With a private tour, you travel in your own small group, with only your friends or family to accompany you. Your vehicle is more like your own private car or VIP vehicle. On a coach tour, you travel with up to 50 or more strangers, in a large, sometimes uncomfortable coach. You may not be able to see out the window properly and at every stop you have to wait for the whole bus to unload and load up again. Large coaches can’t access all stops that smaller mini-buses and VIP vehicles can along the Great Ocean Road. Some people find large coaches make them feel uncomfortable on the windy roads.

Yes with a Melbourne Touring Company Private Tour you can fully customise your itinerary to take in the sights you most want to see and avoid the ones you are not interested in. When planning your tour, please discuss with us your preferences, including starting time and pick up location and we will customise the tour to your exact requirements.

A. Yes, we can virtually guarantee you will see both koalas and kangaroos on your Melbourne Touring Company Private Tour. We pride ourselves on providing the best wildlife encounters for our guests as we have local knowledge and access to the best locations where these animals are known to congregate.

Summer is definitely the most popular time to visit the Great Ocean Road but it can get quite crowded particularly during peak summer holidays – just before Christmas through to mid-January. We recommend coming in Spring to early Summer – September through to early December – or late Summer to Autumn – late January through to April/May

Absolutely! The children will love the amazing scenery, wildlife encounters and spectacular views along the Great Ocean Road. Our private tour can also take in a visit to the beach and an amazing rainforest walk. Seeing koalas and kangaroos is a special treat for young children

Yes. Most of the destinations along the Great Ocean Road are within close proximity and only a short walk from the vehicle. The only longer and steeper walk is Maits Rest Rainforest Walk, which can be skipped if needed. We find many older passengers enjoy our Melbourne Touring Company Private Tour as we do everything we can to make the tour as easy, safe and comfortable as possible for our guests.

There is not a great deal of walking involved in a Melbourne Touring Company Great Ocean Road Private Tour. At many stops you will simply have to step out of the vehicle and take a short walk to the lookout or destination. As stated above the only longer walk is the Maits Rest Rainforest Walk which is about 20 minutes and 1.5 km long, but much of it is relatively steep. There is a short walk to the Twelve Apostles but it is not steep.

Yes! If you avoid visiting during the peak summer holiday season (mid-December to mid-January) you will avoid the crowds. However if you must arrive during that time, we recommend you taking our ‘reverse’ itinerary which will help avoid the peak crowd crush, especially at the Twelve Apostles.

As of June 2026, there are 7 Apostles still standing at the Twelve Apostles. The sea is constantly pounding away at them and eroding them so your time is limited to see them. But the forces that are currently destroying them are the same forces that will make new ones. Who knows in 200 years, we may have 12 Apostles again or even 20 of them.

Many people say that yes the helicopter flight is worth it for the amazing views. Priced from $195 per person for a 15-minute flight, the basic route is to fly over the Twelve Apostles, then over Loch Ard Gorge, down to London Bridge and back again. As you fly well out over the ocean you get an unmatched view looking back at the scenery that you simply don’t get from the land. It all depends on your budget.