Phillip Island Penguin Parade Day Tour From Melbourne

We were lucky enough to have Zoe as our guide on her very first day!!! Until she told us, I would have thought she’s been doing this for years. She is so great, points out all of the animals and talks about all of the history. This is a highly recommended company! And try to get Zoe if you can!!! 🤍

What an awesome day!!! I did the koala encounter at Moonlit which was amazing. The Nobbies were so beautiful. The penguin parade plus ticket was worth every penny. Saw hundreds of penguins emerge and make their way up the beach and to their nests. Our guide Jacqui was fantastic. She was informative, full of energy, and just so fun all day. I would recommend this tour to anyone.

Super organized and well run excursions! We did the Great Ocean Road and Phillip Island full day tours with the free City tour. We loved all 3 days and would highly recommend Go West for these tours! They had the best photo opportunities and tips to make our days run smoothly! Jacques, Zoe, Lucy and Sherif were amazing storytellers and drivers. We learned and saw so much of Melbourne!

We had a great experience traveling with Simon on the Penguin parade day tour. He was a fabulous guide and made the time on the bus very interesting and memorable. I would ask for him as your guide if you are considering booking this trip. Enjoy.

Peter our guide was excellent . It was a long day so be prepared to leave before noon and return at midnight . Magnificent wild beaches , great to see the penguins coming out of the surf . Could have done without the wildlife park, sort of sad . All in all , well worth it .

After a whole day doing this tour you will ask yourself "I really paid money for this?" The actual star of the show (the penguin parade) is the biggest racket I have ever encountered. They cram 2000 people in the bleachers at $35 a pop and call it conservation. I call it a money making scheme. If they really cared about the penguins they would fence off the entire area and leave them alone.

This ended up being one of my favourite experiences in Melbourne. Rhys was an excellent guide; he shared lots of interesting little tidbits of information throughout the day which made some of the more monotonous parts of the journey fly by. The Brighton beach boxes were the first stop and probably not somewhere I would have thought to visit on my own; great spot for photos! The Moonlit Sanctuary allowed us to see koalas, kangaroos, and so many unique Australian animals up close. The Penguin Parade was the perfect way to end the day. But be warned: you can't take photos to protect the little ones, but it honestly makes you appreciate the experience even more. I'd recommend this tour to anyone visiting Melbourne, especially if you're an animal lover.

Had a lovely day seeing wildlife and driving through Melbourne and to Phillip Island, with really good drive-bys and stops. Tom, our guide, was awesome - very informative, kind, and kept us on schedule. Would absolutely recommend to anyone travelling to Melbourne!

Peter our guide was very informative, helpful and would happily recommend this tour

Overall, our tour was a 10/10 experience despite the windy weather! Our guide, Robbo, was incredibly knowledgeable and coordinated the entire itinerary really well. We managed to visit every stop as planned and had a smooth, enjoyable trip from start to finish. We would highly recommend this tour to anyone looking for a great experience!

The sanctuary was incredible. Being up close to the animals was amazing! The Penguin Parade was incredibly cool. Even though it rained it was still amazing and those little guys were so adorable! Peter our guide was hilarious, organized and kept us on schedule despite some hiccups. Highly recommend this tour!

The tour was a wonderful experience. Our guide Sherif was very friendly and knowledgeable. The stop at Moonlit was fun and his tips for the penguin parade were very helpful.

Before our 2 weeks cruise begin in Sydney, We were thinking to visit Melbourne specifically for Penguin’s Parade. I choose this tour because of reviews hoping to get the best experience. Starting by got pick up late (last guest to be pick up). The van at 100% capacity, so my husband sat by the driver and I sat on 2nd row at the back. I do lotts of tours, and we always sit together. Its hard to enjoy the journey n sit by yourself while others can talk and enjoy the trip wt their family/friends. Why not the company anticipates people that booked the tour together.. At least sit close by each other? Its 12 hrs tour. And the Penguin’s Parade also got canceled because of thunderstorms. That one, I don’t blame anyone because its nature.. Nothing I or company can do. But, overall, I don’t have the experience that we’re looking forward too. The tour guide is very nice and informative. He explain everything clearly. If not for the nice tour guide, I would’ve put 1 star.

I recently joined the Go West one-day tour to Phillip Island to see the penguins, and it was an absolute highlight of my trip. Our guide, Jacqui, was outstanding — professional, attentive, and genuinely caring throughout the entire day. She looked after every participant with great care, made sure everyone was comfortable, and even took wonderful photos for us (her photography skills are excellent!). Along the way, Jacqui shared many interesting little stories that brought the places to life and added so much enjoyment to the journey. Her passion for her work and her thoughtful attention to detail made the whole experience warm, fun, and memorable. At each stop, she also clearly explained the important things we needed to know, which helped everything run smoothly and stress-free. Highly recommend this tour, especially if you get Jacqui as your guide. Thank you for a fantastic day!

The Penguin Parade Plus at Phillip Island was undoubtedly one of the most magical and unforgettable highlights of our Melbourne trip! Watching hundreds of adorable little penguins emerge from the ocean at sunset, waddle across the beach and make their way back to their burrows was an extraordinary spectacle of nature. Their tiny footsteps, amusing personalities and determined little marches were absolutely heart-melting! It was fascinating to witness these incredible creatures in their natural habitat, completely undisturbed and going about their nightly routines. Upgrading to Penguins Plus was absolutely worth it! The premium viewing area offered a fantastic vantage point, allowing us to observe the penguins remarkably close as they returned from their adventures at sea. The intimate setting made the whole experience feel even more special, and the opportunity to watch them interact, socialise and navigate their way home was simply priceless. The beautifully maintained boardwalks also provided wonderful opportunities to spot penguins up close as they waddled towards their burrows. The entire experience was well organised, educational and thoughtfully designed with wildlife conservation in mind. What made this experience truly exceptional was the perfect combination of breathtaking coastal scenery, adorable wildlife and the sheer wonder of witnessing nature unfold right before our eyes. It was both entertaining and surprisingly moving, reminding us how precious these little creatures and their natural environment are. A massive congratulations to Phillip Island Nature Parks for creating such a memorable and conservation-focused experience! If you’re visiting Melbourne, the Penguin Parade is an absolute must, and I would wholeheartedly recommend upgrading to Penguins Plus. Worth every dollar, every minute and every adorable little penguin waddle!

Generally, the iternary was good however a bit rush. To cater for bigger bus as it was too squeeze especially the journeries were long for each location.

Good Trip Good Tour Alisha is the good leader , so nice

Nice sightseeing, good tour guide from Jacqui

Fantastic day out, good mix of stops throughout the day and not rushed. Would highly recommend.

Simon our guide was excellent! Was incredibly friendly, and had great knowledge of the area and of what to look for at each stop. Could not have wished for a better guide, and would thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone else.

We had a wonderful day with Jai as our host. He was a perfect host! He met us at our stop and greeted us by name, amazing! He then remembered it all day. That is a talent! He was informative and more than helpful making sure we were taken care of with little things. He kept things on time and still gave us a perfect day. I would recommend this tour and Jai as host.

Jai was our guide and he was phenomenal in so many ways. He tried and was pretty darn successful in memorizing all of our names which made it so personal. He had great stories and good information to share everywhere we went. He was an efficient and safe driver, was very interesting, knowledgeable, friendly, helpful, and considerate in every way. We are both 70 years old and had a little bit of hesitation to walk down the streets of Melbourne at 11:30 p.m. but even without knowing that, he kindly offered to drop us off much closer to our hotel than that of our pickup. I liked that he always looked out for all of us and made himself visible every time we had to return to the bus. He had a great speaking voice and was easy to understand. He was the best guide we've had so far. Thank you, Jai, for a memorable day. Best wishes to you and your family.

Great experience!!! We learned so many things about the city of Melbourne, indigenous people and wildlife. Our guide Jacqui was the best!

We had an amazing day with Lucy as our tour guide - multiple stops with lots of information and fun insights about Melbourne, Australia and especially all the animals Australia has. Lucy made it incredibly fun and entertaining! We enjoyed seeing the Kangaroos in the sanctuary and the great work they are doing, as well as the Penguins in the wild! Highly highly recommend if you are interested in Wildlife and just having a fun day out :)

We had a fantastic experience on Go West’s Phillip Island Penguin Parade Small Group Eco Tour. Our guides, Jono and Zoe, were brilliant—friendly, funny, and very knowledgeable. They explained everything so well throughout the day and made a real effort to point out wildlife and share detailed facts along the way. We loved seeing the Brighton Beach Boxes, feeding kangaroos at Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park, enjoying the beautiful ocean views at The Nobbies, and finishing with the unforgettable Penguin Parade. Highly recommend this tour, especially with Jono and Zoe!

We arrived into Melbourne 28 hrs later than planned due to flight issues on the way to Australia- but even with severe jet lag Sherif made this tour extra special! The beautiful scenery is hard to put into words, the animals at the sanctuary steal your heart, and the penguin parade tops off the night as the star of the show (Sherif gives you GREAT advice on how to have the best experience here). 100% recommend. This has to be one of the best value experiences you can get. Highly highly recommend booking this tour and if you are lucky enough to get Sherif ask him to play his instrument for you : )

This was a great adventure for us. Interesting sights throughout the day and the Penquin parade blew is away. Rhys from Go West Tours was a splendid toursguide. Stories, foto/selfies, Music and great seance of humor. He did it all. We give him 6 ❤️

i had a great experience on this day tour. Jools is especially fun, knowledgeable, and very nice. we got to go on a special excursion that wasn’t on the original itinerary. the fee for the entire day is reasonable.

What a super fun day!! Our guide, Richard, went out of his way to make it pleasurable for everyone. Provided us a lot of fun facts throughout the day. The penguins are a must see. I highly recommend the Plus ticket to get great views of the penguins. The little tuxedo creatures were mesmerizing. Watching them aemerge from the water, scamper across the beach and waddle their way to their burrows. I also recommend the small group!

It was just as such nice experience beautiful the only thing it’s a little bit long but I enjoy everything because of What we see it’s just a very beautiful trip.

I recently completed my first holiday to Melbourne and booked the Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour with Go West Tours. While the penguins themselves were fantastic and The Nobbies was the highlight, the tour operator was not good. The seating on the bus was cramped with nowhere to put bags. The tour started just before 2pm so wasted half a day. The pick up point was nowhere near my accommodation. Facilities seemed to be limited with finding a toilet an issue. The first place of any interest that we stopped at was The Nobbies, but we were given only half an hour to explore. When we got to the Penguin Parade we were told where to go to buy our dinner, but places had run out of food.

I went on a small‑group day tour organised by Go West today. Our guides were Lucy and Demi. Lucy and Demi were very professional and told us lots of interesting stories. They did an amazing job and this tour fully deserves five‑star rating! The little penguins at night were absolutely adorable. If you love animals, you definitely should not miss this experience.

Great trip, an excellent guide, thank you Mike!!

We were so happy with Mark K as our guide. He was prompt with picking us up at our hotel and very friendly from the start. He was a great driver as well, we felt safe. Mark was knowledgeable and got off the bus with us and walked around the various stops with us giving us information and fun facts about the stop. We stopped at Brighton Beach, Moonlit Sanctuary Cape Woolamai Beach and The Nobbies on our way to the Penguin Parade. Only thing is we wish we knew we could upgrade the viewing area at the Penguin Parade sooner, by the time we got to the ticket counter it had just sold out. With Mark’s recommendation we did go over to the penguin “super highway” and were able to see a lot of penguins, it was really great! If you have an opportunity to do this tour we would definitely recommend it and hope you are lucky enough to get Mark K.

Great trip! Simon was an amazing guide. Really helpful, funny, and full of great tips. The smaller group was also a big plus. Brighton Beach was cool, and we learned lots of interesting things along the way. Wildlife park was also nice and we had lunch there. The penguins were definitely a highlight! Just keep in mind that no photos or videos are allowed during the penguin experience because they’re very sensitive to it. Highly recommend.

Had a fun day with our group and your guide. The penguin parade was my favorite! I was able to engage with a little penguin on the walkway! Such a cutie to see up close!

A fantastic experience. What made it even better was our guide, Aleks; he was helpful, friendly, and attentive to the multilingual group, speaking English that was very easy for everyone to understand. I highly recommend this adventure, which showed us the local wildlife, the stunning scenery and beaches of Phillip Island, and the Penguin Parade. Thank you so much, Aleks.

Such a great trip, Aleks was very informative. The itinerary was very well thought out.

We had a wonderful experience on the tour! We saw over a 100 penguins (which was definitely the highlight) but we also had some nice stops during the day where we learned more about Australian animals and Melbourne. Sherif was an exceptional guide and really went above and beyond to make it a good experience; he had a lot of things to teach us and had a great sense of humor.

The tour and the whole day was awesome but it wouldn’t have been so good without our super awesome guide Jaqui. She was so caring and funny that we will remember her forever. Thank you Jaqui for being so cute!

Great tour with Go West Tours, Alek very accommodating and informative.

Great tour! Was so much better than I thought it would be! Aleks our tour guide was so good- very informative and well organised. The day just flowed with the right amount of time at each venue! Definitely worth doing the upgrade to see the penguins ! And Alek having the coloured lights on the front of the bus, so we could easily find was smart!

The guide Cloe was great, worth the time.

My wife and I had a fantastic tour with Jaimes! We were picked up at our hotel promptly on time, and were instantly greeted with kindness and enthusiasm. Jaimes did a wonderful job narrating as we went from place to place, provided excellent tips on how to get the most out of each stop along the way (including the very best viewing spots for the Penguin Parade), and he even gave us great recommendations for how to spend our next day in Melbourne. The Moonlit Sanctuary in particular was a highlight for us. We had plenty of time there to feed kangaroos, wallabies, and even pet a koala!

From the time Mark K and Wayne(the wombat) picked us up, we were welcomed and included in the experience. While the drive across the day was long, Mark gave us perfectly timed narrative and a history lesson, explaining Victorian specific issues so well. There were multiple stops to walk and look/ enjoy nature. We loved the ranger show at moonlit sanctuary…and the penguin parade is the highlight. The only slight negative is that the parade is super busy and by the time the tour made it there ( more than 1 hr prior to the parade) most seats were taken. But the penguins did not disappoint - and made the travel so worthwhile. It is a long day of travelling, and snacks/waterbottle are needed, as there are limited options to purchase snacks across the day. We had a full bus and so there was no storage for bags except under your seat…pack light! Thanks Mark ( and Wayne) for making the day a special one.

Great day- Mark was our tour guide and he was knowledgeable and efficient. Great lookout points and the penguins are adorable.

I had the privilege of being guided by our tour guide Aleks. She gave us a great experience, she gave great knowledge of where we were or what we were seeing. And also she had great tunes during the long drive back.

Jess has bees so knowledgeable about the area, safe at driving, entry story teller. Very cool the day was gone in no time

Travis was an absolute wonderful Driver and Tour Guide. It was a tour of a lifetime. My wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Travis could not have been nicer, or more knowledgeable. But, in the future, very young babies should not be allowed on the tour bus. When they’re crying, it’s very hard to hear the Guide’s information. . At the very least, we should be made aware of a baby on board.