Phillip Island Penguin Parade Day Trip With Koalas From Melbourne

Excellent tour my tour guide Craig was excellent all day giving great insight into Melbourne and the wildlife on the trip he’s very enthusiastic and loves what he does he made the trip even better The penguins are amazing to see and the koala sanctuary is a nice stop on the way . Thanks to Barry and Craig Massive thanks ,Harry

Not a great guide. Trip was rushed. Pick up time was two hours later than originally scheduled, then the stops were rushed

It was amazing to see all the penguins come out of the water and walk right past where we were sitting. Peter was great. He told us where the best place to sit was and told us stories along the way.

Very nice tour, got to see koalas in the habitat at the reserve, parrots and wallabies. Took you to the coast and got to see the awesome Southern coastline at the Nobbies In the finale at the penguin walk was awesome. Definitely do the plus you get closer to where they come out of the water and go up. The hill. Tour guide was very knowledgeable and very funny, made the day go by quicker. Definitely I recommend

This was such a fun experience. The penguins were so cute and our tour guide Craig was the best, and so knowledgable. He was able to answer all of my questions. I enjoyed the bus ride, we spotted kangaroos, wallaby’s, Phalangeridae, camels, and so many birds, not to mention the koala, and penguins. We saw great views, surfers and got tons of memorable photos. Highly recommend this tour! The bus had wifi and usb charger ports under the seat, and we were able to eat and snack during the ride which was a bonus!

Was a perfect sunny, warm weather day to enjoy the trip which was made all that much better by all of the great cultural insights and trip tips given by our fantastic guide Fiona. She’s probably presented all the information a million times before but still was able to do it all again with the enthusiasm and spirit of sharing it as if it was the first time which it was for everyone onboard…much better than someone sounding robotic and just going through the motions. Fiona also did a great job of organizing everyone to stay on time so all of the itinerary stops were fitted in with a comfortable relaxed manner. At the end of the trip we were left with many memories of the koalas, penguins, wallabies, puggle, and fantastic landscape and water views experienced. And most importantly, Fiona got us all home safe and sound and left us all with a very relaxed, trouble free experience.

We enjoyed the bus trip, but unfortunately was very disappointed with the Penguin viewing. Lucky to see 20

Our guide Fiona was very organised, professional, friendly and full of knowledge. Thank you Fiona for making this trip exceptional, you are a great guide. We started boarded the bus by the Immigration Museum which is so easy to find. It is quite a drive to Phillip Island but well worth it. The coach was comfortable and had free wfi. Fiona explained things on the way (unless we were on the motorway then she couldn't speak). We spent 1 hr at the Koala Conservation area. Plenty of Koalas Wallabies to see. We made a stop at Cape Woolamai Beach, gorgeous, spectactular views. Stopped off at Cowes for 1 hr for lunch, plenty of cafe's, restaurants. The Nobbies Centre is really good. Walking on the boardwalks to see the little penguins under them. Different viewing decks. After that we set off to get in position for the penguin parade. The best viewing areas are sitting on the beach. You can only use cameras until it gets dark then no cameras are allowed but you always have those who don't listen! Taking advice from Fiona, after seeing a few penguins coming up the beach head off back towards the exit, stay left on the boardwalk and you will get a great, close up view of the penguins waddling up to their burrows. It gets really busy in that area. Fantastic day out, thank you Fiona for being so organised and sharing your knowledge with us.

Please make note that Wildlife Tours Australia and Autopia are the same company when meeting to get on the bus. I was waiting there for about 20 minutes while everyone was getting on their tour buses and I asked 2 other operators if the Wildlife Tours bus was coming and they said it should be and to just wait there. Another family also booked the same tour/company and was waiting. It wasn’t until the tour guide for Autopia started naming off our names and told us to get on those buses. Unfortunately that meant I was the last one on the bus in the back row and I get motion sickness. Sadly no one would trade with me though. Thankfully I brought snacks and water, motion sickness patches and Dramamine. I would advise the company to be more clearer for the meet up! Since I was one of the first people waiting, I could have not been in the back of the bus. This tour was great and Phillips Island was beautiful. There weren’t too many penguins sadly. I think I would have preferred a small group of 10 rather than 39 people on one big bus. We couldn’t even hear the tour guide in the back of the bus either.

I wasted my 12 hours for this tour! Such a long drive and saw only less than 10 Penguins. We waited too long on the Grand stand and it wasn’t even a parade of Penguins….so frustrating. One good thing, we had a very knowledgeable Tour Guide. The Italian restaurant was really good plus the Aldi nearby for some snacks.

Weather can be unpredictable! Be prepared with layers. The parade of penguins was less than spectacular. Since this was an end of summer event we had to wait until it was dark to watch the penguins appear. Many hundreds of people, maybe a few hundred penguins scattered along the beach. Koala sightings was were earlier in the trip. Weather rainy & cold, tour company can’t control that, we saw several Koalas. Dinner stop was in town of Cowes. Not too many choices since the town appears to close by 6:pm. Our tour guide was nice however her microphone wasn’t working properly & often what she was saying was hard to understand what she was saying. Still giving it four stars because it was an interesting adventure!

A great day out from Melbourne. Late return, to work with the timing to see the penguins after sun set.

The parts of the tour-seeing the Koalas and the Penguin parade - was great! Spending an hour and a half for dinner in the town was not. This could have been reduced a lot or eliminated- maybe start the tour earlier. On the way back Joel - the driver - offered to drop some people at a different location. He was unwilling to drop me a half km off at my hotel. He also did a poor job on time management. We were always waiting for the same couple people to return to the bus.

Really enjoyable trip to Phillip Island to see koalas and penguins. Our guide Fiona was incredibly helpful and full of top tips about where to go

I went on the phillips island tour 30/11 and had an amazing time. Our guide Lauren was great, super nice, funny and knowledgeble. The bus ride from melbourn was a bit long but made good with addiquent stops. Both the koala reserve and penguin parade was amazing,, although the penguins are the higlight of my trip. A trip to phillip island is a must for any visiting Melbourne.

Craig (and his stuffed Platypus Barry) succeeded in providing an interesting commentary with great facts about the area and wildlife, while keeping a mixed group entertained. Koalas, Penguins, loads of birds and a 2 hour drive in each direction was a very full day, so keeping the group together was a well practiced and professional accomplishment. Recommended.

Went with Craig (tour guide) and Barry (platypus)! Craig was very knowledgeable and a great guide. He early made the trip fun and educational. The locations were spectacular and the Penguin plus is absolutely worth it! Would go again!

It's a wonderful experience! Our tour guide let us in on tips of which route was best for the penguins to be seen, etc. It was a nice cohort and depsite travelling solo, it was nice to be able to chat with other travellers from across the world visiting. We stopped off at locations: the koalas conservation, the beach & drove around the peninsula where wallabies hopped around, & the final destination being the penguin parade. If you want to head home sooner, definitely get back to your tour guide & bus when advised. Take snacks and lunch/dinner with you if you want to save spending, if not there is a restaurant at the penguin parade. You're not allowed to film the penguins with flash light, be mindful of them as they are conserved and protected.

The perfect trip for nature lovers! It was a fabulous day and the highlights were definately the koalas and penguins! Phillip Island is naturally beautiful, however would have liked a little more time to explore “The Nobbies”. Fiona was the guide for the day and she was friendly and knowledgeable!

This day activity was more exciting than the Great ocean road. If you’re a person that doesn’t think like “Journey is better than the destination” then this is for you. Only One and half hour away from the city, you get to see animals at conservation center which also had cool souvenirs (fees from your purchase goes towards raising the koalas and little blue penguins. Must read the tags to see which products) You also get to see some wallaby and geese known to live in the Summerlands. You must! Be very patient if you would like to see the little blue penguins parading at the beach and from their burrows. number 1 rule when visiting the penguins: No photography after sunset and flash as these will damage the eyes of the animals. Consequence is 365 days of blindness for these little guys. I love seeing native animals of Australia and would like to see more of them. We had friendly Vicky as our host , knows a lot about the area and gave us extra time to see the penguins

So much fun and the guide was so sweet! Loved how knowledgeable she was about the animals and sights.

The Penguins at Phillip Island has always been a bucket list for myself and my daughter. I went with my parents as well as they always wanted to see them too. It did not disappoint and we had the best time. Vicki was a,lovely guide and gave us tips on best spots to sit in general viewing area. We got a great spot thanks to her tips. We saw lots of penguins and lots of lovely koalas. Highly recommend Auropia tours

It was an amazing day out highlighting amazing spots of Philip Island and our guide Fiona made the day even better with her sweet tone giving us the little informations about the island! Definetely we will do our next trip again with same Wildlife Tours!

I wish I could remember our tour leaders name cause she did a great job. Very knowledgeable and available to answer questions and point out koalas. My 3rd trip to Penguin Parade and I was disappointed by the masses of tourists. Extremely rude, ignoring the staffs instructions about flash photography. This is such a wonderful place they need to either limit the amount of people coming in and staff adequately so people who violate the rules are asked politely to leave. March was a little late to go since there are fewer penguins. Always opt for the Premier seating area. The tour company did great. My criticism is strictly about the visitors at the Parade.

The penguin parade was missing altogether, yet I was sold a penguin parade tour. We saw two penguins coming out of the water

It was an amazing experience! Everything was on time and just as described on the website. Visiting the koala sanctuary and seeing the penguins was lovely! Highly recommended.

The trip was so much fun! Ethan (our guide) was super friendly and knowledgeable and even though I went alone I felt safe and surrounded by great people. This tour was one of the best things I did in Melbourne and I would definitely recommend it - saw Koalas, Penguins and Wallabies while exploring Melbourne’s beautiful surrounding areas.

Our tour guide Graham was excellent. The tour delivered on seeing penguins, wallabies and other wildlife.

Got to see lots of animals - wallabies, cape barren geese, echidna, koalas, and of course penguins. Graham, our driver/guide, was helpful and had lots of information.

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..

Amazing amazing trip - great gude, fantastic sites, beautiful nature, the animals were such a highlight and I'd recommend to everyone!

We had a great time with a very fun and knowledgeable tour host “Fiona”. We learned a lot and it was a fun day.

Well planned trip with enough time for all activities. We had to rush back from penguin viewing as it was getting late for bus. Since it was summer, penguins came back home after late sunset☹️

This was a really fun experience and so amazing to see the penguins come in! My friend and I had a great time experiencing Australian wildlife and the tour guide/bus driver also gave us lots of interesting information. Thank you for a great tour!

Excellent tour guide/ bus driver Fiona.explanations were great and had great locations. Maximised the tour with her knowledge. Treated everyone as individuals and not cattle.

Nice experience especially during the summer. Dinner time is great. And so loavely to see Koala. Thanks

We were underwhelmed; we must have seen about 100 little penguins in the one hour. The koala sanctuary was OK. Our driver Adrian was perhaps the highlight. It was 4 hours of travel for an average experience. We could have done more exciting stuff in Melbourne perhaps.

I had the best time on this tour, Fiona was an amazing tour guide and had so much good energy, great information and tips about how to see the most penguins - i couldn’t recommend this more !

The penguin parade is so impressive words cannot describe the special moment we got to be a part of. It was magical and definitely suggest the splurge of getting to access to plus area viewing!

Fiona was upbeat, respectful and positive. Fiona shared the beauty of the indigenous people as well as the beauty of the floral and animals. The bus had seating that was too small, which was uncomfortable. It was nice to have Internet access.

Phillip Island was wonderful. Loved the Koala Bear Walk and amazing penguin parade. Our guide, Fiona, went the extra mile and was a brilliant tour guide. An exceptional tour which I thoroughly recommend. A Brilliant day with an exceptionally good and dedicated guide. Top marks to Wildlife Tours.

The driver was very helpful. He was also very entertaining. The bus was nice and clean. The penguins of course were the stars. Highly recommend this tour

This day trip was a main highlight of our trip to Australia. Fiona was our tour guide, and she was wonderful and incredibly thoughtful. She exceeded our expectations, and made this tour even more memorable than it already was. The Koala reserve was beautiful. We got lucky and saw a koala climbing a tree. Most koalas are curled up in a tight ball and sleeping. We also saw swamp wallabies and lots of beautiful birds. The stop at the Nobbies was thankfully brief because it was very windy and cold. There are beautiful lookouts that you only need a few minutes to take some pictures. The main highlight was the penguin parade. We upgraded to the premium viewing seats which gave us a close up viewing of the penguins as they come off of the beach. Bring blankets because it gets cold and windy after the sun sets!

Driver Fiona was great, very cheerful and informative. Fiona pointed out the best was to view the koala, the penguins and the local restaurant options.

Tour guide Ilkay was great, funny and gave a good commentary for parts of the tour. We were a little late leaving as some people couldn’t get themselves to the meeting point on time, but Ilkay did his best to make that time up. Our time at the koala sanctuary was a bit rushed, but was lovely none the less. We were lucky in so much as we saw two little penguins by the side of the road going in to a burrow on our way to the penguin centre, there was lots of other wildlife about though which was nice to see. Unfortunately, there was an electrical storm and after an hour of waiting, we were told it would not be safe for us to be let out to view the penguins, so we somewhat despondently went back to the coach. There was nothing anyone could have done to change things, there was only one boardwalk open and I guess they could not guarantee the safety of everyone. Overall, despite not seeing all the penguins, we had a lovely day.

Very fun tour. The kolas were great to see up close, but the penguins were the stars. Joe gave tips for the best viewing locations.

Well organized tour. Able to see a lit of wildlife. Enough time at each stop to really enjoy Phillip Island. Highle recommend.

Wow what cutie penguins parade together with closer viewing recommend go there before go to phillip island and saw baby koala with mother koala

Great trip lovely drive and to see the koalas and the amazing penguins popping out of the sea to find their burrows was awesome.