Phillip Island Penguin Parade and wildlife tours put a second gated park in the same fare as the crossing, so the koalas, kangaroos and wallabies happen in daylight and the penguins close the day.
Hotel pickup, a guided walk through Moonlit Sanctuary's exhibits, Cape Woolamai and The Nobbies, then general admission at the crossing. Twelve to fourteen hours door to door.
From $113 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The only group coach whose fare buys the Penguins Plus platform rather than the general stands, with 45 minutes on the Koala Conservation Reserve boardwalks and a stop at The Nobbies first.
From $182 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Admission to the Koala Conservation Reserve and general viewing at the crossing, with Cowes and The Nobbies in between, on a premium coach with live commentary the whole way down.
From $131 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Two hours at Moonlit Sanctuary, Cape Woolamai and The Nobbies before general entry to the crossing, with selected Melbourne pickup and multilingual audio through the operator's app.
From $123 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The Brighton bathing boxes on the way out, an hour at Maru Koala and Animal Park, the chocolate factory and The Nobbies, capped at ten travellers in a minibus.
From $116 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
A guided 6.8km circuit walk around Cape Woolamai, the island's highest point, with the koala reserve and The Nobbies after it. Adults only, capped at eleven, ponchos supplied.
From $203 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
An afternoon rather than a full day: city-centre hotel pickup, an hour at Moonlit Sanctuary, The Nobbies and Seal Rock, then the crossing. Eleven travellers at most.
From $179 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
The most-reviewed day on the sheet. Pickup from six central hotels, 90 minutes at Moonlit Sanctuary, The Nobbies, and a standard viewing ticket at the crossing, with commentary in sixteen languages.
From $111 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Koala Conservation Reserve, The Nobbies, Cowes and Woolamai Beach across a ten-hour day, with Melbourne hotel pickup and live guiding translated into eleven other languages.
From $113 per person
Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.
Every fare here includes admission to the Penguin Parade, and each card says which viewing area it buys at the gate.
Check availabilityA day that buys you a second gated attraction as well as the crossing. Each of these fares includes admission to a wildlife park in daylight, which is the difference between arriving on the island at dusk and spending a day on it.
That matters because the parade is only two hours long and it happens at the end. A tour with nothing in front of it is a long drive with a short reward; a tour with a wildlife park in it is a day out that finishes with penguins.
Buying the Koala Conservation Reserve separately is A$17.50 an adult, and Moonlit Sanctuary and Maru charge their own admission. On these fares it is included, which closes most of the gap between a coach seat and driving yourself.
There is no photography at the Penguin Parade after sunset, on any ticket. The wildlife park is where the camera comes out: koalas at eye level on treetop boardwalks, kangaroos close enough to feed, wallabies and echidnas in the same bush.
The island's own parks shut in the late afternoon, so a self-driver arriving at three has very little to do before dusk. A tour times the daylight half for you and puts you at the reserve an hour before the birds.
Three different attractions appear across these fares, and one of them is not on Phillip Island at all.
The alternative is a fare that goes straight to the crossing, or the reserve's own ticket with your own car. Here is what the extra money actually buys.
| Wildlife tour | Penguins only | |
|---|---|---|
| Second attraction | A gated wildlife park, included | None |
| Day length | Nine to fourteen hours | Five to ten hours |
| Daylight wildlife | Koalas, kangaroos, wallabies, echidnas | Whatever you see from the coach |
| Photography | Yes, in daylight at the park | Not after sunset |
| Fares from | $111 per person | $24 for the ticket alone |
| Best for | First visits, families, anyone who came for Australian wildlife | Repeat visitors, drivers, short evenings |
The trade is hours. A wildlife day runs three to five hours longer than a penguins-only evening, and in summer that is the difference between getting home at ten and getting home at midnight.
Three appear across these tours and they are genuinely different places.
If you have already booked the Koala Conservation Reserve separately, pick a fare with one of the other two. If you want everything on the island itself, pick the koala reserve.
Fares here run from $111 to $204 per person, and days from nine to fourteen hours. Group caps run from ten on the smallest minibus to thirty-nine on the largest coach, and the listings state them in their own additional information rather than in the title.
Check the viewing area before you compare prices. Almost every fare here buys general viewing at the gate; one buys the Penguins Plus platform, and its price reflects that rather than the wildlife half. The viewing-tier guide sets out what the difference is worth.
Anyone travelling with small children on a summer date. A fourteen-hour day that ends near midnight is a lot to ask, and an afternoon tour or the shorter evening from the island itself will serve you better. The tour options page compares every format on hours.
Anyone who has already done a wildlife park in Victoria. There are several around Melbourne, and paying for a second one inside a fare is money that would buy the closer viewing platform instead.
Anyone with a car. The reserve's own ticket plus a separate A$17.50 at the koala reserve costs far less than a guided day, and doing it without a tour prices that version properly.
One fare, two gated attractions, and somebody else driving the two hours home.
Check availability