Insider’s Travel Guide to Phillip Island

Australian Coast - Surfing Phillip Island

Summer has landed and it’s the perfect time of year to escape the big city. I’m really excited to share with you my Insider’s Travel Guide to Phillip Island.

Located only an hour or two drive from Melbourne (depending on where you depart from), the Island is a great place to enjoy a day trip or weekend escape any time of the year.

 

Insider's Travel Guide_ Phillip Island

 

 

Insider’s Travel Guide to Phillip Island

I jumped in the car and headed to The Island on Thursday, taking full advantage of a 3 night escape with my husband and two children. Below is a list of all the activities we squeezed in. I’d highly recommend you plan your journey pending how many days you’ll be visiting and pre-book any activities where you can.

We stayed with family at their holiday house, however we have also booked an apartment at the Sails Complex in Cowes (on a past getaway) and you can find a full list of accomodation options listed on the Phillip Island tourism website, which includes resorts, camping grounds and backpackers.

 

Boardwalk at The Nobbies - Phillip Island

Penguin Parade - Phillip Island Fairy Penguins - Australia

The Nobbies - Phillip Island Victoria - Australia

Camping on Phillip Island - Touring the Australian Coast

 

What to do on Phillip Island >

1. Go surfing at Summerland Beach – it’s a beautiful stretch of coastline. Please beware, it’s not patrolled and swim safety for everyone should always be a priority. Click here for a full list of patrolled beaches on Phillip Island.

2. Take a stroll around The Nobbies – we loved the spectacular coastal views from the boardwalk and even  discovered some nesting penguins in the natural sea bird gardens. Offshore from The Nobbies are Seal Rocks, home to Australia’s largest Australian Fur Seal colony, so drop a coin into the viewing binoculars and see how many you can spot.

3. Grab a coffee from The Waterboy Cafe.

4. Catch the sunset at Surf Beach. We were lucky enough to see a glorious pink glow one evening and locals proclaim they’ve never seen anything like it in the past five or ten years.

5. Enjoy dinner (or even just a beer or vino) at Rusty Water Brewery.

6. Take the family to one of the Phillip Island Nature Parks. We visited the famous Penguin Parade (where Little penguins come ashore in groups) and the Churchill Island Heritage Farm (with a range of live activities including working dog demonstrations, cow milking, sheep shearing and tractor rides).

7. Treat yourself to a yummy gelati icecream from Isola di Capri (my vote is for one scoop of chocolate and one scoop of pistachio).

8. On your way back to Melbourne, be sure to catch the free pelican midday feeding at San Remo.

 

Phillip Island Coastline - Australia

Phillip Island Sunset - Australia

Rockpools at Surf Beach - Phillip Island

Surf Beach - Phillip Island

 

Our list of things to-do on our next visit >

• Stop by the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, a well-known track for motorcycle and car racing.

• See Phillip Island from above on a scenic helicopter flight.

 

 

If you’d like more information about where to stay, what to do and things to see on Phillip Island, be sure to check out the official tourism website here.

And please do shout out any of your insider Island tips in the comment below!

 

 

Shop our favourite Island styles:

 

 

 

Also check out:

 

Top 16 things to do on Phillip Island

 

Phillip Island Nature Parks

 

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Emily Collie is Founder and Editor of well-known Australian travel blog, Melbourne Girl. Emily has written travel articles for Expedia, eHarmony, Amex Shop Small Blogger Series and Racing.com, and has been featured on many Australian websites including Mimco Mimzine and Bonds Australia Blog, and was invited on behalf of the VRC and Myer, to judge the Myer Fashions on the Field competition on Emirates Melbourne Cup Day.

3 Comments

  • March 7, 2019

    Sofia

    Great post! I looove the pictures, so beautiful 🙂
    I also wrote a post about Phillip Island!

  • […] Only about an hour or two from Melbourne, it doesn’t take long to escape city life and find yourself surrounded by surf beaches and penguins! For a full list of activities and the best beaches check out an insider’s guide to Phillip Island here.  […]

  • […] you’d love to live an idyllic island life that’s relatively close to metropolitan Melbourne, Phillip Island is the place for you. This stunning area has a connecting bridge to mainland San Remo, so it can be […]

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