Express Twelve Apostles Day Trip from Melbourne
3.5
Express Twelve Apostles Day Trip from Melbourne
By Bilby Travel
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About
Lowest price guaranteeReserve now & pay laterFree cancellation
Ages 0-120
Duration: 8–10 hours
Start time: Check availability
Mobile ticket
Live guide: Russian, English
More
- Hotel pickup and drop-off
- Local guide
What's not included- Food and drinks
- Helicopter tour
- Gratuities
- Start:Traveler pickup offered.Pickup details
- Pick-up from private addresses
Port pickup offeredDuring checkout you will be able to select from the list of included ports.- Station Pier Cruise Ship Terminal, 6 Waterfront Pl, Port Melbourne VIC 3207, Australia
End:This activity ends back at the meeting point. - Infant seats available
- Wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Transportation is wheelchair accessible
- Surfaces are wheelchair accessible
If you have questions about accessibility, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 29867P3- Children must be accompanied by an adult
- Most travelers can participate
- This is a private tour/activity. Only your group will participate
- For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
- If you have questions about this tour or need help making your booking, we’d be happy to help. Just call the number below and reference the product code: 29867P3
From
$724.51
per group (up to 11)
Select date and travelers
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About the operator
Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator:
- CCQQ0 contributionsAn Amazing Day Trip - Long but ExcitingWe had a great day with our patient driver Milan. Easy communication using WhatsAPP started the day before and Milan was flexible in adjusting the pick up time since that was the day right after we arrived in Australia after a very long flight. He made stops for us to see kangaroos and koalas in the wild. After the stop at twelve apostles, Milan also took us to another scenic point and shared stories from his own visits years ago. Thinking back the only thing we wish to improve will be to reverse the stops so we can take better pictures of the twelve apostles. In our case, we arrived around 3pm in the afternoon and could not get a good picture of the famous scene without our faces being very dark. It in no way undermined our experience, I must add.Written September 16, 2024
- mosS1640LJ0 contributionsA great day on the great ocean road!Michael was an excellent and knowledgeable tour guide, he made us feel comfortable and safe. We spent the day seeing Australias beautiful natural sites with many stops along the way and the 12 apostles as the finale! Thanks for a great day.Written August 18, 2024
- RyanneFoley90 contributionsFantastic Wine Tour (Yarra Valley)My colleagues and I had a fantastic wine tour for our mid-year celebration. Michael was a great driver and kept us on time to make the most of each venue. We all had a great time, would definitely book with Bilby Travel again :)Written July 21, 2024
- FrequentFlier5463170 contributionsKoalas, kangaroos and the 12 apostlesWe had a great private day trip to the 12 apostles with Richard, our expert guide. Richard was an excellent driver, flexible to our needs, had a great music playlist and a font of all knowledge 😃 There were 9 of us (8 adults and 1 teen) and the van was ideal for us all. We were picked up at 8 am in Melbourne CBD at our hotel and dropped off at the same location at 8 pm. There were lots of stops during the day where we visited places like a chocolate shop, Koalas in the wild, rainforest walk, fresh fish co-op restaurant, 12 apostles and a wildlife spot with dozens of wild kangaroos. Genuinely a 5 out of 5 experience for everyone and a must do when visiting Melbourne.Written July 16, 2024
- J6315UUsusant0 contributionsWinery adventure at Yarra ValleyOur winery adventure at Yarra Valley was a success, thanks to Max's quick and accommodating responses. Our driver, Alan, was friendly and focused on the road despite the noise from the girls. Thank you, Max and Alan.Written July 12, 2024
- shawankit0 contributionsGreat experience. Will recommend them for this long tripWe booked the trip via email. Max was super responsive and immediately returned our email and advise alternative days for trip due to availability. On the day , Michael our tour guide arrived on time at our pick up address. He provided us with all information and we started the long journey. He got us to great breakfast stop and helped us with snow gear cloths hire. He and his wife were two driver for long trip. They were fully professional and prepared. Trip up the mountain and down was driven with care. Overall the whole journey was a very pleasant experience. We returned back on time.Written July 11, 2024
- siewyinn20240 contributionsAmazing Melbourne Experience Brought by BilbytravelI booked a 3-day tour with Bilbytravel and also arranged for two return airport transfers in Melbourne in early July 2024. I traveled to Melbourne with my mum and my 5 Year-old daughter. Max is a very professional travel manager who recommended the itinerary during booking. During my 3-day tour covering Dandenong, Great Ocean Road & 12 Apostles, as well as Mornington Peninsula, I had a tour guide named Michael. Michael did a wonderful job. He is a fluent and friendly English-speaking guide who explained the historical significance of each place and provided excellent recommendations for our lunch spots. He was also very caring, considering my mum has difficulty walking long distances and my daughter is still very young, he did his best to give us warm advice and assistance throughout the trip. We really appreciate his amazing service, and our first trip to Melbourne left us with a lot of pleasant memories. We hope to return again in the near future.In addition, the airport transfers provided by Bilbytravel were handled by professional chauffeurs in luxury vehicles, which added more compliments and were worth every penny we spent. Max and Michael from Bilbytravel did a great job, and I give them my thumbs up.Written July 8, 2024
- wendypS976RK0 contributionsPrivate experience is the way to go!What a wonderful experience our family of 4 had! Thankyou kindly to Max for being ever so accommodating via email and also to Neil our fantastic driver and ‘tour guide’! We loved that we could stop for coffee and bakery treats on the way up to the ski slopes and also appreciated being personally taken right up to the ski area (not just dropped off in the carpark area!) and introduced to a guide who showed us the ropes and what to do/where to book! Our review also receives 5 stars on being personally picked up and dropped off at our accommodations address! It certainly took away the stress of trying to find a meeting spot and then a bonus of being dropped directly at our door after a long (but happy!) day! A private experience is way better than sitting on a crammed tour bus and we highly recommend using Bilby!Written July 4, 2024
- PomSaenton0 contributionsGreat private tour!Great experience. Nice vehicle. Very polite, friendly, helpful and informative driver. We did enjoy the tour especially the last (less known) stop.Written April 21, 2024
- Katmark810 contributionsAmazing Ocean Road Trip in Reverse!!WOW! This trip was amazing. We were in Melbourne for a week, no car, decided to reserve this trip a month ago and glad we did. Richard, our Tour Guide and Driver was fabulous. We made multiple stops, saw many wonderful sights and were able to really get a feel for the area. Richard gave us a lot of history and knew the answers to our questions. He made sure we were comfortable and was considerate of our needs. Any questions we had prior to the trip were answered promptly. Richard, thank you so much!Written March 30, 2024
- 408karenn0 contributionsTerrific guide for our private tourOur tour was just a private tour, not necessarily the Great Ocean Road, as it was just three of us, and one of us had done the Great Ocean Road the day before. So our guide, Richard, had to concoct something different for us, and wow - he pulled through in a big way. We had a booking at Maru Koala, so that was our first stop, though he had a few Melbourne sights to show us first. Then the rest of the day, he had to figure out! He took us to a local coop for fish and chips (one that is frequented by the locals rather than buses and tourists), and while there, he showed us where the sting rays swim - large 4 to 5 foot stingrays! Then he took us various places where we saw beautiful scenery, many kangaroos and wallabies, echidna, and even a little penguin (the star of the day). Richard was a superb guide - he even tailored his music to our taste! We would request him again, if we were to be in the area.Written March 28, 2024
- Meander383926549190 contributionsLong day, but worth every minute!Richard did a great job driving us on a very long but enjoyable day! He pulled into great spots for fabulous views with limited crowds, and provided us with interesting commentary on the Great Ocean Road and the communities along the way. Our stop at the Fishermen's cooperative for lunch was well timed to avoid any crowds and delicious! On our return home, he made sure we spotted kangaroos and flocks of cockatoos! We would definitely recommend using Bilby for a private tour.Written January 19, 2024
- VSan230 contributionsWorth it!We had a wonderful private tour with our very friendly and experienced guide Paul. He constantly asked what we wanted to do so our trip was optimal. Paul was also a very safe driver during the long trip. I highly recommend!Written January 10, 2024
- 899kajsa0 contributionsAmazing day!What an incredible day with Mark! He was on-time, cheerful, intelligent and knowledgeable! We had the most amazing day - koalas, kangaroos, carnivorous snails! And then the majestic scenery all along the Great Ocean Road... and the 12 Apostils were stunning!! It was one of the best private tours ever - highly recommended!Written October 22, 2023
- alrasidiribanijr0 contributionsMt Buller ExperienceOur Mt. Buller journey and experience was great. Words are not enough to thank how wonderful Bilby Travel Group is…most especially to the great tour guide and skillful driver Ms Vivian, she is so accommodating and friendly that my family loves to be with during our entire Mt Buller journey… Thank you so much Bilby! See you on our next Melbourne family vacation!Written September 1, 2023
These reviews are the subjective opinions of Tripadvisor members and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
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1 contribution
Oct 2022
STAY AWAY, BE WARNED !
you be totally wasting your money,
Stay away from this company, I have referred them to Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) please do write to CATO if you suffer from them
I had a twelve apostles tour with them on the 13.10.2022
1. the driver did not give information about area, this was a tour I wanted to know about area / bit of its history background but none given to me , he just drove
2. He dropped me and left me all alone at twelve apostles saying he will go and snooze in the car park and I must do it myself , so you pay for tour staff to sleep during your tour ,
So under that heavy rain I went to twelve apostles myself , I confused the roads and walked to wrong direction , it was heavily raining I could not even take photos myself whilst he was snoozing in the car
today’s tour was not private tour it was rather like getting UBER car , although return UBER would be 250 dollar so take UBER
3. On the way back Driver made extra stop to strect his legs ! And when I wanted to go to toilet he said I must make the payment first , I had to hold myself n pain until he sorted out payment which took 10 min
4. His extra stopped made us run late for an hour
5. On the way back the driver dropped me totally other side of the road under heavy rain and i did not have any umbrella,
than I messaged my concerns to Max, however he used deception and manipulated the entire matter
STAY AWAY
you be totally wasting your money,
Stay away from this company, I have referred them to Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) please do write to CATO if you suffer from them
I had a twelve apostles tour with them on the 13.10.2022
1. the driver did not give information about area, this was a tour I wanted to know about area / bit of its history background but none given to me , he just drove
2. He dropped me and left me all alone at twelve apostles saying he will go and snooze in the car park and I must do it myself , so you pay for tour staff to sleep during your tour ,
So under that heavy rain I went to twelve apostles myself , I confused the roads and walked to wrong direction , it was heavily raining I could not even take photos myself whilst he was snoozing in the car
today’s tour was not private tour it was rather like getting UBER car , although return UBER would be 250 dollar so take UBER
3. On the way back Driver made extra stop to strect his legs ! And when I wanted to go to toilet he said I must make the payment first , I had to hold myself n pain until he sorted out payment which took 10 min
4. His extra stopped made us run late for an hour
5. On the way back the driver dropped me totally other side of the road under heavy rain and i did not have any umbrella,
than I messaged my concerns to Max, however he used deception and manipulated the entire matter
STAY AWAY
Written October 13, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Dear Readers.
I address this reply to you first rather than the client, who wrote the review above. It is pretty clear about this client to me, but I’m writing this feedback for everyone who wants to hear our opinion about the matter.
Recently we had to provide the service to that person and unfortunately for us didn't realise on time that we are dealing with a special person, eccentric, sensitive and quick-tempered.
This client was very quiet and friendly most of the tour and didn't express any disappointments. In fact, the client decided to sleep on the rear seats for some while on the return journey without a seat belt (against the driver’s instructions) with his dirty, wet feet on the seat.
As a private tour company, we do not give a set commentary but rather explore the time in getting to know the individual and giving relevant information at each point of interest. We gave all relevant information at each stop of point of interest but noticed that the client experienced jetlag and judged wrongly, it seems, with hindsight, that he would not prefer a constant stream of information.
As part of our fatigue management plan, the driver must take some rest stops along the course of the day. This day we experienced extremely heavy rainfall and bad driving conditions so the driver must take care of his health for his and his client's benefit. The tour guide has driven this tour a hundred times and has very rarely accompanied the client to the Twelve Apostles as we feel this is very well signposted and the driver has to have an essential rest in readiness for the three-hour drive back to Melbourne. However, if the client had expressed an interest in the tour guide accompanying him for the walk, he would have been more than ready to please.
We are very sorry about the fact that the client got lost and will take this information on board as we thought the directions given were very straightforward, we shall review this part of the tour.
The stop in Winchelsea is at roughly the halfway point of the return trip and the tour guide did inform the client that we would be stopping there for a toilet break before setting off. We may have misjudged the client's urgency to visit the toilet but, as he knows, the delay in payment was due to his bank. It is client's bank that blocks the transaction and calls him for confirmation. We also requested to make the payment there, as we knew, at the drop-off point, that there was no place to wait.
As for the extra time he spent on the tour, we informed him on pick-up of the different tour options and after discussing with the client agreed that the client would like to do the “Great Ocean Road Private tour” rather than the “12 Apostles Express Private tour” and adapted to client's needs. This tour would take 12 hours rather than 8 and the client agreed before departure that this tour would suit him better. In this regard, we got the client back two hours before the usual time and didn't charge any extra for the more expensive product, it was a free upgrade.
The client's hotel is located on the slowly moving part of Toorak Road and the tour guide offered to make a right turn into the road next to the hotel but the client assured the driver that it would be fine to drop the client on the opposite side.
As for the cost complaint. The client paid us $699 as advertised plus 2.5% credit card surcharge. For that money, we provide to the client with a personal driver-guide and a luxury Mercedes minibus. The client was well aware of the price before he made a booking because I’m the person who sent him this email. The assumption about an alternative way of getting to 12 Apostles for $250 is based on, as the client said: “This specific Uber driver Sandesh said $250”, sounds plausible at least if not incorrect. We check the Uber prices and it says the minimal price with UberX is $727 return, and mind you there will be no waiting time for sightseeing. The luxury option of UberXL (minibus) would cost you more than $1100.
Almost immediately after he returns to the hotel, he begins sending messages about a negative experience. The client started with a complaint and then threatened us with negative reviews and legal actions. As I remember he mentioned CATO (which is a voluntary tour operator association), ASIC and the Government. All of it looks like a silly blackmail attempt and he just googled for names that sound loud.
All of this time we were trying to find a way to compromise but the client was getting more and more aggressive with each message. The last message contains words like “Do not impose conditions on me. I do not like it.”, “I am getting fed up of this text messaging”, “That is my last word If you do a refund now I close the matter”.
I should say to the Client, after all words you said to us directly and publicly, we conclude that you are a “consumer extremist” who’s dealing with companies like ours based on threatening, blackmailing and litigation with the purpose to pay nothing or close to nothing.
My only regret is that we crossed and my only wish to you is “Good riddance!”
Written October 15, 2022
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of Tripadvisor LLC.
No questions have been asked about this experience