May 2022

Day Trip to Mornington Peninsula – Victoria, Australia

There are so many day trips from Melbourne making it the perfect launching pad for adventures. Mornignton Peninsula is somewhere between an hour and a half to two hours away depending on the area of the Peninsula you are traveling to. And while we only went for the day, it is easy to make this into a weekend trip or longer, especially in the summer time when the beaches are hopping.

Here are all the amazing things you can pick from when visiting Mornington Peninsula:

Peninsula Hot Springs
Point Nepean National Park
Mornington Wine Region
And where there is a wine region, there is tons of great local food
Arthurs Seat State Park
Countless beaches and seaside towns – Mount Martha, The Pillars, Safety Beach, Sorrento, and Portsea to name a few!

Since it was the winter season, we prioritized hiking and wine for our visit but you can easily extend a day trip into a weekend or longer with how much there is to do here – one day is not enough to see and do everything.

The two hour drive down was very easy on a Sunday morning – no one was on the road – and we started the day at the farthest point to work our way back closer to the city for a shorter drive on the way home. On our way to the first stop, we grabbed coffee and pastries at Baked In Portsea where I had a spinach and ricotta roll while Kevin had an apple bread with a coffee – both were so delicious and the perfect way to start the morning. No one was there when we stopped by when they opened but when we passed it again later in the day, it was packed.

Our first destination was Point Nepean National Park and while we were a bit behind schedule, I was hoping this long journey would be worth it.

Read about Fort Nepean National Park and if it is worth it here!

There is a lot more to explore at Fort Nepean National Park but we had much more to see and do on the Mornington Peninsula. On our way out, we turned off towards London Bridge Lookout for a quick view of the rock formation. This ended up being a great detour as the views were stunning and there was a path down to the water.

The waves here were so intense – one a few occasions a few took us by surprise and sent us running. The water is so incredibly blue and was actually not as cold as I expected it to be given the temperature in the air.

Before the next activity, we stopped at Ranga Bakery for some well earned treats. Even though they were apologetic that so much was already sold out for the day, we had no problem – even of what was left, it all looked amazing. We got a chicken, mushroom and leek pie, a wild berry danish, and a brownie. The pie was outstanding – the crust was so flaky and buttery and the ingredients inside were delicious. The danish is what I wish all danishes were – it has that lovely crust, a custard inside, and wild berries on top – it was absolutely divine. And the brownie was the best brownie we have ever had – hands down – fudgey, chocolaty, amazing. This bakery is what dreams are made of.

Our next stop was Arthurs Seat State Park for a walk around the Summit Circuit.

Read about the journey to Arthurs Seat National Park here!

Given all the things we did so far, I was surprised to see we were still on schedule. The last part of our day in Mornington Peninsula was dedicated to wineries as this is a very fruitful and popular wine region in Australia.

Read about the Mornington Peninsula Wine Region here!

With that, we concluded our day at the Mornington Peninsula and started our journey back to Melbourne. We were pretty impressed with how much we accomplished in just one day, even though we certainly had to make some tough cuts from the itinerary. I would have loved some beach time or even a few hours at the hot springs! If time in your Melbourne itinerary permits, definitely consider a day trip to Mornington Peninsula!