A Week In Melbourne - What To Do??

SharpshooterTom

Hi all,

I'm heading to Australia for 5 weeks early next year and between the 29th january and 5th february I will be in Melbourne (I'm going to be on my own for most of this).

I'm going to Australian open final on the first day 29th (yes I paid all the money for that with a friend) and thinking of going to the great ocean road, but not sure if I should do it for a day or two days?

What else can I do? How long does it take to do the CBD?

I'm considering also going to Philip Island for half a day and maybe a day out in Ballarat. Is that worth it? I only have 7 days so don't want to be trying to do too much but not sure what kind of city Melbourne in terms of attractions. Is it a place you can do for week? I've heard some on lonelyplanet say it's great and some say it's not worth even going to when being in Australia. So certainly mixed reactions.

Also I don't drive so if I'm going to do the GOR I'll have to do a tour I think. My only worry is that some of tour companies (e.g. aatkings) have a lot of elderly people. So much so that I'm worried I'll be the youngest by about 30 years (I'm 25 lol).

Do I have enough time to do GOR overnight or can it be done in day?? Sorry to ask this question I'm struggling to know how to plan this Melbourne part of the trip and just want to give myself enough time for the rest of the city. But I don't know if it needs many days?

Tigerandahalf

Melbourne is a beautiful city without being too much in your face. It's quite a relaxed place. If you are doing the CBD get the free tourist buses that take you around the city. Go around the whole city at first and then the second time you can hop off at whatever places you like. You'll need a whole day for this to really relax and enjoy. Have a coffee, etc - soak in the atmosphere. Good sights are the Victorian market, memorial gardens, Docklands, Exhibition Centre. A huge amount to choose from. Just plan ahead and get a nice weather day to do it. Ballarat is nice enough, it would take you most of a day between travel, etc. If you're stuck for time I wouldn't bother.
The GOR is a definite. Do a 2 day tour which will take you out to the Grampian Mountains. Super place, nice views and will be nice and cool on a hot day. You might get to shake hands with a kangaroo/wallaby. Beautiful places to stop off before that, like the famous Bells Beach and Torquay and nice little seaside places.
Philip Island is all about the fairy penguins. It's worth seeing I guess, that moment when the 'tiny' penguins come out of the water. Again there would be
trips to it.
Don't worry about old people being on the tours. Look for a tour that has a max of 15/16. These always have a good mix of ages and are a great way to meet people.
Save a day to just wander as well, as the CBD is a great place to do just that.

chughes

Maybe you could take a trip out to Point Nepean, well worth seeing.

Cooperspale

City circle tram will give you an idea of the CBD.
Popular places to visit are NGV, MCG, Melbourne museum.
Old Melbourne Gaol is quite interesting.
The suburbs that most visitors like to see are St Kilda, Fitzroy, South Melbourne and South Yarra.
The markets like Sth Melb, Prahran and Victoria are interesting in themselves. If you like coffee, there is a plethora of fine cafes all over. Food, you name it you can get it here.
Vietnamese in Richmond, Chinese in Chinatown, Italian in Carlton and google any other cuisine you're interested in.

If you are interested in getting out of the city, penguin parade is something different to do.
http://www.bunyiptours.com/phillip-island/penguin-parade-tour.html
There are a number of companies that do trips, I just randomly picked one here.

GOR needs a full day or they do 2 day trips that go to Grampians also.
It just depends on what your energy levels are like and how much time you want to be sitting in a bus. There are lots of companies that do this trip, everything from backpacker to oldie-goldies.

Ballarat is nice to see, preserved gold mining town and old buildings etc. The Eureka exhibition is interesting but Sovereign Hill is kitschy and not that cheap.
You'd spend the guts of a day checking everything out and getting there.

BossArky

Stuff to do:

In Melbourne:
• Shrine of Remembrance
• Visit the Botanical Gardens
• Sign up to the State Library (Swanston/La Trobe) – free internet, books and chess!
• Sign up to the City Library (Flinders Lane / Elizabeth) – free internet, piano and 15 books per 3 weeks
• Walk out on St.Kilda pier
• Visit Luna Park
• Walk around Albert Park Lake (5km) and check out the F1 Grand Prix track
• Spend a few hours jumping off the high 10m high diving board in the National Sports and Aquatic Centre (next to Albert Park)
• See a show/comedian in the Palais theatre (St.Kilda)
• Buy Melbourne entertainment book for approx $60. This has heaps of discounts for bars/restaurants/entertainment/trips, etc all around Melbourne/Victoria. Well worth the price. You’ll save heaps
• Red hill – visit a winery down there. It’s 1hr from Melbourne.
• Dromana – near to Red Hill. Really nice sandy beach which is waist high for ages.
• Sign up for Melbourne bike scheme. Free for 1st hour of each trip. You can pick up/drop off at multiple locations around the city.
• Visit the Melbourne goal. Ask for the guided tour where they treat you like a prisoner. They’ll lock you in a cell with a bunch of other tourists…. Don’t worry the door isn’t really locked 

In Victoria:
• Philip Island – see the penguins (bring a warm jumper), visit the koalas and check out the rocks/caves at the far end of the island
• Great Ocean Road
• Grampians (weekend trip hiking)
• Wilsons Prom (weekend trip hiking)
• Soverign Hill (day trip to mock up of a mining town, near Ballarat. ~90 mins on train from Flinders st.station)
• Dandenong Sky High – get a great view of the city whilst having a coffee and exploring the hills
• Various forest walks around the Dandenong mountains…

In Australia:

• Tasmania – go up to the top of Mount Wellington in Hobart, take a trip to Wine Glass Bay (~4 hours from Hobart in car), check out the Fields national park and Cradle Mountain national park (do the overland trek).
• Whitsunday Islands in Queensland – stay on Hamilton island and take day trips to the inner and outer reefs, plus Whitehaven beach (one of the “top 10 world beaches”)
• Visit Sydney & the blue mountains
• Visit Uluru (i.e. the rock in the middle  )
• etc

GiftofGab

BossArky wrote: »

Stuff to do:

In Melbourne:
• Shrine of Remembrance
• Visit the Botanical Gardens
• Sign up to the State Library (Swanston/La Trobe) – free internet, books and chess!
• Sign up to the City Library (Flinders Lane / Elizabeth) – free internet, piano and 15 books per 3 weeks
• Walk out on St.Kilda pier
• Visit Luna Park
• Walk around Albert Park Lake (5km) and check out the F1 Grand Prix track
• Spend a few hours jumping off the high 10m high diving board in the National Sports and Aquatic Centre (next to Albert Park)
• See a show/comedian in the Palais theatre (St.Kilda)
• Buy Melbourne entertainment book for approx $60. This has heaps of discounts for bars/restaurants/entertainment/trips, etc all around Melbourne/Victoria. Well worth the price. You’ll save heaps
• Red hill – visit a winery down there. It’s 1hr from Melbourne.
• Dromana – near to Red Hill. Really nice sandy beach which is waist high for ages.
• Sign up for Melbourne bike scheme. Free for 1st hour of each trip. You can pick up/drop off at multiple locations around the city.
• Visit the Melbourne goal. Ask for the guided tour where they treat you like a prisoner. They’ll lock you in a cell with a bunch of other tourists…. Don’t worry the door isn’t really locked 

In Victoria:
• Philip Island – see the penguins (bring a warm jumper), visit the koalas and check out the rocks/caves at the far end of the island
• Great Ocean Road
• Grampians (weekend trip hiking)
• Wilsons Prom (weekend trip hiking)
• Soverign Hill (day trip to mock up of a mining town, near Ballarat. ~90 mins on train from Flinders st.station)
• Dandenong Sky High – get a great view of the city whilst having a coffee and exploring the hills
• Various forest walks around the Dandenong mountains…

In Australia:

• Tasmania – go up to the top of Mount Wellington in Hobart, take a trip to Wine Glass Bay (~4 hours from Hobart in car), check out the Fields national park and Cradle Mountain national park (do the overland trek).
• Whitsunday Islands in Queensland – stay on Hamilton island and take day trips to the inner and outer reefs, plus Whitehaven beach (one of the “top 10 world beaches”)
• Visit Sydney & the blue mountains
• Visit Uluru (i.e. the rock in the middle  )
• etc

Great post man. Oh just to ad you should also visit the Casino. It's one of the largest casino's in the world.