4 Days in Melbourne and Victoria
Four days covers the city in two, then stacks a Great Ocean Road day with a genuine Yarra Valley day trip, giving you coast and wine country in the same short trip. Sort your ETA (about AUD $20) or free eVisitor before flying, and there’s no train from Melbourne Airport, only the SkyBus (about AUD $25.90) or a taxi.
Day 1: Federation Square and the laneways
Federation Square, the Ian Potter Centre (NGV Australia, free), ACMI (free), then Hosier Lane, Degraves Street, and the Block and Royal Arcades. Free trams all day inside the Free Tram Zone.
Day 2: MCG, Queen Victoria Market and St Kilda
MCG tour (about AUD $38), Queen Victoria Market (since 1878), then St Kilda for Luna Park and the little penguins at dusk on the breakwater (free, book ahead, Myki required outside the Free Tram Zone).
Day 3: Great Ocean Road, honestly
About 3-4 hours one way to the Twelve Apostles; a single day is genuinely a long 12-hour-plus round trip. Book a guided tour or drive yourself, stop for koalas at Kennett River, and give real time to Loch Ard Gorge. Leave early.
Day 4: Yarra Valley day trip
About 1 hour 15 minutes out, a true day trip: wine tastings at the cellar doors and, if time allows, Healesville Sanctuary’s wildlife. Book a tour if you’d rather not drive after yesterday’s long day.
Concrete tip: book both the Great Ocean Road tour and the Yarra Valley tour before you land, since back-to-back day trips like this fill up fast on tour operator calendars.
For more day trips beyond these two, the 5-day itinerary adds Phillip Island’s penguin parade on top of this same trip. The full Melbourne, Australia guide covers the whole radius, and the Melbourne 4-day itinerary covers an all-city version instead.
Before you fly: confirm your ETA or eVisitor, and keep your Myki topped up for every day beyond day one.