The Best Time to Visit the Mornington Peninsula, Season by Season

The peninsula has two best seasons, and they pull in opposite directions. Summer is for the beaches and the long light; winter is for the pools, when a hot soak on a cold day makes most sense and the hot springs tours come into their own. This guide goes season by season, then covers the details that matter more than the month.

When is the best time to visit the Mornington Peninsula?

For beaches, December to March. February is the warmest and driest month at the nearest weather station, HMAS Cerberus on the Western Port side, with a mean maximum of 25.0°C and 34.7 mm of rain.

For the springs, any cool month, and a weekday if you can. For wine, any month: the cellar doors open all year. Parks Victoria calls the park at the tip a hive of activity from November to April, so the cooler months are quieter there.

What is summer like on the peninsula?

Expect warm, dry, busy days. January averages 24.7°C in the afternoon, and the sun sets around 8:45 pm, so a beach day can run into the evening. The bay side has calm water, jetties and the bathing boxes.

The catch is the crowd you share it with. School holidays fill the bay towns, and weekend sessions at the springs sell out. Book the springs ahead, and on the ocean beaches swim only between the flags: the back beaches carry rips and large swells.

On a calm summer day, the Sorrento cruise gives you 90 minutes on the bay with a guide's commentary. Seals and dolphins turn up on some trips and not others, and no listing promises them.

What is autumn like?

You get settled, still-warm weather into March, which averages 23.2°C with the sun down around 7:45 pm. Then the days shorten fast: once daylight saving ends on 4 April 2027, the evenings close in an hour earlier.

It suits you if you want the cellar doors, or long walks at the tip with fewer people than in summer. The sightseeing day picks strawberries until April; from May its farm stop becomes a chocolate tasting.

Why is winter the season for the springs?

Because the pools feel best when your breath shows in the air. July days average 13.7°C and nights 6.3°C, and the springs open every day of the year. The Bath House opens at 7 am on weekdays and 5 am at weekends, and it closes at 11 pm.

Winter is wetter: August has the most rain days, 12 on average. Once you are in the pools, or at a cellar door, you will hardly notice. The beaches and the long coast walks are what you give up.

Winter is also when the whale cruise sails from San Remo, across Western Port on the way to Phillip Island, not from the peninsula. It follows the migration route of humpback and southern right whales, but no sighting is promised, and the open water can be rough.

What is spring like?

Pack for mild, changeable days. September averages 16.6°C, with the sun down around 6:15 pm, and its 9 am winds are the strongest of the year at the weather station. You will feel it on the water and on the exposed headlands.

On a clear spring day, you can see a long way from the ridge of Arthurs Seat, and the coast walks are at their best. The gondola runs 10 am to 5 pm through the spring school holidays; outside them, its hours vary by season, so check the day.

Is a weekday or a weekend better at the springs?

A weekday, if you can: you pay less, and you share the pools with fewer people. On the springs' 2026 price list, an adult pays A$60 for a weekday early-bird or twilight session and A$80 at other weekday times. At the weekend that rises to A$70 and A$90.

Public holidays and same-day bookings add 10%. Weekends and school holidays sell out first, so book ahead. A springs tour has already booked your entry, which is its main advantage on a busy Saturday.

What does daylight saving change at the tip?

If you are visiting in spring or autumn, note that Victoria's clocks go forward on 4 October 2026 and back on 4 April 2027. At Point Nepean, that moves two things. The vehicle gate is open 6 am to 6 pm in standard time and 6 am to 8 pm in daylight saving; walkers and cyclists can come and go at any time.

The park shuttle's last drop-off at the entrance moves from 4:15 pm to 4:45 pm in daylight saving. If you arrive on the 788, that last shuttle decides when you leave the forts. The whole park is covered in Point Nepean on the Mornington Peninsula.

What is the best time of day?

Early, at the springs. The early-bird price applies if you arrive by 8:30 am, and the Bath House opens at 7 am on weekdays and 5 am at weekends. The twilight price starts after 6 pm, which suits a winter evening soak after a day elsewhere.

At the tip, go in the morning, so the shuttle's afternoon runs still lie ahead of you. On the coast, the light is best late in the day, and in summer the sun sets as late as 8:45 pm. In winter it sets around 5:00 pm, so plan your walks to finish by then.

Is the Mornington Peninsula worth visiting in winter?

Yes, if you come for the springs or the wine. A winter weekday at the springs costs the weekday price and suits the cold air, and the cellar doors stay open. What winter does not give you is a beach day, or the long evenings that make a coast walk easy.

Pack a waterproof and plan stops that suit a grey day: the pools, a winery lunch, the old buildings of the Quarantine Station at the tip. Every springs day is compared on the hot springs tours page, and the full month-by-month figures are on Mornington Peninsula weather by month.

What stays open all year?

More than you might expect. The springs open every day of the year, and the national park at the tip is open daily. T'Gallant's cellar door opens every day from 10 am to 5 pm, Green Olive at Red Hill every day from 9 am to 5 pm, and Pt. Leo Estate daily from 11 am.

The gondola up Arthurs Seat runs most of the year, but extreme weather stops it, so check before you go on a wild day. What changes by season is the wildlife and the fruit, not the doors.

What do school holidays change?

Mostly the crowds and the prices at the springs. Weekends and school holidays sell out there first, public holidays add 10% to Bath House entry, and a booking made on the day adds 10% too.

The gondola keeps set hours of 10 am to 5 pm through the spring school holidays. The park at the tip is at its busiest from November to April, which takes in the long summer break. If your dates fall in the holidays, book the springs, the small-group days and any gondola visit first.

What else changes with the season?

• Strawberries: the sightseeing day picks them from November to April, and swaps in a chocolate stop the rest of the year.
• Sunset: about 8:45 pm in mid-December and 5:00 pm in mid-June, nearly four hours apart.
• Rain: 4 rain days in February against 12 in August.
• Cancellation: whatever the month, the days listed here refund you in full up to 24 hours ahead, which helps when the forecast turns.

For which day suits a first visit in any season, see the first-visit post.

Frequently asked questions

One day for each season's reason

Peninsula Hot Springs: Entry Ticket with Bath House

Bath House entry and up to five hours in the pools, with no transport or guide: you make your own way to Fingal and hire a towel, robe or locker at reception.

From $56 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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90 minute wildlife and scenic cruise

Ninety minutes from Sorrento Pier on a purpose-built boat, with a guide's commentary, snacks and hot drinks. Seals and dolphins are often seen but never promised.

From $53 per person

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