8 Best Sights in Phillip Island, Victoria

Phillip Island's main draw is the nightly parade of little penguins, also called fairy penguins, waddling from the sea to their burrows in nearby dunes. The parade of miniature penguins—the largest colony in the world—attracts onlookers year-round and crowds on summer weekends and holidays. There are several ways to view the Penguin Parade: general admission, with viewing from concrete bleachers; the Penguin Plus or Penguin Premium experiences, which put you on smaller viewing platforms closer to the action, and there's even a small underground section to watch the penguins as they go to their nests; each charges a different fee. The Guided Ranger tour puts you on an intimate beachfront viewing stand with a ranger, while the VIP Tour gets you into a private, elevated "Skybox" overlooking the beach. The Ultimate Adventure Tour, for private groups, includes headphones and night-vision equipment and a secluded spot on a separate beach. The spectacle begins at around sunset each night; booking ahead is essential in summer and during public holidays. Wear closed shoes and warm clothing—even in summer—and bring rain protection gear. Make sure to arrive an hour before the tour begins.

This gloriously wide, long sandy beach is patrolled during the summer months—swim between the red-and-yellow patrol flags—and its gentle waves make it popular for families and beginner surfers. Low tide reveals rock pools ideal for slow, contemplative walks and exploration. The nearby Smiths Beach Bar & Beach Food is open at 7 am for coffee, pastries, wraps and sandwiches, ideal for beach picnics, and you can hire surfboards, wet suits, bodyboards, fins, and masks from the surf shop next door. The beach is accessed by stairs or wheelchair-friendly ramps. Amenities: lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

Phillip Island's only surf lifesaving club is based on this long, exposed stretch of prime surfing beach, recognised as a National Surfing Reserve. The hazardous 4.2-km (2.6-mile) beach has strong undertows, so it's for experienced surfers and swimmers only, and only between the safety flags when lifeguards are on patrol, from December to mid-April: check the surf lifesaving club's website for patrol times. Walkers can take in the views here on a ramble to The Pinnacles. The Woolamai Beach Road runs off Phillip Island Road and is 14 km (9 miles) from Cowes. The nearest accommodation is generally cottage-style; Black Dolphin has a luxury penthouse and a cottage on the Cape, on Corona Road. Amenities: food and drink; lifeguards; parking (no fee); showers; toilets. Best for: surfing; swimming; walking.

The seaside town of Cowes is the hub of Phillip Island; the pier is where you can board sightseeing cruises and the passenger ferry that travels across Western Port to French Island and Stony Point on the Mornington Peninsula. It has a lively café scene and several quality gift shops interspersed with the traditionally cheaper tourist fare. Restaurant and hotel bookings are essential in the busy summer months.

At this excellent wildlife center you can stroll along treetop-high boardwalks and view koalas in their natural habitat. At the visitor center, learn some fascinating things about the cute furry creatures—such as how they sleep 21 hours a day. Wallabies, echidnas, and birdlife abound at the reserve. Private guided tours are available and there is a café on-site. It is located just a short drive from the tourist information center at Newhaven; follow the signs along Phillip Island Tourist Road. For best value, buy the 3Parks Pass to include a visit to the Penguin Parade and Churchill Island, which can be used over months.

Phillip Island's marine wildlife attraction is just 3 km (2 miles) from the Penguin Parade, perched on the very edge of Point Grant on the island's far west end. Follow a series of wooden boardwalks that wind around the rocky headland to the nearby blowhole, with fantastic views of Nobbies headland and Seal Rocks beyond it—you'll see little penguins nesting in boxes close to the boardwalks, and Cape Barren Geese aplenty. A café serves warming coffee, essential in the cold months.

Quieter than Cowes, Rhyll is a charming fishing village on the eastern side of Phillip Island. You can rent a boat by the pier. The local wetlands are internationally significant for their resident and migratory birdlife, and a short mangrove boardwalk leads to Conservation Hill and the Koala Conservation Reserve.

Once connected to Tasmania, this park on the southernmost point of mainland Australia is a haven for birdlife and native animals. A granite peninsula of more than 123,000 acres, it contains many kangaroos, koalas, and wombats that can be spotted around Tidal River, the main camping and accommodation area in the south of the park. Mountains, fantastic granite boulders, beaches, wetlands, lakes, and plains make it a hiker's paradise, and many walkers set off on the famous all-day inland trek to the windswept lighthouse. Active types can book a bed in the restored lighthouse keepers' cottage (A$137.50 per adult per night, off-peak A$123.80), though you must bring your own bedding. Other, less historical cottages are also available, or bring your own tent to any of the Prom's campsites (from A$50 per adult per night). Would-be lighthouse guests should bear in mind that the walk is 19 km (12 miles), one-way, from Telegraph Saddle car park, or 23 km (14 miles) from Tidal River. There are more than 30 self-guided walks that take you from an hour to a day to complete.

To get to Wilsons Promontory National Park, take the Princes Highway to Dandenong, then the South Gippsland Highway to Meeniyan or Foster. Tidal River is another 70 km (43 miles). There's no public transportation to the park.