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Day trips from Melbourne to Visit with Public Transportation
Melbourne’s public transport is gloriously inexpensive. In March 2023, the government capped regional fares, making country fares the same price as city fares. Travelers pay a maximum of $10.60 AUS ($7 US) for a day’s travel anywhere in the state. Compared to the escalating cost of trains in Europe and the expensive Amtrak service, this is a boon for travelers on a budget.
It means you can DIY trips instead of taking expensive day tours. Even better, you won’t have to compete with a sea of bobbing heads and a wall of iPhones blocking your view.
As Dr. Seuss said, “Oh, the places you’ll go!” But before I share the journeys, it helps to understand Melbourne’s transport system.
Terminology & How to Get Around Melbourne
PTV is short for Public Transport Victoria. V/Line means country services, whether trains or coaches. City services include trains, buses, and an extensive tram network. Melbourne has a 3858 sq mile metropolis with 1,700 tram stops across 24 routes and endless bus routes.
The Sky Bus from Melbourne Airport
Flying into Melbourne? Catch the Skybus from Melbourne Airport into town. While not run by PTV, it’s cheaper than an Uber for the 16.7-mile trip.
Skybus runs express to Southern Cross Station, the central hub you’ll need for all regional and certain city travel.
Myki, Your Key to Travel
If you haven’t downloaded a Mobile Myki, buy a card at Southern Cross.
A Myki covers metropolitan and some regional travel. You may still need a V/Line paper ticket for some regional trips. Even as a local, if I’m taking an unfamiliar regional trip, I ask for advice at the Southern Cross ticket office.
The other place worth knowing is Flinders Street Station. Heading to suburban Melbourne, your train will leave from here. Melbourne City Loop, a mostly underground subway, connects these two stations. Or catch free trams between them.
Melbourne’s Free Trams
Melbourne’s free tram zone ends on the outskirts of the CBD. To save money in the city, do not tap on your Myki until you hear the announcement: “You are now leaving the free tram zone.”
The vintage City Circle Tram (Route 35), a hop-on-hop-off service, includes pre-recorded commentary on Melbourne’s attractions. It’s also free and a helpful orientation to Melbourne.
Myki Vagaries
Public transport systems all over the world have their own weird rules.
In Melbourne, on trams, EXCEPT for those in the free zone, touch on your Myki as you board but not when you disembark. But at railway stations, touch on and off as you enter and leave.
Now, let’s head out of town.
The Best Attractions in Victoria to Visit by Public Transportation
The Dandenong Ranges
The Dandenong Ranges feels a world away with towering Mountain Ash, fern gullies, tinkling streams, and forest walks, but it is part of metropolitan Melbourne.
Trains here run every 30 minutes from Flinders Street Station for the 75-minute journey. Disembark in Belgrave to access the tourist train Puffing Billy. Operating since 1900, Puffing Billy Railway was a narrow-gauge line built in the early 1900s to transport goods to remote communities. The route was so scenic, the trip so exhilarating it became popular with locals and now with tourists.
The steam train huffs and puffs along the 15 miles of line from Belgrave to Gembrook taking in Sherbrooke Forest, a temperate rainforest with giant ferns and trestle bridges spanning gaping gullies. A time-honored tradition is to sit on the carriage sill dangling one’s legs over the side..
Stop at Lakeside for stunning short walks in the surrounding forest. Rent a bike and explore the Eastern Dandenong Ranges Trail alongside the track.
The Puffing Billy train ride from Belgrave to Lakeside (return) takes 3 hours, with an hour spent at Lakeside. Or Belgrave to Gembrook (return) is 5.5 hours with 2 hours at Gembrook.
Directions: From Melbourne, catch a train to Belgrave Station. Walk 5 minutes to Puffing Billy Station.
Another Ranges Option
Approach the Dandenong Ranges but from the Ferntree Gully side. Once at Upper Ferntree Gully Station it’s an easy 10- to 15-minute walk into the Dandenong Ranges National Park. There is a range of walks, including the Lyrebird Track (3 mi return) up the mountain to One Tree Hill.
Or take bus 688 along the top of the mountain range from outside the station. This follows the Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, a curvaceous road with scenic views and quaint villages. Disembark at tourist attractions, including William Ricketts Sanctuary, Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden, 1000 Steps Walking Track, Cloudehill Garden & Nursery, or Miss Marples, a tearoom devoted to the famous sleuth.
Directions: Upper Ferntree Gully Station is roughly an hour and a half from Melbourne.
The bus map is on the PTV Website.
Healesville Sanctuary for Australian Wildlife
Healesville Sanctuary is a dedicated zoo for viewing Australian wildlife, including koalas, kangaroos, wombats, emus, and platypuses.
Enjoy the zookeeper talks and walk amidst grazing kangaroos. The flight presentation featuring the wedge-tailed eagle is spectacular.
Directions: Take the Lilydale Line from central Melbourne. Lilydale is at the end of the line, and you’ll be in the Yarra Valley, which is lined with vineyards. Catch bus 685 outside the station. A bus change may be required depending on the day. The trip takes around 2.4 hours.
Wineries and the Warburton Rail Trail
Note the famous Yarra Valley Wineries are spread out, so visiting them by public transport isn’t viable. Most day tours are expensive, but Hop It does reasonably priced transport from Melbourne.
Cycling in the Yarra Valley is possible, but the main roads are busy. Most cyclists are waiting for the completion of the Yarra Valley Trail, a dedicated cycling/walking track.
Until then, the immensely popular Warburton Rail Trail is a safe off-road trail that cuts through some of the Yarra Valley, passing vineyards, including the established Yerring Station, operating since 1838, and newer boutique wineries. The route is on an old rail trail. Stops include rail-side cafes, Yarra Valley Chocolaterie, and the quaint Yarra Valley Dairy, which specializes in handcrafted artisanal cheeses. The trail is 25 miles if done in its entirety.
Directions: Catch a suburban train from Flinders St Station to Lilydale Train Station. The journey takes an hour. Yarra Valley Bike Hire is a short walk from the station. Or with Cog Bikes, you can pick up almost on the rail trail at Grace Cafe.
Werribee Park
The Werribee Park Precinct is a cluster of world-class attractions south-west of Melbourne. Werribee Park Mansion is an opulent historical property with 60 rooms. Wander the formal gardens and heritage orchards. Smell the roses at the State Rose Garden of Victoria. Entry to the gardens is free. Mansion and garden audio tours cost about $5.
At Lancemore Mansion Hotel Werribee Park, lash out for a drink in ritzy surroundings. Or walk 14 minutes to Shadowfax Winery, an architecturally designed cellar door with award-winning wines.
Werribee Open Range Zoo is my favorite zoo. The entry fee includes truck-style safari tours through the savanna amidst herds of rhinos, giraffes, and zebras. Overnight stays are an option.
Directions: Catch a train from the Melbourne to Werribee Station. Outside the station, catch Bus 439 Werribee South to the Zoo. The journey takes 1.2 hours.
Geelong Waterfront
Victoria’s second-largest city, Geelong, is known for its Eastern Beach waterfront, where you can splash in the art deco pool and wander the boardwalk. There is a famous carved bollards walk, historic Botanic gardens, and waterside restaurants.
Geelong is a designated UNESCO City of Design, with historic buildings, modern architecture, galleries, and boundless creativity.
In 2023, Geelong became home to the Spirit of Tasmania (the ferry to Tasmania). It’s possible to spend time in Geelong before doing the Great Ocean Road.
Directions: Geelong V/Line Train to Geelong Station; 70 minutes. Trains run between Southern Cross Station and Geelong every 10 minutes during peak hours. And regularly throughout the day. Use a Myki. It’s possible to take the train one-way and a ferry the other. Port Phillip Ferries aren’t covered under Myki, but seeing container ships from all over the world and going under West Gate Bridge makes a great trip. And it’s cheaper than taking a boat tour. The ferry departs and returns to Docklands near Southern Cross Station.
The Great Ocean Road
This drive tops visitors’ most wanted experiences outside Melbourne. The Great Ocean Road (GOR] twines like a serpent along the coastal cliffs west of Melbourne. The cork-screw curves and perilous drops make for a roller-coaster drive.
The views are even more spectacular if seen through the left-hand side coach windows as you’re above the roadside foliage. You can’t see the edge of the road, only the extreme drops and crashing waves.
The GOR bus meets the train from Geelong and heads to Torquay, Australia’s surfing capital, home of the National Surfing Museum and the birthplace of surf brands Rip Curl and Quicksilver. Pass by Bell’s Beach, where the international Rip Curl Pro surfing event is held.
The cliff-hugging road continues to shadow the Surf Coast. Enjoy panoramic views of beach culture, surfers, people swimming and fishing, mere dots on nature’s grand canvas.
From Cape Otway is a treacherous stretch known as the Shipwreck Coast. Blasting winds and powerful waves caused 700 historic shipwrecks but chiseled the dramatic scenery.
V/Line factors in a 30-minute stop at the 12 Apostles, limestone monoliths standing upright in the Southern Ocean. And 15 minutes at Loch Ard Gorge, home to one of Australia’s worst maritime disasters when The Loch Ard sank in 1878, killing all but two of the 54 people on board.
Directions: Travel by train to Geelong and then by bus. Travel 41 miles to Lorne and return to Melbourne the same day. But to see the Shipwreck Coast, you must travel the full 150 miles of the GOR to Warrnambool. While buses to Lorne are daily, the full service from Geelong only runs on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. There is a train back to Melbourne from Warrnambool. But with over 30 coastal stops along the way, I’d recommend overnight stays at coastal villages in between.
Airey’s Inlet, with its brewery and gin distillery, cliff-top walks, and the lighthouse, is fun. Lorne is a common stop for its historic hotels, boutique stores, cellars, eateries, and galleries. My favorite stop is Big 4 Wye River Caravan Park in Wye River. This park has a stream, shady trees, and is walled by forest. There’s not much in town except a good cafe with ocean views and the Wye River Pub, offering sunset drinks and gasp-worthy views over the surf break. Make sure to grab a bus timetable – mine was well thumbed.
Warrnambool & the Shipwreck Coast
Warrnambool is a charming coastal city with fabulous beaches. There’s great street art, a thriving food scene, and seafaring history about the Shipwreck Coast at Flagstaff Hill. The city’s attractions are scattered, but exploring by public bus is possible. You can reach Cheese World in Allansford, Proudfoots Boathouse on the Hopkins River, the Breakwater, and Thunder Point for crashing ocean views.
Between June and September, female Southern Right whales return to the waters of Warrnambool’s Logans Beach to calve close to shore. There’s a viewing platform at Logan’s Beach.
Warrnambool buses also go to local villages such as Koroit, an early Irish settlement; Tower Hill an extinct volcano where you can stroll amidst emus, koalas, and kangaroos; and Port Fairy is a charming fishing village home to one of Australia’s best-loved folk festivals.
Directions: Trains to Warrnambool depart Melbourne four times daily and go via Geelong. The journey takes 3 hours and 26 minutes. Or stay in Warnabool after a bus trip down the GOR.
Tip: The cap on regional fares applies to interstate travel within 37 miles of Victoria’s border, meaning you could cross the border to Mt Gambier in South Australia on the same capped fare to explore the geological wonders on the Limestone Coast on the same capped fare.
Ballarat Gold Rush Town
This historic gold rush town of Ballarat is now a charming regional city with a heritage streetscape. Visit the Eureka Stockade, where in 1854, 22 miners lost their lives during a rebellion that continues to influence Australian politics. In the words of Doc Evatt, former Leader of the Australian Labor Party, ‘Australian democracy was born at Eureka.’
Sovereign Hill is a historic park recreating the 1850s goldfields. Over 200 volunteers dress in historical costumes. Ride in Cobb and Co. carriages down the main street. Go gold panning in the creek — enough flecks of gold to keep it interesting. See molten gold poured into a gleaming bar. Tour an underground mine and visit the shops, hotels, and a theater on Main Street — all based on original Ballarat businesses.
One of my favorite places in Ballarat is the Victorian-era Art Gallery of Ballarat near the station.
Directions: From Southern Cross Station, hop on the V Line train. The journey to Ballarat takes 90 minutes. To get around Ballarate catch the bus on route 9 to Sovereign Hill. Route 16 takes you to the stunning Botanic Gardens, Lake Wendouree, and the Tramways Museum.
Bendigo
Bendigo is also an historic gold rush town. Bendigo Art Gallery’s blockbuster exhibitions are the main drawcard. They explore the history of fashion and design, and blockbuster exhibitions worth traveling for are common.
Walk Bendigo’s fine Victorian heritage streetscape. Ride a vintage tram or meet Sun Loong, the world’s longest imperial dragon. Enjoy the local produce and wines. Bendigo was designated a UNESCO City of Gastronomy in 2019.
Directions: Take the Bendigo train from Southern Cross Station. Roughly two hours.
Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park
Gariwerd National Park is heritage-listed for fauna and flora, Aboriginal heritage, and stunning natural beauty. The landscape has almighty cliffs, deep gorges, weathered rock faces, and wildflowers. Enjoy world-famous hiking trails, waterfalls, and craggy mountain panoramas.
Buses arrive in the village of Halls Gap, the access point for several trails such as the Venus Baths Loop and the Chautauqua Peak Loop passing through forest to the foot of Clematis Falls. Climb to the summit for stunning views over a 2.5-hour hike.
Hall’s Gap is heavily based on tourism, so there’s accommodation, shuttles to other trailheads, historic town walks and local wine tours.
Search for accommodation deals in Halls Gap
Directions: Catch a train from Southern Cross Station to Ararat with coach connections to Halls Gap. Even the most direct service takes over 3 hours. This trip requires a couple of days.
