Port Campbell National Park
Port Campbell National Park
5
About
The wild Southern Ocean has carved the Port Campbell National Park coastline into formations that are famous the world over - and earned it the nickname of the Shipwreck Coast. Drive the Great Ocean Road and see London Bridge, The Grotto, Loch Ard Gorge and the unmissable Twelve Apostles. The best way to see Port Campbell National Park is to take the Great Ocean Road. This is one of the world's most celebrated scenic drives – and its undoubted highlight is the Twelve Apostles, which tower 45 metres above the Southern Ocean. On a coastline renowned for its spectacular coastal formations it’s easy to overlook London Bridge and The Grotto, which are both as awesome in their own way as the more famous Twelve Apostles.
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5.0
1,075 reviews
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17
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8
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1
MarpleTraveller
Marple, UK1,481 contributions
Jan 2020 • Friends
This coast is amazing. The rock formations, caves, coves and stories of shipwrecks are fascinating. You need to be fairly agile to get to the best views but it is definitely worth the effort. If doing this as a day trip from Melbourne it is likely to be a very long day on the road.
Written 4 February 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.
Jeffry b
Essendon, Australia13,683 contributions
Mar 2023
The Great Ocean Road has many things to see, but Port Campbell National Park takes in most of the highlights. The best-known attractions are the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge, but there are many other things worth seeing. Apart from the stone formations, wildlife abounds, especially birdlife.
Written 15 March 2023
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.
monib
Narre Warren, Australia435 contributions
Feb 2020 • Couples
Visited Port Campbell and the 12 Apostles area. There are only 7 Apostles left, soon to become 6. The Vic Parks has made acess so easy with plenty of parking and a walkway under the road which is suitable for all abilities. Free for all who visit, but its best to attend before 12 as later there are tourist buses arriving. Options for longer walks and diwn onto the beach is available. Amazing nature at its best.
Written 11 February 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.
loveyourNP
Rochester, NY117 contributions
Feb 2020 • Family
We took a 4.4 km hike. It was amazing. Saw a kangaroo way up at the end of our hike. Bathroom is available near the beach. One Restaurant closed early. Great surf. Would definitely recommend and visit again!
Written 24 February 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.
Thomas A
58 contributions
Nov 2019 • Couples
Please don’t take a bus out and back from a Melbourne in one day! Such a waste. This area deserves at least a full day and night to see properly. We spent a day and a half and were never bored. There are lovely walks west of the Apostles
Written 10 January 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.
Liz H
Lichfield, UK912 contributions
Jan 2020 • Couples
You will never forget time spent in Port Campbell National Park. The coastline is absolutely stunning.
The paths and lookout points are all well kept and easy to find.
Just don’t miss going, it’s breathtaking.
The paths and lookout points are all well kept and easy to find.
Just don’t miss going, it’s breathtaking.
Written 12 April 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.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience at Port Campbell National Park. We're so glad you enjoyed your time at the park. We loved to read it described as stunning and breathtaking — we couldn't agree more!
Thanks again,
Parks Victoria.
Written 13 April 2020
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
nilintentum_reliquit
Melbourne, Australia2,587 contributions
Jan 2014 • Family
This is place is worthy being rated as one of the ultimate sights in the world. Lost count how many times I have been and brought overseas visitors and it has not lost its sheer beauty, appeal and wonderment.
**TIP** If you are on a day trip from Melbourne my suggestion is to take the fast road to Cobden and then take the turn-off to Port Campbell/Peterborough (3 hours). This way you see all the major sights earlier in the day which means the sun is in the best place for photos. Take your time to meander back along the shore line enjoying lunch/afternoon tea and Apollo Bay or Lorne.
Peterborough is just a small town but offers a stunning beach and rocky coastline rich in colour and formation. The Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands finishes off the Great Ocean Road in fine form an worthy of a stop and the end of a long day.
If you have time Warrnambool is an interesting overnight stop with a beachfront promenade that hugs a long clean beach making it a very pleasant stroll. The town itself has lots of historic buildings so pick up a free guide as it is good to wander around for an hour.
However, pretty Port Fairy is the jewel filled with charm and all round good vibe. Again pick up a free guide to walk the wonderful historic buildings which have been and are key in telling Victoria's story. The river is a pleasant setting for a coffee or lunch stop before heading off to Griffin Island which is an easy walk. It has a nice lighthouse, an interesting coastline and some wildlife which will please the photographers out there.
Further on is Portland which again has a collection of historic monuments, but it is really the jumping off point for the stunning Cape Bridgewater. This is great place to stop for a while to enjoy the spectacular scenery and take the short walk to the petrified forest and blowholes.
THANKS for the vote if you found this useful. Happy travels.
**TIP** If you are on a day trip from Melbourne my suggestion is to take the fast road to Cobden and then take the turn-off to Port Campbell/Peterborough (3 hours). This way you see all the major sights earlier in the day which means the sun is in the best place for photos. Take your time to meander back along the shore line enjoying lunch/afternoon tea and Apollo Bay or Lorne.
Peterborough is just a small town but offers a stunning beach and rocky coastline rich in colour and formation. The Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands finishes off the Great Ocean Road in fine form an worthy of a stop and the end of a long day.
If you have time Warrnambool is an interesting overnight stop with a beachfront promenade that hugs a long clean beach making it a very pleasant stroll. The town itself has lots of historic buildings so pick up a free guide as it is good to wander around for an hour.
However, pretty Port Fairy is the jewel filled with charm and all round good vibe. Again pick up a free guide to walk the wonderful historic buildings which have been and are key in telling Victoria's story. The river is a pleasant setting for a coffee or lunch stop before heading off to Griffin Island which is an easy walk. It has a nice lighthouse, an interesting coastline and some wildlife which will please the photographers out there.
Further on is Portland which again has a collection of historic monuments, but it is really the jumping off point for the stunning Cape Bridgewater. This is great place to stop for a while to enjoy the spectacular scenery and take the short walk to the petrified forest and blowholes.
THANKS for the vote if you found this useful. Happy travels.
Written 2 January 2014
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.
Russ Lacuata
Long Beach, CA9,834 contributions
Jan 2020 • Solo
Beautiful scenery however it is very touristy. Port Campbell is some of Australia's top tourist destinations. The coastline is really striking and impressive.
Written 8 January 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.
Travel_Bug81
Waterloo, Canada940 contributions
Dec 2013 • Couples
Port Campbell National Park is home to the famous 12 Apostles, one of the main reasons many people drive the Great Ocean Road. It's also home to the London Bridge (now just Arch since the bridge broke off into the ocean), Loch Ard Gorge, The Grotto, The Arch, Gibson's Steps, Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands. The park is huge and it stretches from Bay of Islands on the west side to Gibson's Steps on the east. We drove from Melbourne along the northern A1 highway to get to Port Campbell and from there explored the Park in the opposite direction from how most people do it. Port Campbell is a perfect location to situate yourself for exploring all the above rock formations, and all of these can easily be done in one day. We started at the Bay of Islands and worked our way east. Expect to spend about 20-30 minutes at each site (possibly more at the Loch Ard Gorge since there is a nice beach there and one can sit and relax for some time, but not to swim). It's very very windy when you come out to the cliffs, so bring a wind jacket or at least a sweater. There is plenty of parking available and the signage is very good, so it's hard to get lost. There are some walking trails around some of the sites. The only place where you can actually walk down to the beach where the rock formations are is at Gibson's Steps, at low tide. In all other places (aside from the beach at Loch Ard Gorge) - it's not possible to walk down to the water. All the sites except 12 Apostles have parking lots on the same side as the ocean - since 12 Apostles is so popular, the parking lot is across the street and there is a walking path built over the road and to the viewing platforms. This was by far the windiest site.
The sites are spectacular - the water deep blue, smashing against the rocks, it's quite a site. In most places there weren't many people, so sometimes one can have the whole site to him/herself.
The sites are spectacular - the water deep blue, smashing against the rocks, it's quite a site. In most places there weren't many people, so sometimes one can have the whole site to him/herself.
Written 7 March 2014
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.
rfamily9
Acworth, GA1,630 contributions
Everyone on Trip Advisor warned us about the 13 hour day round trip of the Great Ocean Road from Melbourne. Based on that information we decided to stay the night before in Warnambool (the western end of the GOR) at the very nice Comfort Inn (Raglan) in Warnambool and work our way back to Melbourne cutting out at least 3 of those hours and it turned out to be a smart move for several reasons. By going from Warnambool back to Melbourne and starting at 8am we seemed to miss a lot of the heavy tourist traffic at many of the landmarks that are at the end of the tour if you coming FROM Melbourne. We virtually saw no one from Childers Cove through the Twelve Apostles and walked right on to the helicopter for the coast line view from the air. It wasn’t until we got to Apollo Bay for lunch that we started seeing heavy tourist traffic going the other way, so thanks to TA advice we were able to make a smart decision. The landmarks we stop for were all well worth it and I would highly recommend stopping at each rock formation if only for a quick picture but here was our list (w/pictures) in the order of how we stopped . ( BTW suggested sites to download are : greatoceanroad.com or visitgreatoceanroad.org.au). Also I have included a picture of a map from Twelve Apostles to Childers Cove.
• Bay of Martyrs- Nice photo opt, platform looking back towards the west
• The Grotto- The are two photo opt here: (1) after a short walk that is above the entire formation, it ok then (2) down below after some steps but a much better picture through the hole in the rocks with the ocean in the background.
• London Bridge- Has REALLY fallen down….and it was more than a “MY fair lady”!! In fact a married man and his mistress had to be rescued by helicopter when they walked across the rock and the middle portion fell into the ocean……ooppss!!! Great Platform for photo opt
• The Arch- The easiest to get platform provides another great picture of this arch rock formation with a whole in the middle of the rock. The path to the left goes around corner and I got VERY lucky because just when I got there the sun started shining on the twelve apostles allowing me to take this awesome shot!!
• The Razorback & The Salt and Pepper- Two rock formations and it’s tough to get the Razorback all in the frame because it’s so close. Around the corner is Salt and Pepper.
• Loch and Gorge- This was named after the shipwreck of the Clipper Loch Ard in 1878 in heavy fog bound for Melbourne with 2 survivors making onto the gorge beach as the ship sank in 15 minutes. This is a very big area where you could spend 2 hours if you want to explore the entire area where you’ll find Mutton-bird lookout, the closest point to the wreckage and Thunder Cave where the rocks are so close that when the waves roll in it sounds like thunder as it crashes against the rocks.
• Twelve Apostles Heliport- There are actually two locations (1) is at the Twelve Apostles parking area and have two helicopters, one that can take two passengers and the other six. The six passenger will not fly until its full so if you have four people you will not be flying alone. The other location is west of the parking lot past the Loch and Gorge and will fly two or four depending on weight. My son-in-law and daughter flew out of the western heliport and thoroughly enjoyed it
• Twelve Apostles Rock formation- plenty of great places to get multiple shots of the Twelve (well really only seven as one recently fell down) apostles.
• Bay of Martyrs- Nice photo opt, platform looking back towards the west
• The Grotto- The are two photo opt here: (1) after a short walk that is above the entire formation, it ok then (2) down below after some steps but a much better picture through the hole in the rocks with the ocean in the background.
• London Bridge- Has REALLY fallen down….and it was more than a “MY fair lady”!! In fact a married man and his mistress had to be rescued by helicopter when they walked across the rock and the middle portion fell into the ocean……ooppss!!! Great Platform for photo opt
• The Arch- The easiest to get platform provides another great picture of this arch rock formation with a whole in the middle of the rock. The path to the left goes around corner and I got VERY lucky because just when I got there the sun started shining on the twelve apostles allowing me to take this awesome shot!!
• The Razorback & The Salt and Pepper- Two rock formations and it’s tough to get the Razorback all in the frame because it’s so close. Around the corner is Salt and Pepper.
• Loch and Gorge- This was named after the shipwreck of the Clipper Loch Ard in 1878 in heavy fog bound for Melbourne with 2 survivors making onto the gorge beach as the ship sank in 15 minutes. This is a very big area where you could spend 2 hours if you want to explore the entire area where you’ll find Mutton-bird lookout, the closest point to the wreckage and Thunder Cave where the rocks are so close that when the waves roll in it sounds like thunder as it crashes against the rocks.
• Twelve Apostles Heliport- There are actually two locations (1) is at the Twelve Apostles parking area and have two helicopters, one that can take two passengers and the other six. The six passenger will not fly until its full so if you have four people you will not be flying alone. The other location is west of the parking lot past the Loch and Gorge and will fly two or four depending on weight. My son-in-law and daughter flew out of the western heliport and thoroughly enjoyed it
• Twelve Apostles Rock formation- plenty of great places to get multiple shots of the Twelve (well really only seven as one recently fell down) apostles.
Written 25 May 2015
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.
We plan to drive from Melbourne in early Marchand spend three nights somewhere so we can relax and take it all in. Where would you recommend?
Written 27 January 2019
I would suggest that you stop in Lorne quick to get to lovely beach and atmosphere. Then I would drive the rest of the Great ocean road taking in all the sites at your leisure. I would only recommend that you make it Port Campbell to check in and go back to the 12 apostle viewing site for sunset, as there is a colony of 20 - 30 penguins that come in just after sunset. The next day continue to map out other attractions close to Port Campbell for example grotto, London bridge, and of course Loch Ard Gorge. Then make your way back to Lorne for another night, in my opinion, to relax prior to continuing your travels.
Written 2 February 2019
Samantha
Preston, Australia
Where can we find the package tour here? Is there any website or tour information I could get? Thanks
Written 15 December 2017
if you are in Melbourne, you can find the travel agency in china town, they provide the service everyday. there are more than one agencies in china town. search the the name EXTRAGREEN or GRANDCITY with google, you will find their website and book the package, you can also go to their office to book the package and ask questions if you like.
Written 15 December 2017
Is there any public transport available for this place? Also if there are any cheap accommodations nearby for 1 night stay.
Written 3 April 2017
I did see a few buses along the route, but felt like they were big tour buses. As for accommodation, we rented a house for 3 days. There are some smaller hotels around. Not sure on nightly minimums
Written 5 April 2017
what is the cheapest way to reach this place?
Written 20 February 2017
A hire car if travelling from the airport, or maybe a bus tour. If driving, remember that the roads can be difficult and tiring. Accidents are common.
Written 20 February 2017
How much is the entrance ticket fee ?
Written 9 October 2016
For taking good photos... is sunrise and sunset equally good? Do the viewpoints / lookouts limit me to take photos just from one direction or is it quite possible to freely roam around and take photos?
Written 14 April 2016
There are plenty of good photographic vantage points but yes there are restrictions as to where you can walk to limit damage to the landscape. I have never found these limiting in getting some great photos at sunrise or sunset. During the day you may want to consider ND filters if the sun is bright.
Written 3 April 2017
Ciao, vorrei sapere quanto tempo più o meno ci si mette a percorrere la Great Ocean Road da Melbourne ad Adelaide, se qualcuno l'ha percorsa tutta!! Naturalmente sono consapevole che la durata è anche in relazione al tempo che ognuno si ferma in un determinato posto...ma è per rendermi conto se posso riuscire a percorrerla tutta in 1 giorno!
Avete suggerimenti su posti veramente degni di fermata, oltre ai 12 apostoli?
Grazie
Eleonora
Written 24 July 2015
Sono più di 800 km. Non ne vale assolutamente la pena, in quanto ti perderesti tutte le meraviglie della Great Ocean Road.
Fuori Melbourne c'è la Belt Beach, una meravigliosa spiaggia conosciuta come la migliore del mondo per fare surf. Qui ci trascorri almeno 1 ora o 2 per camminare sulla spiaggia.
La GOR da Melbourne a Port Campbell è lunga quasi 250 km e vale la pena soffermarsi nelle diverse baie. La si percorre ad una velocità media di 50 km orari ed è meravigliosa. Per arrivare ai 12 Apostoli, da Melbourne ho impiegato 9 ore. Dopo i 12 Apostoli il panorama cambia e potresti raggiungere Adelaide in una giornata.
Written 25 July 2015
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