Phillip Island Penguin Parade Express Tour from Melbourne
Description
In just one extraordinary day, experience two of Victoria’s top wildlife attractions: the Nobbies and Seal Rocks, with one of Australia's largest colony of fur seals; and the nightly Penguin Parade, where little penguins pop out of the water and waddle across the beach to their burrows. At the Nobbies and Seal Rocks, the clifftop boardwalk opens up breathtaking views of Phillip Island’s wild south coast, and there are further lookout points among natural sea bird gardens which have spectacular flowering displays in spring. Then witness Victoria’s largest colony of little penguins in the nightly Penguin Parade. As dusk falls, hundreds of little penguins splash out of the water onto the beach, making their way to their burrows. They feed at sea and return to their burrows to mate, care for their young and to moult.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Views of Phillip Island's rugged south coast and home to Australia's largest fur seal colony.
World famous Penguin Parade. Enjoy the brand new visitors centre and learn about the daily lives of the Little Penguins. Take a stroll along the paths and boardwalks trying to spot a Penguin who may have stayed behind from the days fishing and is snuggled up in their burrow. As dusk falls, watch as bands of Penguins come ashore and waddle up Summerland Beach.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Specialized infant seats are available
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
- Photography and video are NOT PERMITTED at the Penguin Parade
- Large bags, strollers, prams, baby capsules, luggage & walkers cannot be brought on board
- This tour returns to Melbourne at approximately 9pm-12am depending on the season
Reviews(194)
Bob was the best tour guide we could have wished for! He shared so much interesting information about Melbourne and the surrounding area, all while keeping us entertained with a few great jokes along the way. Of course, he also knew a lot about the penguins and made the whole experience even more enjoyable. The tour itself was fantastic and very well organized. Seeing the adorable little penguins on Phillip Island was truly unforgettable. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to see the cutest penguins ever!
Thanks so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear that you had such a fantastic experience on our Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour 😊 Seeing the little penguins return home each evening is truly a special and unforgettable wildlife experience, and we’re so pleased that you enjoyed every moment of it. We’re especially grateful for your kind words about Bob. It’s wonderful to hear that his knowledge of Melbourne, the local area, and the penguins, combined with his sense of humour, helped make the day even more enjoyable. We’ll be sure to pass along your lovely feedback to him. Thank you again for travelling with Bunyip Tours and for your recommendation. We hope to welcome you back on another adventure in the future! 🐧✨
Nice trip, Bob is a great guide.
Awesome experience and tour guide Alisha was awesome, pointed out all the wildlife! Penguins were amazing and so many wallabies!
Interesting experience and guide was knowledgeable!
Thank you for your feedback. We’re glad to hear you found the experience interesting and enjoyed your guide’s knowledge throughout the day. Penguin numbers can vary significantly from night to night, as they are wild animals returning naturally from the ocean. Many guests do enjoy the - somewhat expensive - upgraded viewing options for a closer and more premium experience. We also appreciate your comments regarding seating comfort and note that if any guest experiences any issues during their tour, we encourage them to have a chat with their tour guide, who is always prepared to provide assistance. Thanks again for travelling with us!
We had a fantastic trip to Penguin Island, stopped off at Sunderland Beach and The Nobbies before travelling through the nature reserve for the Penguin Parade. David.N was our guide and was fabulous, very attentive, and couldn’t do enough for us, he was extremely knowledgable about the animals we saw and the surrounding countryside, we also saw Wallabies, geese, possums, echidna, as well as the penguins, plenty of photo opportunities, and restroom breaks if you wanted them. The trip was amazing and I would love to do it all again, and would highly recommend, you also get to stay and watch the penguins to 19.15 most bus trips left at 18.30, so you had longer to take it all in and didn’t feel rushed.
Thanks so much for your wonderful review! We’re delighted to hear you had such a fantastic time on our Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour. It’s fantastic to know that David made your day so enjoyable — his knowledge and attentiveness really help make the experience even more memorable. We’re so pleased you enjoyed the variety of stops along the way, the wildlife sightings, and having plenty of time to fully experience the penguin parade without feeling rushed — it sounds like a truly special day. Having experienced Phillip Island with us, we hope you might join us again one day to explore more of what Victoria has to offer. Thanks again for your kind words & very best wishes for your onward adventures.
Our tour guide, Michael, was the star of the show! Such a fun experience- would recommend to anyone!
Really enjoyed walking along the boardwalk and watching the ocean waves crash along the rocks. There was a full moon when we were there so the penguin sightings were minimal. Recommend you check the moon phase before booking this trip. Our guide was very enthusiastic. If you sat on the left side of the bus, you could see a lot of wallabies.
I loved it! You were great and so was your singing.
Cloe was a great tour guide. And the tour itself is fun but during my visit i.e. late February there were hardly any penguins. I was traveling with friends who were locals and they said typically its a minimum of 400 penguins and as high as 32000 in one night. People over at the Milawul island knew about it when I asked the staff over there. I felt cheated that they knew about it and yet sold tickets. They could've just told people not to come or refunded their money.
Thank you for your feedback and for joining our tour. We’re glad to hear you enjoyed the experience and that Cloe helped make the day enjoyable. Penguin numbers at the Penguin Parade vary significantly throughout the year and from night to night, as the penguins return from the ocean in naturally fluctuating groups. While the reserve tracks approximate numbers, these are wildlife sightings and unfortunately cannot be predicted or numbers guaranteed in advance. We understand that seeing fewer penguins than expected can be disappointing and appreciate you sharing your experience.
The experience was 9 hours, 2:45pm - 11:45pm. We spent a total of 1 hour and 20 minutes at the penguin parade. We spent 30 minutes at a beach to watch surfers, 45 minutes at a nice boardwalk and then we scouted the Penguin Parade and were told where to the best seats were for when we enter. And then… we went to a town for dinner! Not the Penguin Parade, but a 1 hour trip so people could enjoy a nice dinner. We brought our dinner as to not miss any time with the penguins. The Penguin Parade facility has restaurants… they could have let those that wanted to spend time with the penguins, visit the center, go to the gift shop, enjoy the actual tour location. Instead we arrived as one of the last tour buses and had to hustle to the viewing area and all the good seats were taken. We were so late… it was so unacceptable. We just didn’t have enough time with the entire reason for the trip! A nice dinner out was more important than the penguins. The only reason the tour gets two stars is the guide was energetic, kind and did a great job outside of the itinerary.
Thank you for your detailed feedback, and we’re sorry to hear the experience did not meet your expectations. We’re pleased to hear you enjoyed your guide’s energy and care throughout the day. Our Penguin Parade Express Tour is designed as a half-day sightseeing experience that includes several Phillip Island highlights before arriving at the Penguin Parade in time for the evening arrival of the penguins. The dinner stop is scheduled prior to the parade as guest feedback on food options at the Penguin Parade venue has historically been very poor. Arrival times at the Penguin Parade are carefully planned around seasonal penguin arrival times and operational access windows. We regret that the timing felt rushed on this occasion and appreciate your feedback, which will be shared with our operations team as we continue refining the experience.
