One Day in Melbourne - City Sightseeing or Great Ocean Road?

[GrayFal]

I will only have one day in Melbourne (on a cruise) and have to decide what to do - see the city or do the day trip outlined below. I will be spending 3 days post cruise in Sydney so will have a "city" experience then.

Wanted to hear from others that are familiar with the area to get your opinions.
At this point, I am leaning towards the tour but would hate to miss something wonderful in the city.

TIA

"All our drivers are "Tour Guides" as well. They give running commentaryback to Melbourne by 4:30 pm.
along the travel.
This tour takes you through Geelong city and we take the "Inland Route"
stopping at Colac city for tea break (at your own expense), driving through
Colac valley we join the Great Ocean Road at Port Campbell. Driving along
the coastline we stop at Loc Ard Gorge for 30 minutes for the sightseeing
and then travel to The 12 Apostles where we stop for 30 minutes. From there
we travel along the Great Ocean Road, driving through the rain forests and
stopping at The Laver's Hill for lunch which is included in the price of the
tour. After lunch we travel through the forests again and join the Princes
Highway at Colac and travel back to Melbourne.

Pick up at cruise terminal 7:45 - 8:00 a.m and
drop back to Melbourne cruise ship terminal by 4:30 pm."


"Included Highlights:

Travel through the Winchelsea and the Colac Otway Shire to the inland city of Colac
Pass through the pretty town of Port Campbell
Enjoy some spectacular scenery along the Great Ocean Road
Visit Loch Ard Gorge, Razorback and Island Arch
See the fascinating Twelve Apostles at Port Campbell National Park and walk to the lookouts
Drive through the beautiful rainforest of the Great Otway National Park
FREE restaurant lunch included
Excellent photo opportunities
Listen to some of the amazing stories of the Ship Wreck Coast
Arrive back in Melbourne in the afternoon – approximately 4:30pm"

 

[colamedia]

That tour you miss a good chunk of the Big Sur type coastline (it's the coast near Geelong) but you get to see the iconic spots towards the end of the Great Ocean Road. I'd still recommend the tour, with the understanding you're not seeing all of the Great Ocean Road, and part of the amazing thing about the Great Ocean Road is the contrast from the start to the big bits. The entire Great Ocean Road is 243km/150miles and your tour covers about 45km/30miles of it.

Melbourne is a lovely city, but you're doing Sydney - Sydney is very different to Melbourne, but I don't know if a tour around Melbourne you would really get a feel for it, and your timeframe of when you need to be back limits what you can do independantly. Doing the Great Ocean Rd tour you will still be driving through quite a bit of suburban Melbourne, though not the usual tourist areas

 

[LisaH]

That tour you miss a good chunk of the Big Sur type coastline (it's the coast near Geelong) but you get to see the iconic spots towards the end of the Great Ocean Road. I'd still recommend the tour, with the understanding you're not seeing all of the Great Ocean Road, and part of the amazing thing about the Great Ocean Road is the contrast from the start to the big bits. The entire Great Ocean Road is 243km/150miles and your tour covers about 45km/30miles of it.

Melbourne is a lovely city, but you're doing Sydney - Sydney is very different to Melbourne, but I don't know if a tour around Melbourne you would really get a feel for it, and your timeframe of when you need to be back limits what you can do independantly. Doing the Great Ocean Rd tour you will still be driving through quite a bit of suburban Melbourne, though not the usual tourist areas

I'm confused. Where does the Great Ocean Road begin and end? From a Google search, the total distance from Melbourne to Port Campbell where 12 Apostles is located is 278 Km. Which of it is the 45km/30 miles you said that the tour covers?

 

[colamedia]

The Great Ocean Road doesn't start in Melbourne, it starts in Torquay and goes to near Allansford.
I didn't say what the tour covered, the tour blurb that GrayFal posted said Port Campbell to Lavers Hill, the rest of it is all inland via Colac, not on the Great Ocean Road.

The spectacular scenery on the Great Ocean Road is the start of it, all windy, hilly, coastal road like Big Sur, it's stunning. The driving near the Twelve Apostles is actually very flat and straight, pretty boring, but when you stop and go look at the Twelve Apostles etc, it is worth it.

 

[GrayFal]

Thanks for your reply. Most day tours are 12+ hours and have more coastal time/route. Because of our time constraint, this is an abbreviated tour that goes part of the way inland to save driving time.
I would rather see some (and the highlights) of the road then none and am sure I will enjoy the rain forests as well.

 

[LisaH]

The Great Ocean Road doesn't start in Melbourne, it starts in Torquay and goes to near Allansford.
I didn't say what the tour covered, the tour blurb that GrayFal posted said Port Campbell to Lavers Hill, the rest of it is all inland via Colac, not on the Great Ocean Road.

The spectacular scenery on the Great Ocean Road is the start of it, all windy, hilly, coastal road like Big Sur, it's stunning. The driving near the Twelve Apostles is actually very flat and straight, pretty boring, but when you stop and go look at the Twelve Apostles etc, it is worth it.

Thank you! That was very helpful.

 

[Antonio 8069]

City of Melbourne

Since you only have a day, forget about the Great Ocean Road. Its a big country. Too much driving!
MEL was recently voted the most livable city in the world (beating our YVR!). Also, take public transit (great trams) & forget about the sightseeing tours)
Check out:
+ Royal Botanic Gardens (http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/)
+ Eureka Skydeck (88 stories, incredible views);
+ Flinders Street walking tour/art deco architecture ;
+ wrap up with stroll/dinner in Fitzroy neighbourhood.
Enjoy!

 

[CatLovers]

Have to agree with Antonio

You're going to spend your entire day in a bus if you do the Great Ocean Road!!

Last August we spent a few days in Melbourne (as part of a longer trip in Australia) and I found Melbourne to be a charming enjoyable city. They have free Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle that tours the entire city with hop-on/hop-off privileges. They also have a free circle tram that runs a slightly different route. We stopped off at the Melbourne Cricket Grounds, the Arts Precinct, Federation Square, Queen Victoria Market, and the Docklands. If I recall correctly, the shuttle also stops at the Royal Botanical Gardens. With a good guide book we spent two very pleasant days touring the entire city. Google the Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle and you'll get a lot of information. If you have time, the Melbourne Gaol is also worth a visit; the displays are very well interpreted and this is where the legendary Ned Kelly was also imprisoned.

Plus Melbourne is known for its culinary scene - fusion and eclectic.

We also drove out to Phillip Island one day, visited the attractions, and stayed late to watch the little penguins return to their burrows after dusk. We were on a secluded beach and we each had infra-red goggles to see these gorgeous animals. But if you need to make it back to a cruise ship, this will probably not be do-able.

Any way ... my advice is to give the Great Ocean Road a skip. There's more than enough in Melbourne to keep you occupied for one day.