Disclaimer : I didn’t go on this tour. I booked it for my friends. But they haven’t stopped raving about it since. Proclaimed to be the ‘best part of their holiday in Australia’. I will definitely choose this company again in the future. I have done the great ocean road many times so I don’t really want to take people down there every time friends visit me from abroad. So great to have a company on hand to use. And bonus that the are gay friendly as a I have a lot of LGBTQ adversaries.

So we arrrived in Melbourne, like we normally do, with nothing booked, just a clear 2 weeks in our diary. That’s how we like to travel and everything always seems to work out. Except this time. There were no cars we could hire in Melbourne - the only car hire place left was charging exorbitant amount, almost akin to buying a new car outright. So we had to look at tour companies instead. We normally give these a wide berth. Not really ‘our thing’. But….based on all internet search algorithms of ‘tours’ and ‘gay bars’ and ‘Grampians National Park’ Google seemed to match us with a company called VIC Rainbow Tours. My partner called it fate. I called it selective marketing. Anyhow, a quick phone call set us on a path to booking a tour. A local friend of ours had also used their services before, so we knew we were in good hands. James was quick to point out that his specialist area was really the Great Ocean Road but he would happily take us on a custom made tour. It was quite refreshing to have someone actually declare, that where we wanted to go, wasn’t their main area of expertise, but this honesty ultimately led us to finally booking. And really, his knowledge of Grampians National Park was second to none it has to be said. He knew all the good lookouts, the time and effort needed for certain walks. He recommended a great place to stay and took us to a cracking restaurant which he had pre-booked in advance (they were turning people away at the door). He also had some good suggestions for dayselford in terms of boutique shops, cafes and a wonderful walk around lake Daysleford. Ballarat took our own direction, as we were keen to see sovereign hill and stop off to see some long lost friends for a quick brunch.

We have visited Melbourne before but never really discovered the centre of Melbourne. So we employed the services of VIC rainbow tours to do a walking tour. Easy to organise. James picked us up from our city centre hotel. Easy going. Nice pace. Not too much LGBT influenced content, but some interesting landmarks which we would have just wondered past on our own.

Phillip island is a destination we have been trying to get to for many years. Finally we made it. Surprised to find a gay friendly operator taking tourists out to this region. Very welcome indeed. The Penguin Parade was a stand out and worth the effort to get down there. Just a warning though, the Penguin parade finishes late (based on sunset times) so we didn’t get back to our Melbourne hotel until gone midnight.

We weren’t sure which tour to choose at first, but after discussions with James via email (thanks for answering all those questions!) we decided to go for the 2 day. So glad we choose this one. The 1 day tour would have just been too long in the car, as there is just an incredible amount of kilometres you need to cover, in order to get from Melbourne to the end of the great ocean road (which is basically the 12 Apostles). And I fell in love with Apollo bay (our overnight stop). Thanks James, it was a special experience for us both.

A friend put us onto this company. We would never have found them otherwise. Nice relaxed tour and we saw some pretty special stuff over the course of the day. I’m normally a pretty hectic person, rushing from one place to another, but I immediately felt tranquility on the island, especially at the bird hide, while we just sat and watched black swans and their chicks gliding up and down peacefully, and then later, wild wallabies frolicking in their natural habitat. Thee were many other beautiful spots we visited on the island. Sometimes it’s not until you are forced to stop, you suddenly realise we take certain things for granted.

Wow! This is a mammoth tour, be warned, there is a fair bit of driving, especially on day 2 as the Great Ocean Road leg is very long. You can counteract this by doing the same tour over 3 days which might cut your driving down. But this would have pushed up the price so we opted for the shorter 2 day option. There were so many great parts to this trip I wouldn’t know where to begin. Our guide James was great. He was so well organised wherever we went, as especially on Philip island, we required ticket entry to everywhere, but he had already pre-booked everything so we skipped the queue wherever we went. He advised us a few weeks before booking to upgrade our Penguin parade ticket, which he did for us. Such a good move, as it gained us entry into a limited entry area. Really great! And the Great Ocean Road is just mind blowing , but perhaps best done by staying overnight along the road. As mentioned, it was an option we did consider but didn’t go for in the end.

Was relaxing and worry-free in regards to the trip. James was very responsive and friendly. One of the best getaways I have had in a while!

If you are looking to take a gay tour of Melbourne or the outer reaches of the city, vic rainbow tours are probably you’re go-to guys. I searched and searched online and I kept on coming back to them. So I ended up booking my partner and I onto a one day tour to Phillip island. James was my guide, and he was a great ambassador for the area. He knew all the hidden spots and we managed to really connect with the wildlife in some pretty special and remote parts of the island, away from the larger groups. The highlight was the Penguin parade. There is an incredible array of options to choose from at the penguin parade. So many ticket types it’s mind boggling at times . We left it in their capable hands and I was amazed at the difference of our ticket (which included an underground bunker where we stayed warm and dry) compared to other people’s ticket - who looked cold, wet and miserable (they didn’t have the fortune of a cover over their heads). All in all, a great day out. Thank you for a brilliant time, Dan & luke.

I had the pleasure of touring the Great Ocean Road earlier this year for the first time with James. I hadn’t been before, but James was very knowledgeable of the area, a safe driver, and great company too. I am quite tall, but the car itself was very comfortable which was pretty important as it turns out the road itself is incredibly winding and curvy. If you are looking at touring across Victoria for a reasonable and fair price, I couldn’t recommend James enough. :)

We have visited Melbourne a fair few years back for a friends 50th but never really got the chance to explore. Partly because of not having much time but also because we weren’t really sure what to see and do. This tour alleviates that problem by giving a great broad introduction of the city. It’s quite fast pace (so make sure you have a comfy pair of trainers) as there’s lots to explore and a lot of the things that were pointed out to us, we went back to over the next few days. I liked the fact that the tour was led by a gay friendly guide, which put us at ease, but also that some of the cities gay history was incorporated into the tour as well. I didn’t have time to go on any of their other tours outside of the city centre, but if we came back to Melbourne I would certainly consider one of their overnight tours.

We had a fantastic time, with James sharing amazing knowledge on the trip. He even took us to a personal favourite of his for breakfast - Waves the pancake place in Apollo Bay. Awesome Highly recommend this tour.

We took a walking tour with VIC rainbow tours, the day we arrived into Melbourne. We have been to Melbourne before but pretty much walked around aimlessly and mainly stuck to the shopping malls - we do love to shop! This walking tour was well thought out and gave us a better knowledge of getting around the city. We stopped at landmarks we would otherwise have just walked past, and being a LGBT guide, James gave it the slant that we were looking for. We also took a trip with him down the great ocean road - that’s certainly not to be misse.

Our friends used Vic rainbow tours on their last visit to Australia, so we were super happy to have a contact of a good guide. We didn’t know much about Phillip island, but it’s a beautiful spot. James took us to all four corners of the island. The attractions we visited were all part of the inclusive tour cost (and they were not cheap) so we felt we got good value for money. But the true value were the bits in between, where we were whisked from isolated beach to deserted lakes and to isolated walking tracks. That was the true beauty of having a private guide who knows where he is going. Even if we had of done our research (which my partner prides himself upon) we would never have found some of those locations in a million years. Some were on private land, but most were down deserted dusty side roads where nobody else seemed to venture. Their loss. Our gain!

We travelled Australia on a 2 week Australia and New Zealand cruise. Most of our excursions were pre-booked via our cruise company, but we were recommended vic rainbow tours by friends of our who live in Sydney - so we booked this separately. We didn’t expect to find a gay tour company, but glad we did. We felt totally comfortable, and had a lot more in common with our guide James, than some of the other guides that we had on previous tours around the 2 islands. We loved Melbourne and are already looking at the possibility of returning in a few years. It would be next year, but to be honest we are very concerned with this covid19. Just very happy we took our cruise and managed to get around these places before it went into lockdown.