Great Ocean Road Tours from Melbourne

Day trip or three days

The Great Ocean Road & Twelve Apostles Day Tour from Melbourne is a 13-hour day on a coach of up to 38: the Memorial Arch, morning tea with kangaroos and emus, an easy guided rainforest walk in the Otways, then Loch Ard Gorge and the Twelve Apostles in the afternoon light. Park fees are included; lunch is bought at the stops. It is a long day, most of it seated.

The Melbourne to Adelaide 3 Day Great Ocean Road & Grampians Tour does the coast on day one, overnights in Warrnambool, visits Tower Hill and heads into the Grampians for a night in Halls Gap, then finishes in Adelaide. Groups are small, beds are in shared hostel rooms, and two breakfasts and two dinners are included. It is one-way: you end in Adelaide, not back in Melbourne.

The Adelaide to Melbourne 3 Day Grampians & Great Ocean Road Tour is the same trip in reverse. It starts in Adelaide and finishes in Melbourne, so it is the one to book if you are travelling east.

The skydive and how to choose

The Great Ocean Road 15,000ft Tandem Skydive jumps over the surf coast near Torquay, where the road begins, with up to 60 seconds of freefall. It is a jump, not a sightseeing tour: the drop zone is near Torquay and Bells Beach, not in Melbourne, and getting there is up to you unless the free Melbourne coach is offered on your date. Photos and video are extra, and a weight surcharge applies over 94kg.

How to choose: a day trip if you are based in Melbourne and want the Apostles without hiring a car. The three-day tour if you are moving between Melbourne and Adelaide and want the Grampians too. The skydive if you want the coast from 15,000ft and do not mind sorting your own way down.

When to go and what to bring

The road works year-round. Summer has the longest light and the busiest lookouts. Winter is colder and wetter but quieter, and southern right whales are sometimes seen off the coast from June to September. In any season the weather on the coast changes fast, so bring layers and a rain jacket whatever the forecast in Melbourne.

Wear comfortable shoes for the lookouts and rainforest walks, bring a card for lunch on the day trip, and expect wildlife sightings to be likely rather than guaranteed.