Things to Do on the Mornington Peninsula

The Mornington Peninsula has no gate and no single sight: you move between a ridge, two coasts and the towns between them. Here is what each stop is, what it costs, and which Mornington day tour goes there, so you can plan a day with or without a driver.

Arthurs Seat and the gondola, 314 metres up

Arthurs Seat is the ridge above Dromana. From the 314 m summit, on a clear day, you see the Melbourne skyline, the You Yangs and Mount Macedon across the bay. Nearly every day tour stops at a lookout here, most often Murrays Lookout, for 15 to 30 minutes.

The Arthurs Seat Eagle is the gondola from the base to the summit. It runs daily from 10 am, closing at 4 or 5 pm by season, so check the day before you go. Extreme weather stops it. It is wheelchair and pram friendly, and the summit station sells food and coffee.

Tickets are flexible and valid for 12 months, with no timed booking. If you drive, you can also reach the summit by road. The ridge walks, the Kings Falls circuit and Seawinds Garden, with its William Ricketts sculptures, are all in the state park and free.

The lighthouse at Cape Schanck and its boardwalk, since 1859

Cape Schanck Lighthouse has guided ships past the cliffs since 1859. The lighthouse, its museum and the keeper's residence are heritage-listed. You can go inside only with a local operator's guided tour; the grounds, lookouts and boardwalk are open to everyone.

From the car park, a short circuit leads to a wooden staircase and boardwalk down to the rock platform. On the way you pass lookouts over Pulpit Rock and the Devils Desk. Big waves can wash over the platform without warning, so stay back from the edge.

The southern-coast day from Melbourne gives you 45 minutes here, and the private day 20 minutes on the boardwalk.

London Bridge and the Portsea back beaches

London Bridge is a rock arch just up from Portsea Surf Beach, with a lookout above it. It sits in Mornington Peninsula National Park, which runs along the ocean beaches between Portsea and Flinders. Parks Victoria says the rock pools there are big enough to swim in, so pack a snorkel.

These are Bass Strait beaches, with rips and big swells. Swim only at patrolled beaches, between the flags. Dogs are not allowed anywhere in the national park, including its beaches and car parks. The sightseeing day from Melbourne gives you 30 minutes at the lookout; the private day stops at the Portsea back beach.

The bathing boxes at Dromana, Mount Martha and Safety Beach

The bathing boxes are the painted timber sheds in rows along the bay beaches. They are privately owned, so you see them from the sand. A photo stop at the boxes is on nearly every day tour from Melbourne, and each one names a different beach:

If the boxes are the photo you want, book a day that names its beach. The bay side is calm water; the ocean side, a few kilometres south, is surf.

Sorrento and Portsea on foot: the pier, the front beach, Millionaires Walk

Sorrento is the town at the ferry end of the bay, and most coast days give you free time there. Start at Sorrento Pier, where the 90-minute cruise boats berth. Walk the front beach towards Portsea, then turn up to the cliff top for the view back over the pier.

1. Sorrento Pier. The sightseeing day stops here for 15 minutes; the cruise leaves from the end of it.
2. The town. The southern-coast day gives you 30 minutes of free time; the private day gives you an hour for lunch, which you pay for.
3. Millionaires Walk. The private day allows 45 minutes for it, near Portsea.
4. Portsea Beach. The sightseeing day stops 20 minutes, with a short coastal walk.

Searoad's car and passenger ferry from Queenscliff lands at Sorrento, so you can also arrive here from the other side of the bay.

The Two Bays Walking Trail, 26 km from Dromana to Cape Schanck

The Two Bays Walking Trail crosses the peninsula from the bay at Dromana to Bass Strait at Cape Schanck. It runs 26 km through Arthurs Seat State Park and Mornington Peninsula National Park. No tour walks it, so you need your own transport at each end.

• Plan a full day for the whole trail, or walk a section.
• Carry water: there is none at the Cape Schanck end.
• Look out for echidnas and kangaroos in the state park.
• Keep to marked tracks on the coast, where the cliffs are unstable.

Free on the peninsula, and what costs money

Most of what you come for is free. You pay for transport, the gondola, the hot springs and the park shuttle, not for the parks themselves.

A tour fare buys the transport and the guide, and sometimes a tasting, a lunch or entry to the hot springs. It never buys entry to a park, because the parks charge none.

A wet-weather plan

Rain falls on about 105 days a year here, most of them from May to October. On a wet day you still have three good options:

• The hot springs. The pools are open every day of the year, rain or not.
• A cellar door. Tastings are indoors, and a winery lunch fills the middle of the day.
• The gondola. It is an all-weather cabin, though extreme weather stops it.

Leave the boardwalk at Cape Schanck and the ocean beaches for a dry day. Our month-by-month weather shows when rain is most likely.

Questions about things to do

Where these facts come from

The parks, the beaches, the lighthouse and the trail are from Parks Victoria's own pages. The gondola's fares and hours are from its ticket page, checked 29 September 2026. Which day stops where is each tour's own listing.

• Arthurs Seat State Park (Parks Victoria)
• Gondola tickets and opening hours (Arthurs Seat Eagle)
• The Cape Schanck day visitor area (Parks Victoria)
• The arch near Portsea Surf Beach (Parks Victoria)
• The ocean beaches and Greens Bush (Parks Victoria)

Tours for a day of sights, sea and bush

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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Ultimate Peninsula Adventure: Stand Up Paddle, Hot Springs, Hike, Lunch & Winery

An active day for nine at most from the springs car park at Fingal: a paddleboard lesson on the bay, a coastal bushwalk, a picnic and a winery tasting, then the pools with a towel provided.

From $242 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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