The Mornington Peninsula Town by Town, Mornington to Portsea

Bay side or ocean side?

Read any itinerary with one question in mind: which coast is this stop on? The bay side faces Port Phillip, and its water is calm. The ocean side faces Bass Strait and Western Port, and its beaches carry rips and big swells. The towns below run roughly from the city end of the peninsula to its tip, then round to the ocean.

Mornington and Mount Martha

Mornington town sits on the bay at the city end of the peninsula. The private day starts here, with half an hour at the harbour and on Main Street. Mount Martha, next along the bay, is known for its bathing boxes, the painted timber sheds on the sand; the same private day gives you fifteen minutes there. If you know the name Mornington only from a tour title, remember that the town is one stop, not the whole peninsula.

Dromana, Safety Beach and the ridge

Dromana sits at the foot of Arthurs Seat, below the ridge. The sightseeing day spends twenty minutes at the Dromana bathing boxes. The springs express stops at the Safety Beach boxes on its way home. The Two Bays Walking Trail starts in Dromana and runs 26 km across the peninsula to Cape Schanck.

Above the town, the Arthurs Seat Eagle gondola climbs to the 314-metre summit. A return ride costs A$36.50 for an adult, and the tickets stay valid for twelve months. The lookouts and the gondola are covered on things to do on the Mornington Peninsula.

Rye and Sorrento

Bus 788 runs through Rye on its way down the bay side. The town also has an ocean beach on the far side of the peninsula, one of the back beaches inside the national park. If you are heading to the springs by bus, their own advice is to get off at Rye and take a taxi.

Sorrento sits on the bay near the tip. The Searoad car ferry from Queenscliff lands here after a 40-minute crossing, and the wildlife cruise leaves from Sorrento Pier. The sightseeing day eats lunch here, and the southern-coast day gives you free time on the pier. Parks Victoria says the rock pools at Sorrento Ocean Beach, close to town, suit families.

Portsea and the tip

Portsea is the last town before the national park. On its ocean side, London Bridge is an arch in the cliffs just up from Portsea Surf Beach, with rock pools big enough to swim in. The private day adds the back beach and the Millionaires Walk. Bus 788 ends at the park entrance, and the park itself charges no entry.

Beyond the gate are the Quarantine Station and, at the very end, Fort Nepean. The information centre on Ochiltree Road opens daily from 10 am. The forts, the shuttle and the bike paths are covered on Point Nepean on the Mornington Peninsula.

Red Hill and Merricks: the wine hills

Inland from the ridge, the country turns to vineyards. Red Hill is home to Green Olive at Red Hill, open every day from 9 am to 5 pm, where the hot springs day with lunch stops for a grazing board and a wine paddle. Merricks has the general store that the six-guest wine days use for lunch. The estates, and what each pours, are on Mornington Peninsula wineries.

Fingal, Cape Schanck and Flinders: the ocean corner

The springs sit at Fingal, near the ocean side. Nearby, Cape Schanck Lighthouse has stood since 1859, and a boardwalk leads down to the rock platform. Further east, Flinders has an ocean beach inside the Mushroom Reef Marine Sanctuary and a blowhole. Bring water to the cape: Parks Victoria says there is none at the day area.

How to string the towns together

How you travel decides which towns you can reach. With a car, you can take the bay towns in order, from Mornington town down to Portsea, and cross the ridge to the ocean side on the way home. On the bus, you are held to the bay side: the 788 runs through Rye to the park gate beyond Portsea, and it never climbs to the wine hills or the springs. On a tour, you choose a set of towns when you choose the day, so read the stops before you compare fares.

• You want beaches and lunch: Dromana to Sorrento, on the bay.
• You want wine: Red Hill and Merricks, inland.
• You want history: Portsea and the tip.
• You want surf, a lighthouse and a reef: Cape Schanck to Flinders.
• You want the pools: Fingal, and nothing else that day.

If you try to fit all five into one day, you will spend most of it in a vehicle. Two or three towns, chosen by what you came for, make a better day than a tick-list of eight.

Which towns each kind of day covers

• The bay towns in one go: the sightseeing day and the private day.
• The wine hills: the wine days and the hop-on bus, which starts on the peninsula.
• The tip and the ocean side: the southern-coast day, at $87 a person.
• Fingal only: the springs express, at $135 a person.

Every stop is plotted on the Mornington Peninsula map. If you would rather sleep in one of these towns than drive back each night, see where to stay on the Mornington Peninsula. The first-visit basics are in what to know before your first visit.

Days that take in the towns

Mornington Peninsula Day Tour. Your Day Your Way. Your group only

Your group only, collected from a Melbourne hotel, the airport or the cruise pier at 8:30, on a route you shape: Mornington's harbour, the Mount Martha boxes, Sorrento, a back beach and the Cape Schanck boardwalk. Lunch is at your cost.

From $192 per person

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From Melbourne: Mornington Peninsula Sightseeing Tour

A coach day from central Melbourne: the Dromana bathing boxes, lunch in Sorrento, the arch near Portsea and the ridge lookout, with strawberry picking from November to April or a chocolate stop the rest of the year.

From $118 per person

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From Melbourne: Hop On Hop Off Mornington Peninsula

A hop-on bus that starts on the peninsula, not in Melbourne: choose up to four stops on its route across a seven-hour day. Tastings are booked and paid by you, and riders must be 18 or over.

From $66 per person

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