Apollo Bay: what to see, where to stay and how to get around
The drive from Melbourne is the first day of the trip, and it is where the Great Ocean Road begins. The road starts at Torquay, the surf capital of Australia, and from the Memorial Arch it clings to the cliffs all the way to Apollo Bay. The road is narrow and winding, and the traffic drives on the left, so the stops are also rests for the driver. About 190 km from the city, which takes most of a day with the stops; get to Apollo Bay before dark, because animals come out onto the road at dusk.
A short history of Apollo Bay
Apollo Bay is a small fishing town on the coast of Bass Strait, between the sea and the forests of the Otway Ranges. For decades it was reached mainly by sea. Between 1919 and 1932 about 3,000 returned soldiers from the First World War built the Great Ocean Road, about 240 kilometres long, as a memorial to their fallen comrades, and since then the town has been a major stop along the way. In 1848 the oldest lighthouse on mainland Australia was lit at nearby Cape Otway.
The ten best sights in Apollo Bay
1Great Ocean Road Memorial ArchRead the plaques before you drive on: they tell who built the cliff road ahead and why, and the rest of the drive looks different after it
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2Australian National Surfing Museum
Worth an hour in Torquay on a grey morning before the drive; the big surf brand outlets are in the same block
3Split Point LighthouseThe first big lookout of the drive; the cliff path around the white tower is free, and guided tours climb to the top
4Cape Otway LightstationDown a side road of about 12 km through the forest, where koalas often sit in the trees beside the road; entry is paid, so give it a couple of hours
5Bells BeachWatch from the clifftop car park rather than swim: the break is for experienced surfers and the rips are strong; around Easter the contest fills the area
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6Teddy's Lookout
A short drive up from the west end of Lorne to the picture of the road curling around the cliffs; a few minutes on foot from the car park
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7Kennett River
Turn up Grey River Road and look into the gum trees for wild koalas; park off the road, never on the Great Ocean Road itself, and do not feed the birds
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8Marriners Lookout
A steep climb of a quarter of an hour from the car park to the view over the whole bay; best in the last light before dinner
9Maits RestA half-hour boardwalk loop through rainforest right off the road west of town; the quickest way into the Otways if there is no time for the waterfalls
10Hopetoun FallsMany steps down into a fern gully and a stiff climb back; the hill roads to it are narrow and winding, so drive them in daylight
Scan with your phone camera to open the map there
What is an audio walk?
Tours in Apollo Bay →A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Apollo Bay:
Free walking tours in Apollo Bay
The road the soldiers built
The drive from Melbourne is the first day of the trip, and it is where the Great Ocean Road begins. The road starts at Torquay, the surf capital of Australia, and from the Memorial Arch it clings to the cliffs all the way to Apollo Bay. The road is narrow and winding, and the traffic drives on the left, so the stops are also rests for the driver. About 190 km from the city, which takes most of a day with the stops; get to Apollo Bay before dark, because animals come out onto the road at dusk.
- Torquay · Two of the world's biggest surf brands began here at the end of the 1960s: Rip Curl and Quiksilver were both started by local surfers in this small beach town.
- Bells Beach · A surf contest has been held here every Easter since the early 1960s, and it is the longest-running event in professional surfing. The winner is not handed a cup but a bell, and rings it on the stage.
- Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch · The road was built between 1919 and 1932 by about 3,000 soldiers who had returned from the First World War, working with picks, shovels and explosives. It was dedicated to their comrades who died, which makes it the largest war memorial in the world.
- Lorne · Every January the Pier to Pub swim crosses about 1.2 km of the bay here, and it draws thousands of swimmers, among the largest open-water swims in the world.
- Teddy's Lookout · From here you look down on the mouth of the St George River, where the road bends around the cliffs above the sea; it is the view on half the postcards of the road.
- Kennett River · Koalas live wild in the manna gums along the creek and sleep up to 20 hours a day, so look for a grey ball wedged in the fork of a branch. They live almost only on eucalyptus leaves, which give so little energy that sleeping is how they save it.
The Shipwreck Coast
West of Apollo Bay the road leaves the sea, climbs through the rainforest of the Otways and comes back down to a coast of soft limestone cliffs. Hundreds of ships were wrecked on this stretch in the age of sail, and the sea has cut the cliffs into stacks, arches and gorges. It is a full day out and back, about 100 km each way, so leave in the morning and work west. Time the Twelve Apostles for sunset and drive back in the dark slowly, or move the next night on towards the Grampians.
- Cape Otway Lightstation · First lit in 1848, it is the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Australian mainland. Ships bound for Melbourne had to pass through the gap between this cape and King Island, which sailors called the Eye of the Needle.
- Maits Rest · The myrtle beech and tree ferns here are a cool temperate rainforest of the kind that grew on Gondwana, when Australia was still joined to Antarctica.
- Gibson Steps · The first steps down this cliff were cut by Hugh Gibson, the settler who farmed the land above. The two stacks standing right in front of the beach are called Gog and Magog.
- The Twelve Apostles · There were never twelve. The stacks were known as the Sow and Piglets until they were renamed in the 1920s to draw tourists, and in 2005 one of them collapsed into the sea.
- Loch Ard Gorge · In 1878 the clipper Loch Ard hit the reef off this gorge on her way from England, and of 54 people on board only two survived, both 18. Tom Pearce, an apprentice, was washed into the gorge, then swam back out to pull Eva Carmichael from the water.
- London Arch · It was a double arch joined to the mainland and called London Bridge until January 1990, when the inner span fell into the sea. Two visitors were left stranded on the outer part and had to be lifted off by helicopter.
The bay and the Otway hills
Apollo Bay is a fishing town of under two thousand people, set on a wide curving beach with the green Otway Ranges rising straight behind it. It is the day without a long drive: the lookout and the harbour in the morning, then up into the hills for tall forest and waterfalls. The hill roads are steep and narrow, so take them slowly. About a full day with the falls; the town part alone is a relaxed half-day.
- Marriners Lookout · The hill above the town is a launch site for hang gliders and paragliders, who ride the sea breeze up the slope and land on the beach below.
- Apollo Bay Harbour · The boats here fish mainly for southern rock lobster, which Australians call crayfish, caught in pots set on the reefs along this coast.
- Marengo · Australian fur seals haul out on the reefs just offshore, which are a protected marine sanctuary; from the beach path you can often see them lying on the rocks.
- Wildlife Wonders · Every ticket funds the Conservation Ecology Centre, a local charity that studies and protects the koalas and other animals of the Otways; the fenced sanctuary keeps out foxes and cats.
- Hopetoun Falls · The falls drop on the Aire River into a gully of tree ferns, and they are at their fullest in winter and spring after rain.
- Triplet Falls · The walk passes the rusting remains of a sawmill that cut the giant mountain ash here in the first half of the 20th century; the forest around it has grown back.
Getting to Apollo Bay and getting around
- Apollo Bay Airfield · A small strip with no scheduled flights; you reach Apollo Bay by car, and most people pick one up at Melbourne Airport, where Australia drives on the left
- Visitor Centre coach stop · V/Line coaches from Geelong, which has trains from Melbourne, stop here on the main road; there are only a few a day, so the coach suits getting here, not touring the coast
Cheap eats in Apollo Bay
Food on this coast means fish and crayfish off the boats, pies from the bakery and cheese and ice cream from the dairy country inland. Apollo Bay has a short main street of cafés facing the beach, and Lorne and Port Campbell have the rest. Past Cape Otway there is little until Port Campbell, so buy lunch before the Shipwreck Coast day. Prices below are rough, in Australian dollars.
- Apollo Bay Bakery · A scallop pie to eat on the beach, about A$9-13
- Twelve Apostles Visitor Centre kiosk · Coffee and a snack by the car park before the cliffs, about A$6-15
- Kafe Koala · Coffee and a toasted sandwich at the koala stop, about A$10-20
- Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie · Ice cream and free chocolate tastings near Torquay, about A$7-15
- Apostle Whey Cheese · A cheese platter on the farm before sunset, about A$15-30
- Timboon Railway Shed Distillery · Lunch and whisky tasting in an old railway goods shed, mains about A$25-35
Museums in Apollo Bay
- Australian National Surfing Museum · Boards, films and the story of surfing in Australia, in Torquay
- Cape Otway Lightstation · The oldest surviving lighthouse on the mainland, with the keepers' houses and a telegraph station
- Split Point Lighthouse · The white tower at Aireys Inlet, with tours to the top
- Old Cable Station Museum · Local history of the town and the coast; short opening hours
- Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch · The plaque and arch at the start of the cliff road
- Loch Ard Gorge · The wreck beach, with the small cemetery of the victims on the clifftop
Nature and day trips near Apollo Bay
- Maits Rest · A half-hour rainforest boardwalk just west of Apollo Bay
- Hopetoun Falls · Falls in a tree-fern gully, down a long flight of steps
- Triplet Falls · A loop on boardwalks to three cascades in tall forest
- Erskine Falls · The waterfall in the hills behind Lorne, a short detour on the way in
- Gibson Steps · Down to the beach beneath two of the stacks
Things to do in Apollo Bay with kids
- Kennett River · Wild koalas in the gum trees and colourful parrots by the road
- Otway Fly Treetop Adventures · A treetop walkway and zipline tours in the forest
- Wildlife Wonders · A guided walk to see koalas, kangaroos and potoroos in a fenced sanctuary
- Marengo · Fur seals on the reef, a short walk along the beach from town
- Apollo Bay Harbour · Fishing boats, the breakwater and sometimes a seal in the water
Where to eat in Apollo Bay
- Great Ocean Road Brewhouse · Local beers on tap and pub meals on the main street, mains about A$25-40
- Chris's Beacon Point · Dinner high in the hills above Skenes Creek; book, mains about A$40-55
- Apollo Bay Hotel · The pub on the main street, with a beer garden, mains about A$25-40
Frequently asked questions about Apollo Bay
What is there to see in Apollo Bay?
The top sights in Apollo Bay are Great Ocean Road Memorial Arch, Australian National Surfing Museum and Split Point Lighthouse. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.
How many days do you need in Apollo Bay?
Three to four days are enough to see the best of Apollo Bay without rushing, including at least one walking tour.
Is there a free walking tour in Apollo Bay?
Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Apollo Bay, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The road the soldiers built.
How do you get to Apollo Bay and get around?
The main ways are Apollo Bay Airfield and Visitor Centre coach stop. Full details are in the transport section on this page.
Where to stay in Apollo Bay, and for how much?
sleepntrip shows only rooms in Apollo Bay that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.
Looking for a hotel in Apollo Bay for your dates?
Only rooms that meet nine conditions, up to $80 a night.