Phillip Island Penguin Parade Tour

Enjoy amazing wildlife experiences & spectacular sights including the world famous Penguin Parade

On our Phillip Island day tour, you’ll visit Brighton Beach’s colourful huts & meet local wildlife at a multi-award-winning conservation park before reaching Phillip Island & the highlight of the tour – the extraordinary Penguin Parade

Visit the colourful Brighton Beach boxes for a special Instagram moment
Enjoy a guided tour at the Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park
Visit Penguin Parade at Sunset

What You’ll Do

Departing Melbourne at around midday, we journey to the city’s most colourful attraction – the iconic Brighton Beach bathing boxes – for an opportunity to visit the beach and take some time to admire these historic landmarks.

We continue our journey through Melbourne’s bayside suburbs on the way to Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park. Here, we enjoy a guided wildlife walk where we have the opportunity to meet and hand-feed many species of native Australian animals. Learn about iconic species such as kangaroos, koalas, emus, and wallabies, as well as some of our lesser-known favourites including quolls, owls, bandicoots, and Tasmanian devils.

Included in our visit here is the spectacular “Conservation in Action” wildlife show, which showcases several lesser-known Australian species in a series of interactive and engaging ranger presentations.

Continuing to Phillip Island, a visit to Point Grant and The Nobbies gives us an opportunity to enjoy views over Westernport Bay and Bass Strait, including Seal Rocks, home to Australia’s largest population of fur seals.

And then it’s onwards to the main event, the Phillip Island penguin tour. Just after dark every night, the world’s smallest penguins waddle ashore after spending the day fishing out at sea. You’ll be truly enchanted as the stars of the show emerge from the surf and pass right before your eyes on their journey back to their homes. Your guide will ensure you get the very best vantage point to enjoy the Penguin Parade.

After the parade, we allow plenty of time to explore the visitor centre before beginning our own journey back to Melbourne. With dropoff right back to your inner city accommodation, you’ll remember this day as a true highlight of your Australian holiday.

FAQs for the Phillip Island Tour

On all of our tours, meal breaks are made at appropriate times and we always try to make sure that there are opportunities to select for a range of meal providers. You will always be able to access vegetarian and gluten free options as well.

Koala handling is not included on this tour. You will, however, still see these furry little guys in their habitats at Moonlit Sanctuary. From here, you will also be able to take photos of them munching away on eucalyptus or sleeping throughout the day!

Photos are permitted at all locations except the Phillip Island Penguin Parade. Penguins’ eyes are very sensitive, and any bright or sudden flashes can frighten them. Please do not use cameras of any kind including phones and camcorders at any time during your visit to the Penguin Parade.

Over the many years that we have operated to this destination, only a very small proportion of our guests have expressed interest in swimming during the tour. However, if you’re keen to have a dip, this is possible at Brighton Beach, as well as at the town of Cowes (when we visit here in the summer months).

Please note that we do not make any special “swimming stops” so if you’re keen to have a swim you’ll need to do this in the available time, rather than expecting time to be allocated for this purpose. We also note that changing facilities are not available, so you will want to keep this in mind if planning to enter the water at all.


We do not include meals on this tour, but there are opportunities to purchase meals at appropriate times throughout the day. Guests are also welcome to bring food with them if they prefer.

As the time that the penguins arrive on the beach changes significantly during the year, our return time to Melbourne also varies significantly.

On an indicative basis, this tour returns to Melbourne at approximately the following times:

  • Nov – Feb: midnight
  • March: 11:00 PM
  • April: 10:00 PM
  • May – Aug: 9:00 PM
  • September: 9:30 PM
  • October: 10:30 PM


Have more questions?
Phillip Island Penguin Parade Small Group Eco Tour

TRIP DETAILS

  • High-Quality Vehicles

  • Small-Group Tours

  • Passionate, Expert Guides

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