drive to Adelaide, which includes it.
Phillip Island and French Island. Phillip Island’s Penguin Parade runs every night of the year: the little penguins come ashore at sunset, which in summer means a late finish. The French & Phillip Island Wildlife Expedition, $239, is the version worth the money: a ferry to French Island for a guided 4WD search for wild koalas first, then the Nobbies seal colony and the Penguin Parade at dusk, in a small group from Melbourne. Entry to the Parade is included.
The Yarra Valley. Victoria’s oldest wine region, an hour east. The Yarra Valley Wine Tasting, $169, is a 12-seat minibus day with tastings at three to four vineyards, a lunch stop in Healesville and free city or St Kilda pickup. All tastings are included, which is the thing to check on any wine day.
A sample five days
- City. Free Tram Zone, laneways, NGV, Queen Victoria Market, Fitzroy at night.
- Great Ocean Road day trip, or start the 3-day drive to Adelaide.
- Phillip Island and French Island, late finish.
- Grampians or Yarra Valley, depending on whether you want a walk or a lunch.
- St Kilda. Beach, markets, penguins at the pier at dusk, and a rest before the overnight bus or flight north.
Where Melbourne fits in an East Coast trip
Most East Coast routes run Sydney to Cairns and leave Melbourne off. Two ways to put it back on:
- Start here. The Melbourne to Cairns, 30 Days Semi-Guided trip, from $4,199, opens with the Great Ocean Road day and the overnight bus to Sydney, then runs the full coast north with the beds, bus pass and guided adventures (K’gari, the Whitsundays sail, the reef) pre-booked in a fixed sequence from the start date you choose. You travel the route solo on the set schedule and meet people on the guided days. December, January and July starts are priced at peak ($5,379); bookings are usually confirmed within 24 hours.
- Fly down for four days from Sydney at the start or end. Cheap flights and an overnight bus both work; the Greyhound National Pass, $389, covers the Melbourne to Sydney leg if you are doing the whole country by bus.
Heading west instead? The 3-day drive to Adelaide connects to the South Australia guide: Barossa, Flinders Ranges and the crossing to Perth.
FAQs
How many days do you need in Melbourne?
Three for the city, plus one for each day trip you want. Five days covers the city, the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island with a day spare.
Is the Great Ocean Road day trip from Melbourne worth it?
Yes if a day is all you have. It is about 13 hours for the Memorial Arch, the Otways, Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles in afternoon light, with park fees included, at $159. If you are heading to Adelaide anyway, the 3-day tour at $949 adds the Grampians and two nights’ accommodation.
How long is the Great Ocean Road?
243 kilometres, from Torquay to Allansford, built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 as a war memorial.
How many of the Twelve Apostles are left?
Eight. There were never twelve, and erosion continues to reshape the stacks, which stand up to 45 metres tall in Port Campbell National Park.
Can you see penguins in Melbourne for free?
Yes. A wild colony of around 1,400 little penguins lives in the St Kilda breakwater and comes ashore at dusk; viewing from the pier platform is free on ticketed nightly sessions. Phillip Island’s Penguin Parade, included in the two-island wildlife day at $239, is the bigger colony with koalas and seals on the same day.
What is Melbourne weather like in summer?
January averages a 26°C maximum and about 47mm of rain, with big swings: cool overcast days, 40°C northerlies and sharp southerly changes in the same week. Carry a layer. The Australian Open (11 to 31 January 2027) fills the city in late January.
Is Melbourne expensive for backpackers?
The city is cheaper than it looks: free CBD trams, a free national gallery, cheap market food and free penguins. The money goes on the day trips, from $159 for the Great Ocean Road to $239 for Phillip and French islands.
Where do backpackers stay in Melbourne?
Fitzroy for live music and bars, St Kilda for the beach and the cheapest beds near sand, or the CBD for the Free Tram Zone. All three are a tram ride from each other.
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