Private Great Ocean Road Express Tour (9 Hour Tour)
5
What is Travellers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travellers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travellers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
About
Ages 8-99
Duration: 9h
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: English
More
- Private transportation
- WiFi on board
- All Fees and Taxes
- Your own dedicated Personal driver & Guide
- Complimentary bottled water
- Entry/Admission - The Great Ocean Road
- Entry/Admission - Bells Beach
- Entry/Admission - Great Ocean Road Memorial Archway
- Entry/Admission - Split Point Lighthouse
- Entry/Admission - Devil's Elbow
- Entry/Admission - Cathedral Rocks
- Entry/Admission - Mount Defiance Lookout
- Entry/Admission - Cape Patton Lookout Point
- Entry/Admission - Carisbrook Creek
- Entry/Admission - Kennet River Koala Walk
- Entry/Admission - Carisbrook Waterfall
What's not included- Meals and beverages
- Start:Multiple pickup locations offered.
- 100 Lorimer St, Docklands VIC 3008, AustraliaPlease wait at the designated pick up time, by no later than 7am.
Pickup details- Our default meeting place is outside Eureka Tower Observation Deck - located at 7, Riverside Quay, Southbank 3006 by 7am. If you would like to be picked up directly from your hotel, please contact us in advance of your tour so we can confirm if a direct pick-up is possible. We can pick up from most Melbourne CBD, Docklands and Southbank hotels. We can also pick up from Avalon Domestic Airport. (There are some hotels that we cannot pick up from or they maybe outside of the CBD radius)
Hotel pickup offeredDuring checkout you will be able to select from the list of included hotels.Port pickup offeredDuring checkout you will be able to select from the list of included ports.- Docklands Park, 1-91 Harbour Esplanade, Docklands VIC 3008, Australia
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Not wheelchair accessible
- Near public transportation
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 110512P7- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Most travellers can participate
- Children under 12 years of age are not permitted to travel
- We wish to advise larger groups of 4 or 5, that our luggage capacity is limited, so we recommend 1 x airplane cabin-sized bags per person. For groups of 3 passengers or less, 1 x standard size suitcase & 1 x cabin-sized bag per person is acceptable.
- This experience requires good weather. If it’s cancelled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- All sales are final and incur 100% cancellation penalties.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 110512P7
Revenue impacts the experiences featured on this page, learn more.
Similar experiences
Itinerary
- 1
- 2
- 3Pass byPoint Addis Marine National Park
- 4
- 5
- 6Pass byCumberland River
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- P2730OUlisac0 contributionsDo not missGreat day with James! He did a wonderful job of making this day so special-very informative and efficient-definitely would recommendWritten 11 October 2024
- laiw8030 contributionsA Great Day On The Great Ocean Road With JamesMany thanks to James who took us on the Great Ocean Road trip. James had ensured comprehensive coverage of the scenic spots and peppered the trip with interesting background information along the way. James had also helped to take some of the best pictures for our trip, making our trip in Melbourne a most memorable one! We strongly recommend James' 5-star excellent service! Vincent Lai SingaporeWritten 16 September 2024
- Allan65tel0 contributionsIncredible 2 day tourWe loved this experience. 2 day is certainly the way to go. There is much more to see and do than we expected. We just thought it as a road with pretty views of the sea. Boy were we wrong ! Easy booking experience and James our guide was very accommodating, especially for my wife who needed regular rest room stops. A great 2 days out on the Great Ocean Road.Written 23 May 2024
- SingaporeSusan880 contributionsComprehensive Private TourThe Great Ocean Road is really a must visit. We almost dropped it off our list as one of our group wanted to visit a wildlife park instead. But so glad to choose to take a tour down here. The wildlife is great here as well and feels more natural. Our guide James managed to find a koala in the wild. Now that was an experience, which apparently might not be possible in decades to come due to their dwindling numbers. So sad :(Written 23 November 2023
- V2177JAmarkg0 contributionsGreat tripAs a couple there were so many positives, the driver,accommodation,sights,meals, and the company of fellow passengers, there is no way to put a dollar value on that.Written 18 October 2023
- KenJoe220 contributionsGreat Ocean Road TourWent on the Great Ocean Road Tour today with our guide, Mark. It was an early morning 1 day trip and well worth it. Mark was very knowledgeable and friendly. We really appreciated the history of each location we visited. He was also very precise and detailed about each stop. We appreciated the coffee/tea and snack provided too! We highly recommend, as the coastline is spectacular!Written 29 May 2023
- 644austinr0 contributionsLook no furtherWife and I, 70+ years old, are frequent international travelers and often hire private tour guides. Some work well, some less so. Always looking to research best options. My advice in visiting Great Ocean Rd from Melbourne: your search is over…call/write James. You can see from other reviews all his attributes. What I can add is that our experiences was that even when he can’t give the tour himself he chooses another good guide… and then he, James , worries throughout the tour that all is good even when he’s supposed to be on vacation. In our case, Max filled in for James and was a courteous, attentive, informative, interesting, pleasant driver and guide for our 2-day tour. Together, James and Max teamed up to take care of a last minute hitch that was weather-related… seamlessly. Also, if you can afford the time, I highly recommend the 2-day option to better enjoy, at a more relaxed pace, the beauty and culture of the local stops.Written 25 May 2023
- J6699TZpaular0 contributionsLooking for a fantastic tour, choose Great Ocean Road Tours. We saw wildlife in abundance & incredible natural beauty.My husband & I took the private Great Ocean Road tour with James, it was everything we wanted and more. James was thoroughly knowledgeable, very personable and professional. Being a private tour he gave us options & asked what we were most interested in. I would use the tour company again in a heartbeat.Written 20 May 2023
- closestexit0 contributionsThe high point of my trip to Australia!My friend and I booked a custom 3-day tour that allowed us to experience the Great Ocean Road and Grampians National Park. Our guide James made sure we got to see all the highlights. He was extremely knowledgeable and we learned a lot about the beautiful scenery and trails as well as life in Australia in general. We appreciated the care James took to set expectations when recommending lodging and places for meals which were always excellent. I got to experience many things during my time in Australia but the tour with James was the high point for me. Would highly recommend this company.Written 18 December 2022
- josephineo2650 contributionsWonderful 2 day tour on the great ocean roadWe thoroughly enjoyed our 2 day tour on the great Ocean Road! James is the perfect guide. Having driven on this route so frequently, he was able to provide little nuggets of information throughout the trip. The stops were so well planned, we did not feel rushed and this is how trip should be like. The vehicle is also clean and new. Highly recommended to anyone who would like to take a tour on the Great Ocean Road.Written 7 December 2022
- jx9020 contributionsa very fun and relaxing experience!We did the two day private great ocean road tour with James and it was an absolutely fantastic experience. James was very welcoming, friendly and professional throughout the whole tour, and we felt extremely at ease in his capable hands. We highly recommend this tour if you are looking for a fun and relaxing journey through the great ocean road!Written 21 November 2022
- D260YFdanielg0 contributionsBest experience everWas so happy went on two day tour so we were not rush. Our tour operator James was such a great person with great stories about tour and the country. We got to see the greatest views I have ever seen. Would love to do your againWritten 17 September 2022
- 629valj0 contributionsBucket List - tick tick tickReally top notch tour with Stuart. Initial (detailed) discussion with James as we were quite particular about what we wanted to see. Everything was ticked off our list, plus some places we weren't expecting but equally as beautiful. Magic tour. Perfect for a couple. Must do.Written 17 August 2022
- sailthe77seas0 contributionsBrillWhat a great experience this was. We saw tonnes of wildlife, views were superb. Our guide Stuart was fantastic with our group (different ages) and it was a pleasure to be in his company over the 2 days. We really liked the choice of overnight venue, being Apollo Bay.Written 1 August 2022
- ezpzylemonsqueezey0 contributionsHighly RecommendedWe did this as a shore excursion from Melbourne. We had a full day available as we were trasniting via the spirit of tasmania, so we were able to squeeze in a 12 hour tour. This allowed us to cover much more in one day than if we were to have hired a car from the port and self-driven ourselves. Plus it took a lot of stress out of the day.Written 4 July 2022
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Contribute
Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
We perform checks on reviews.
Tripadvisor’s approach to reviews
Before posting, each Tripadvisor review goes through an automated tracking system, which collects information, answering the following questions: how, what, where and when. If the system detects something that potentially contradicts our community guidelines, the review is not published.
When the system detects a problem, a review may be automatically rejected, sent to the reviewer for validation, or manually reviewed by our team of content specialists, who work 24/7 to maintain the quality of the reviews on our site.
Our team checks each review posted on the site disputed by our community as not meeting our community guidelines.
Learn more about our review moderation.
5.0
3 reviews
Excellent
3
Very good
0
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0
Jeffry b
Essendon, Australia13,734 contributions
Dec 2020
The Great Ocean Road is not all that far from Melbourne and if you get a wriggle on 9 hours is plenty of time to see it. The two main features are the 12 Apostles and the Loch Ard Gorge, which are not very far apart. The roiling waters of stormy Bass Strait batter the coast unceasingly, see it while you can
Written 27 December 2020
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Andres Rodriguez
Costa De Los Pinos, Spain25 contributions
Aug 2019
We were determined to see the great ocean road, even if we didn’t really have enough time to see it all. So we choose this half day tour option. It’s worth mentioning though, that this tour does not stop at the 12 aspotles - although they do make this abundantly clear when you go to book. Kudos to them for that.
Still, we got to see the main coastal section of the great ocean road and many other things to boot :
Bells beach - amazing surfing beach. Saw almost 50 surfers!
Kangaroos in the wild - our first roo sighting, very special
Morning tea - homemade scones and tea at a tiny local cafe
Lighthouse visit - amazing views
Memorial site - where they first started building the road. Great for photos.
Lorne - super cute town
Museum - sounds boring but actually very interesting with short history of the road
Teddy’s - great lookout point over the road and out to sea
Waterfall - sorry I can’t remember the name but it was a stunning walk to the falls
Koala walk - managed to see a few koalas in the wild. Pretty cool.
Hand fed wild parrots - bit scary at first, but once you realise they don’t bite it’s ok lol
Lookout over Apollo bay - sorry I don’t know the name.
We had a look around Apollo Bay, had quick lunch and then headed back inland. Was quite interesting to drive through the forest and some of the local farming region. They’ve had heaps of rain, I guess as it winter so everything is lush and green. Fortunately it only rained for a short period during our tour. Best to bring a rain coat just incase.
If you are super short on time, this is a great tour. I would have loved to have go all the way to the end. Maybe next time when I have more time.
Still, we got to see the main coastal section of the great ocean road and many other things to boot :
Bells beach - amazing surfing beach. Saw almost 50 surfers!
Kangaroos in the wild - our first roo sighting, very special
Morning tea - homemade scones and tea at a tiny local cafe
Lighthouse visit - amazing views
Memorial site - where they first started building the road. Great for photos.
Lorne - super cute town
Museum - sounds boring but actually very interesting with short history of the road
Teddy’s - great lookout point over the road and out to sea
Waterfall - sorry I can’t remember the name but it was a stunning walk to the falls
Koala walk - managed to see a few koalas in the wild. Pretty cool.
Hand fed wild parrots - bit scary at first, but once you realise they don’t bite it’s ok lol
Lookout over Apollo bay - sorry I don’t know the name.
We had a look around Apollo Bay, had quick lunch and then headed back inland. Was quite interesting to drive through the forest and some of the local farming region. They’ve had heaps of rain, I guess as it winter so everything is lush and green. Fortunately it only rained for a short period during our tour. Best to bring a rain coat just incase.
If you are super short on time, this is a great tour. I would have loved to have go all the way to the end. Maybe next time when I have more time.
Written 23 August 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Frank v
1 contribution
Sept 2019 • Couples
We had a wonderfull time! James was very friendly and professional. The car was very luxueus and clean.
Written 30 September 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
No questions have been asked about this experience
Buy it with
Top rated
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.