Thirteen hours in a mid-size coach from the corner of Flinders St and Market St to the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, with national park fees covered.
In shortThe Full-Day Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles Tour is a 13-hour day trip from central Melbourne in an air-conditioned mid-size coach, with live English commentary from Aussie guides and a free audio guide app. The stops run from the Memorial Archway and Cape Patton to Apollo Bay, Melba Gully, the Twelve Apostles, The Razorback and Loch Ard Gorge, with national park entry fees included and lunch bought at Apollo Bay. It suits budget-minded first-timers who are comfortable with a larger group and a 7.00am start.
13 htour length
from $70per adult
★ 4.7717 reviews
What this great ocean road tour 1 day actually covers
Thirteen hours, one coach, and the coast as far west as Loch Ard Gorge. The vehicle is a comfortable mid-size coach with air conditioning; commentary is live and in English from Aussie guides, and a free audio guide app comes with the ticket. National park entry fees are included. Lunch is not: you buy it during the 40-minute stop at Apollo Bay.
The memorial road runs 242 kilometres from Torquay to Allansford and was built by more than 3,000 returned servicemen between 1919 and 1932. Between Lorne and Apollo Bay it is narrow, winding and slow, which is why a 7.00am departure still means a late return to the city. Most of the 13 hours is time on the road, with roughly four hours spread across the stops listed below. The regional tourism body advises spreading the full route over at least two or three days, so read a single day as the headline sights rather than the whole coast.
Entry to the Twelve Apostles precinct has run on bookings since 16 October 2026, the day the Keerray Woorroong Visitor Centre opened, and the booking covers the car park and the lookouts as well as the centre itself. Tour operators and regional partners can reserve arrival slots up to four months ahead, so the coach arrives at a set time and enters through the coach boom gate on Booringa Road. A booking fee is due to be introduced in April 2027 and its amount has not been set.
Full-Day Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles Tour
Mid-size air-conditioned coach, live commentary, free audio guide app and national park entry fees included. Departure from the corner of Flinders St and Market St at 7.00am, with hotel pickups from 6.45am.
Morning tea stop at The Chocolateries, Bellbrae30 min First break out of Melbourne, 30 minutes at The Chocolateries in Bellbrae. Anything you eat or drink here is your own purchase.
Pole House A glimpse of the holiday house held above the coast on a single column. No stop time is allocated; the coach slows as it passes.
Great Ocean Road Memorial Archway10 min Ten minutes for photographs at the timber arch that marks the start of the memorial road built by returned servicemen between 1919 and 1932.
Cape Patton Lookout Point10 min A roadside lookout on the narrow, winding Lorne to Apollo Bay section, with a long view down the coast. Ten minutes, enough for photos.
Apollo Bay40 min The main meal stop, 40 minutes in the town for lunch at your own cost. Useful to know: many cafes and bakeries along the route shut by 2:30pm, so this is where eating happens.
Melba Gully30 min A guided 30-minute walk on rainforest trails to the Cascades, in the Otways behind the coast. Shoes with grip help after rain.
The Twelve Apostles45 min Forty-five minutes at the precinct on the corner of the Great Ocean Road and Booringa Road, Princetown, about 7 kilometres east of Port Campbell. Wheelchair-accessible trails and viewing platforms, restrooms and a cafe are on site; dogs are not allowed.
The Razorback10 min Ten minutes at the jagged limestone ridge west of the Apostles, worked into shape by the Southern Ocean.
Loch Ard Gorge45 min Forty-five minutes at the gorge named after the clipper Loch Ard, wrecked on Mutton Bird Island in 1878. Beach access reopened in late October 2026 after repair works; access can close again, so follow the signs on the day.
Colac15 min Fifteen-minute comfort stop inland on the way back to Melbourne, with toilets and somewhere to buy a drink.
Photos: ours and the tour operator's
What is included
Included
Live commentary on board
Comfortable mid-size coach
Air-conditioned vehicle
Free audio guide app
National park entry fees
Informative and fun Aussie guides
Not included
Lunch, which you can buy at Apollo Bay
Meeting point, pickup and cancellation
Meeting point: corner of Flinders St and Market St, Melbourne, at 7.00am.
Hotel pickups, waiting outside at the time shown: Base Backpackers, 17 Carlisle Street, St Kilda 6.45am; Immigration Museum, corner of Flinders and Market Street 7.00am; Melbourne Marriott Hotel, corner of Lonsdale and Exhibition Street 7.10am; Space Hotel, corner of Russell and McKenzie Street 7.15am; Radisson Hotel, 380 William Street 7.20am; Anytime Fitness, 282 Queen Street 7.25am; The Savoy Hotel, 630 Little Collins Street 7.30am; Hotel Indigo on Flinders, 575 Flinders Lane 7.35am.
Cancellation: full refund if cancelled at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Ages: child 3-15, adult 16+.
Other 1 day Great Ocean Road tours compared
This page is the cheapest starting price of the five and the largest vehicle. The Small-Group Classic Day Tour runs the same 13 hours with fewer people and morning tea included; the koalas and forest walk option adds wildlife time and morning tea for a little more. The sunset tour stretches to 11-14 hours and reaches the Apostles in late light, which is the land manager's own advice for avoiding the midday crowds. The 12 Apostles, Otways and Great Ocean Road small-group day is the shortest at 12 hours and the most expensive, with more walking in the Otways.
Tour
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Full-Day Great Ocean Road and 12 Apostles Tour (this page)
Departures run from the corner of Flinders St and Market St at 7.00am, from $70 per adult, with national park entry fees included. The operator's page shows the current dates and times.
