Public listings checked 25/10/2026. Dates use each event’s local time. Check organiser details before travelling.
Explore the region
Explore selected Great Ocean Road and Otways towns. This is a long driving region, not one compact town; check the locality and travel distance for every outing.
Listings across Aireys Inlet, Anglesea, Apollo Bay, Forrest, Lavers Hill, Lorne, Marengo, Skenes Creek, Torquay.
Attractions and places to visit
25 places in this selection. Opening hours, access and admission vary; check the place details.
Marriner Lookout overlooks Apollo Bay and is located on the outskirts of the township.
An easy but steep 10 minute walk from the carpark is rewarded with a spectacular ocean, beach, hinterland and town view, especially pretty for watching the sunrise.
Note that this is a popular spot and the carpark can be quite busy of weekends and public holidays. The track and lookout are located on private property so please follow instructions on signage, closing gates and taking any rubbish with you when you leave.
Distance: one kilometre return. Time: 20 minutes. Difficulty: Easy – Moderate
The Great Ocean Walk is a one-way, long-distance walk extending just over 110 kilometres. Starting in Apollo Bay, the trail ventures through the Great Otway National Park and Port Campbell National Park, concluding at the famous Twelve Apostles. This once-in-a-lifetime hike will take you eight days in total, or you can sample sections on a range of single day or multi-day hikes.
The Great Ocean Walk shadows the iconic Great Ocean Road. Every day is different as you weave through tall forests, coastal heathlands and beside rocky shore platforms. Cross creeks, rivers, pass above wild-rocky shores and deserted beaches with panoramic views and windswept cliff-tops.
Walkers can stay at one of the dedicated campsites or find off-walk accommodation nearby with the comfort of hot showers and soft beds. There are seven small hike-in campsites, which must be booked prior to walking. Licensed Tour Operators are available to provide pick up and drop off services. Walkers must consider their noise and environmental impacts and please take all your rubbish with you.
Before your visit, please check the relevant park page on the Parks Victoria website for updated changes of conditions and familiarise yourself with important bushfire safety information to ensure your experience is safe and enjoyable. For information about fires, Fire Danger Ratings and Total Fire Bans visit the Vic Emergency website.
Arts Gallery inc. Gallery is a quality exhibition space on the Great Ocean Road operated by Apollo Bay Arts. Local and emerging artists present exhibitions in this beautiful gallery, housed in the light-filled front room of the heritage Mechanic's Hall on the Great Ocean Road in Apollo Bay.
Apollo Bay Arts Inc. is a regional community art and culture nonprofit organisation, operating the gallery, annual art show, literary festival, pottery club and arts studio.
Their mission is to encourage and support local and emerging artists by providing a quality, accessible and affordable gallery space to exhibit artwork. Individuals and groups are encouraged to exhibit.
Apollo Bay Arts Inc Gallery operates as an artist-run space. The application process aims to ensure that exhibited work is of a professional standard ensuring the long-term success of the gallery.
Designed to rejuvenate, One Spa provides luxurious treatments that awaken, revive and promote balance within the body. In the comfortable and relaxing surrounds of RACV Torquay Resort, you can enjoy a range of beauty treatments delivered by our highly-trained therapists.
One Spa offers an exclusive and personalised treatment menu that includes remedial and relaxation massages, facials, manicures and pedicures, skin or body treatments, geisha tub soaks and hydrotherapy sessions.
Facilities also include a luxurious steam room and thermal stone room with heated surrounding walls, floor and stone seat. The wet room comprises four overhead showers each set to temperatures of 10 to 40 degrees Celsius to provide varying degrees of refreshment, a heated spa pool to reduce stress and tension and a plunge pool for revitalisation.
After treatments, guests are welcomed to continue their experience by reflecting in the One Spa lounge overlooking ocean views and the picturesque 18-hole golf course while being treated with an array of herbal teas.
One Spa has been created with one person in mind – you.
Set within the backdrop of the Torquay and Jan Juc beaches, the RACV Torquay Golf Club is a challenging course for all golfers. The 18-hole, par-71 course was developed by Ogilvy Clayton, led by former US Open champion, Geoff Ogilvy and previous Victorian tournament professional, Mike Clayton.
The traditional links-style course follows the undulating surface of Victoria's Surf Coast and features wide-open couch fairways, immaculate greens, wetlands and picturesque ocean views. Located at 1, Great Ocean Road, Torquay Golf Club sits at the start of Victoria's premier tourist drive destination and is a leisurely 75 minutes drive from Melbourne.
Canvas and Cork is a relaxed, fun art studio where you can come to get crafty, socialise and unwind.
Offering both public sessions and private events for adults and kids, there are a range of activities and painting sessions where you can create an artwork that you will actually want to display in your home.
The studio is bring your own food and drinks (including alcohol).
Check upcoming sessions on the website to see when the next public session is happening. Private events can be booked any day (excluding public holidays).
The Australian National Surfing Museum Torquay celebrates the history of surfing in Australia. It tells the story of this countries rich beach culture and surfing heritage that has developed over the last one hundred years.
Explore Australia’s favourite pastime - visitors can relive time spent at the beach, or discover the intimate link between surfers and the breaking waves. Find out about surfing hero's and legends in The Australian Surfing Hall of Fame, which celebrates the lives of Australian surfing champions. You can check out their biographies mounted on a typical example of the board they rode.
Enjoy spectacular footage of surfers in action while you are surrounded by vintage surf memorabilia and an epic array of historic surfboards. Trace the development of the surfboard along the boardwalk as a breaking wave looms overhead.
Explore the many elements that go to make up surf culture, clothes, movies, music, and walk through the ultimate surf mobile, the VW kombi van. Whether you are eight or eighty eight, at the Australian National Surfing Museum Torquay you can ride a wave of history and discover how awesome and inspirational surfing can be.
For updates or further information please check the website.
Just past Apollo Bay, off the world famous Great Ocean Road, Marengo Reefs Marine Sanctuary protects 12ha of ocean waters. About 150m offshore, this sanctuary protects a reef system known as Little Henty Reef. Two sections of the reef, the inner and outer reef, are usually exposed and separated by a narrow channel known as 'The Gap'. Composed of sandstone they support wonderful intertidal and subtidal reefs which are packed with sea life.
Visitors exploring the intertidal reef may come across many invertebrates including sea snails, tubeworms and abalone. In slightly deeper waters there are beautiful seaweed gardens including towering Bull Kelp forests and beds of delicate green and red species. Between the two small islands, calmer waters support colourful soft corals, sponge gardens and sea urchins. The diverse range of habitats provides resources for a huge range of species.
Conditions can change in parks for many reasons. For the latest information on changes to local conditions, please visit the relevant park page on the Parks Victoria website.
Be bushfire ready in the great outdoors. Refer to the Bushfire Safety section on the Parks Victoria website for tips on how to stay safe.
Discover Australia's natural beauty at Wildlife Wonders.
Guided by a conservationist Nature Guide, you will encounter unique wildlife living freely in a stunning bushland environment overlooking the ocean. Learn about the ecology of the spectacular Otway Ranges and the current research projects saving the Great Ocean Road's threatened species.
Wildlife Wonders has Advanced Ecotourism Certification, and 100 per cent of profits support conservation efforts to protect Australia's threatened species.
Emu Cafe at Wildlife Wonders also offers light meals and refreshments for the perfect stop along your journey. The Emu Cafe is open daily except for most public holidays, from 9:30am to 2:30pm.
Please check the website for updated tour availability.
Please note that visitors are not permitted to bring pets or other animals into the Wildlife Wonders Sanctuary at any time, including while participating on a tour. Well behaved dogs on leash are permitted in the café courtyard under owner supervision, and working Guide Dogs are permitted inside the Visitor Centre.
Offering natural beauty and easy access, the 41 kilometre Surf Coast Walk lets you relax and enjoy a world-class walking destination at your own pace.
The Surf Coast Walk can be split into 12 distinctive tracks, each inviting you to explore inspiring landscapes on foot or bike beyond the edge of Victoria's beautiful Great Ocean Road. In its entirety the walk connects the coastal towns of Torquay, Anglesea and Aireys Inlet.
Relish the rich ochre of the Bells Beach cliffs, the deep blue of Bass Strait and the leafy green of eucalypt forests. Discover traditional Wathaurung country, fascinating surf culture and abundant wildlife as the Walk connects you with the coastal town comforts of Torquay, Anglesea and Aireys Inlet.
Whether you are a nature lover or a fun lover, whether you take an hour, a day or a week, the Surf Coast Walk puts a stunning and unique coastal environment within easy reach.
Located in Torquay, one of Victoria's favourite seaside towns, Point Danger Marine Sanctuary is ideal for snorkelling and exploring the diverse marine life at low tide.
The area between Torquay's back and front beaches is formed of beds of crumbling limestone and a narrow rock platform which extends to the west. A small reef which is only exposed at the lowest of summer tides lies just offshore and is often isolated from the beach by a deep sandy channel. One shipwreck is found within the park, the Joseph H. Scammell.
The limestone reef is an enthralling feature of this park. Covered in small boulders and intricate seaweed beds, the reef is home to a number of weird and wonderful creatures. Most noteworthy is the huge diversity of seaslugs, currently 96 species known to occur in this sanctuary, many of which are endemic.
Experience Australia's wildlife at Fauna Australia, where you can interact personally with iconic animals in a stress free environment. Join their 30-minute Koala Experience where you can take your own photos, tailored for busy travellers. Undercover photo area enables all weather experience. Connect with koalas, capture your memories, and enhance your Great Ocean Road itinerary. Book your Koala Experience today.
Conveniently located midway between Apollo Bay and The Twelve Apostles, Fauna Australia is only 45 minutes away from Twelve Apostles, Apollo Bay and Colac. Some other nearby attractions such as Triplet Falls is 15 minutes away, Otway Fly Treetop Walk is 20 minutes away and Melba Gully glowworms is only five minutes.
At Fauna Australia, they prioritise inclusivity and diversity within the team through the Progressive Pathways Program. The talented all-abilities keepers and guides, including individuals with disabilities, bring unique perspectives that enhance the organisation.
For travellers with more time on their hands, experience the Great Ocean Road and Otways with their conveniently located accommodation. Watch the place come alive at night with their nocturnal species from your fully self-contained spa cottages that sleeps four. Feed friendly kangaroos and wombats.
