We are a couple and are planning to visit these 3 places in this Sept/Oct 03, and would want to find out nice motels/cottage/apartment there, please suggest your views based on the info I have given below or just write in any nicer accommodation that you think is good:

Expected prices: Under AUD 200
Length of stay: 1 night per place
Shortlisted accommodations:
Phillip Island: Quest, Continental, Holmwood Guest House, Abeleigh
Apollo Bay: Glenoe Cottage, Sea Farer, Beachfront motel, Spindrift B&B
Port Fairy: Vic Hotel (Hearns cottage suite?), the Douglass, Oscar Waterfront

Please also suggest whether I need to reserve rooms in advance or could leave the decision until I get there and get whatever the motel/cottage that I love to live in.

Many thanks,
Daisy

Hi Daisyho, I visit Phillip Island evrey couple of weeks. I have never stayed at the 4 places on your list but I can give a bit of insite to locations.
Continental directly opposite main beach & 1 minute walk to shops. T
Quest you would have to request a room with a water view as I would think not all rooms would have this. It is situated well back from the Esplanade on a rise 1 minute to main shops.
Abeleigh on Lover Walk would be more homely then the other two just will take a couple of minutes more to the shops which should not deture you. Lovers walk is a footpath which runs infront of Abeleigh & many more places with the foreshore butting on to it. Lovely quite location.
Holmwood just a little bit further from the sea....Abeleigh would be my choice ....Flake chips & salad at the Waterfront Fish & Chip shop the esplanade $5.50. Flake chips & salad good value.
Bistro 115 great tower lunch $12.50. Club sandwich, fries & cake (yum)
Great food & views at Taylors Water Front just past the airport.
Take a trip to Seal Rock on board the boat which leaves from Cowes pier. Feed the palicans at The San Remo jetty 11.30.a.m. Great bakery just down the road from Jetty. (the closest one with tables out the front.) If you have a spare 20 minutes (10 minutes each way) its worth a drive to Kilcunda magnificent view of surf & cliff coast.

Enjoy

School holidays are 19 September to 6 October. If you are travelling within these dates, it would be safer to make bookings. Outside of these dates, you should be able to get accommodation on arrival without problems.
At Port Fairy, there are several B&Bs along the riverfront - this would be the area I would choose to stay. Vic Hotel is away from the river. Another you could check out is Gobles Mill House.

In Port Fairy Oscar's is sensational. I'd agree with Marg - the Vic is a great place to eat but not my top pick for accomodation. If you can'r get into Oscars try for Gobles or Shearwater - another great B & B on the river.

I am going to Australia within exactly this period, so I guess I will have to book in advance.

Anybody knows about Apollo Bay or I searched that Lorne is quite nice too, anybody suggest which place is better if I am going from Phillip Bay.

thx
Daisy

Daisy - do you mean Phillip Island? If you do this is on the other side of Melbourne to Apollo Bay and Lorne (they are located on the Great Ocean Road).

Apollo Bay is further from Melbourne than Lorne - and either location would be worthy of a stop. I would say Lorne has more things going on than Apollo Bay - it is a bigger town - but Apollo Bay has some very nice restaurants and accommodation as well

Just a thought re your trip. Have you looked at Phillip Island then down to Sorrento & take the car ferry over to Queenscliff then drive on down The Great Ocean Road. This way you do not have to go back through Melbourne & down the boring road to Geelong.
Enjoy

Thanks Aussie, that is exactly what I am planning to do. It seems that this route is quite nice. How long do you think it takes for driving, then taking the ferry, and then driving to Apollo Bay? How frequent is the ferry schedule?

thx
daisy

Hi Daisyho, have a look at
www.searoad.com.au
this will tell you all about the ferry.
I would look at 1. 1/2 hours from Phillip Island to Sorrento from there depending on how many stops you take for site seeing I would be looking at staying at Lorne overnight. Its a lovely beach side town with good accom & rest. Then rise early the next day for the rest of your trip. Take a detour & climb Cape Otway Lighthouse. Enjoy

The ferry leaves every hour. Info can be found at www.searoad.com.au. Make sure you leave enough time to have a potter about in both Sorrento and Queenscliff and make the short detour from Queenscliff to the entrance to Port Phillip bay at Point Lonsdale.

Thanks for all of your comments. BTW, is Phillip Island worth a night stay, or just take a day trip from Melbourne?

Besides, should I attend sightseeing tour for Penguins on Phillip Island at early morning or nightime?

Thanks
Daisy

Watch the penguins coming in at night and then stay overnight on Phillip Island. They don't come in until after dark (which should be about 7pm at that time of year). This will leave you fresh in the morning to go off sightseeing again.
I would think that the penguins would leave their burrows at dawn and you would really have to get up extremely early to watch them.

Thanks. Concerning where to stay for 1 night after leaving Phillip Island, please suggest:

1. Which area is nice to stay overnight? Lorne or Apollo Bay? (Consider that I have only 1 day for sight seeing the 12 Apostles, and then going back to Melbourne on the 3rd day)

2. People suggest me staying with Cumberland Resort in Lorne, that's why they suggest Lorne. So which of the nice motel/B&B in Apollo Bay that deserves 1 night stay there?

thx
Daisy