The 15 Birding Day Trips in Melbourne to Book First

1.Phillip Island Penguins & Wildlife Day Tour from Melbourne

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 867 reviews · from $111Our pick

Review of the Phillip Island penguin tour from Melbourne, with Moonlit Sanctuary, coastal stops, pricing, timing, tips, and honest drawbacks.

“Watching the penguins was a truly beautiful experience and having David our tour guide pace out the day with a focus on spending quality time at the key sites made it more relaxing and enjoyable even though this is a long tour day. David made this interactions with the group fun and shared a lot of tidbits about the area, the animals. birds and their behavior. We spotted several wallaby in the wild as well. Knowing that David had your back on this tour made it a very enjoyable and memorable experience. Thank you David and team!”

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2.Full-Day Phillip Island Tour with Kangaroo, Koala and Penguin Parade

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 658 reviews · from $104

Review of Melbourne’s Phillip Island tour with Moonlit Sanctuary, Woolamai Beach, Nobbies and the famous penguin parade.

“It was overall a good experience. I knew there would be bus rides but we were on the bus for many hours. Also the description mentioned a sanctuary but it is essentially a zoo. I am not a big fan of zoo so I wished I would've known that. Read more”

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3.Penguins and Wildlife Full-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.6 · 642 reviews · 10 hours · from $109

Review of Phillip Island’s 10-hour wildlife tour from Melbourne, with koalas, coastal views, Woolamai Beach, and the famous Penguin Parade.

“Our guide Ben was very friendly, funny and informative, making the journey very enjoyable. The koala sanctuary was a great stop, and the Nobbies were stunning - we even saw a few wild penguins there! The penguin parade was a very cool experience; was really special seeing the penguins reunite with each other under the boardwalk. Super pleased with our trip!”

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4.Phillip Island Day Trip from Melbourne with Penguin Plus Viewing Platform

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 383 reviews · from $172

Review of the Phillip Island day trip from Melbourne, with koalas, Nobbies Rocks, Cowes, and Penguin Plus viewing for the famous parade.

“The Penguin viewing is excellent but the visit at Cowes is super boring and nothing to do. It is suggested to include places in the tour which is more interesting and memorable. The tour guide John is very helpful and friendly. He introduced a lots about the places during the tour. Overall, the trip was good.”

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5.Penguins and Wildlife Nature Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.7 · 380 reviews · 12 hours · from $105

See koalas, Tasmanian devils, coastal cliffs, and Phillip Island’s penguins on a full-day wildlife trip from Melbourne.

“We had Gary as our driver/guide and he was awesome! Tonnes of fun facts and info, we didn’t know what to expect but whatever expectations we had were blown away 🫡Thanks for a great day Gary!”

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6.Full-day Melbourne City Sightseeing with Penguin Parade

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 259 reviews · from $157

See Melbourne highlights, Fitzroy Gardens, the Nobbies, and Phillip Island’s penguins on a long but rewarding full-day tour.

“Make sure you dress very warm. It’s very cold there. We had a great experience Definitely recommended!!!”

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7.Phillip Island Penguin Parade Day Trip with Koalas from Melbourne

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 253 reviews · from $111

Review of the Phillip Island Penguin Parade day trip from Melbourne, including koalas, coastal stops, transport, timing, price, and practical tips.

“This was a great experience. Peter, our driver/guide was extremely knowledgeable and even better very personable and helpful to all on the trip. He went above and beyond to help us get a taxi back to our hotel as we were not traveling back to Melbourne with the rest of the group..”

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8.Puffing Billy Railway & Penguin Parade Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 195 reviews · 12 hours · from $145

Ride Puffing Billy, visit The Nobbies, and watch Phillip Island penguins return at sunset on this full-day Melbourne tour.

“amazing, loved all the information the tour guide gave, made the experience all the more special”

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9.Phillip Island and Penguin Parade Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 114 reviews · 11 hours · from $102

Review of the Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour from Melbourne, with Moonlit Sanctuary, beaches, seals, timing, value, and practical tips.

“Where to start? Firstly the driver/guide, who's name we were never told. When we got on the bus and set off, the heaters, which blew air onto passenger's legs was set on full. Although the driver was told about it didn't do anything about it until 45 minutes into the drive, when one of the passengers was almost in tears because her legs were burning. My own wife said that she would leave the tour if it remained like that. The information we got from the driver was delivered so badly that it was difficult to follow. He seemed to be trying to prove that he was a laid back…”

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10.Puffing Billy Train and Penguin Island Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.3 · 40 reviews · 14 hours · from $113

Review of Melbourne’s Puffing Billy and Penguin Island day tour, with itinerary details, value advice, tips, drawbacks, and booking guidance.

“Our tour guide, Evan Wu, was responsible and had a great sense of humor. The whole trip was well-organized and very enjoyable. We watched the amazing penguin parade and rode the exciting and scenic Puffing Billy Railway.”

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11.Puffing Billy and Penguin Parade Day Tour From Melbourne

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 21 reviews · from $162

Review of Melbourne’s Puffing Billy and Penguin Parade tour, with Dandenong Ranges scenery, The Nobbies, timing tips, and honest value advice.

“I’ve booked many tours through Viator before, but this was by far the worst experience I’ve had. Our guide (a Chinese gentleman) spoke mostly in Chinese, and when he did speak English, his accent was very difficult to understand. We also had to constantly remind him that Read more”

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12.Small Tour (8 ppl) Phillip Island Hike & Penguin Parade Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★5.0 · 18 reviews · from $200

Review of Phillip Island’s small-group hike, koalas, Nobbies, and Penguin Parade, with practical advice on price, fitness, meals, and timing.

“A very full day covering several enjoyable experiences culminating with the amazing Penguin Parade. Shane is an excellent and knowledgable guide.”

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13.Puffing Billy Train and Phillip Island Penguin Parade Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.0 · 17 reviews · from $105

Ride Puffing Billy, visit koalas and watch Phillip Island penguins with practical advice on timing, value, language, and what to expect.

“This trip is not suitable for young children. The Puffing Billy Experience is just a train ride - you don't really see anything. Our guide parked up a ridiculously steep hill, no consideration with a toddler. We were promised lunch in our ticket - we Read more”

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14.Brighton Bath Boxes & Puffing Billy & Penguin Parade 1-Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★4.5 · 10 reviews · from $91

Review of Melbourne’s Brighton Bath Boxes, Puffing Billy, Maru Animal Park, Nobbies, and Penguin Parade tour, with honest tips on value and timing.

“Amazing, the best thing was to see the penguins. The train was a nice trip, we will recommend it to my friends.”

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15.Penguin Parade & Phillip Island Scenic Day Tour

★★★★★★★★★★3.9 · 6 reviews · 10 hours · from $84Best value

See Phillip Island’s coast, Brighton Beach, wildlife and the famous Penguin Parade on a value-packed 10-hour trip from Melbourne.

“It was value for money. It was more than a 12-hour trip. went to money places in addition to what was described in my itinerary (probably because my group had too few people and hence we combined with the group that did the steam train). The driver cum guide was very experienced and would tell us where to spot penguins during the parade and we were always the first group to get to any places before the crowds joined in. So Well Done to the driver!”

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