Great Ocean Road Reverse: Unforgettable VIP Coastal Escape

Outside of Melbourne, lies the Great Ocean Road. One of the best ways to see this winding stretch of coastline is through a tour with Hit The Road Tours. On December 3, 2025, I was fortunate enough to join James and his full day tour to point out all the great attractions on the Great Ocean Road. The tour started at the pickup point of 196 Flinders St, Melbourne. Please note, this is not an office but is just the meeting spot. There will be no rest room at this location, you are just meeting the shuttle bus. On December 3rd, our bus consisted of a great group of people from NJ, Switzerland and Sweeden. Our tour guide for the day was James and he helped us get to know each other quickly, which is important on a small group tour. The ride to the Great Ocean Road is lengthy, but James does a great job to break up the trip. Our first stop was a little bakery called Routley’s where we could use the rest room and get a snack.Remember, never pass up the chance to use a full-service rest room! After our first break, it is back on the shuttle to the 12 Apostles. This amazing rock formation is a true wonder to see. Each year a little more is lost, therefore I am glad I got to see it when I did. The attraction has a paved walking path that takes you along the coast line to see the majesty of the rock formation. James did a great job to also share the history of the ship that ran aground in the location and point out the dangers they faced during their journey. Now, as I write this, it is 10 days later, so I may have mixed the up order of events, but the events did occur. After the 12 Apostles, we stopped off for a quick walk on a trail through a mini-rain forest. The trail is not paved and truly is a small hike. Your shoes could get a little muddy based on the rain. If you have mobility issues, check with the guide before embarking on the trek. It is a quick walk so you could just sit and relax as the area is serene. Once the hike is done, it is off for lunch in a small beach town called Apollo Bay. The lunch part of the tour requires some strategy. The time is limited and the restaurants are busy. The Seafood Café will have the most foot traffic. The food here is great, but it takes a little longer than you might have. Prior to sitting down at each restaurant discuss with the staff if they are still open. Based on the time of the year many were closing early at 2:30 PM. If you get through lunch early enough you can get a quick look at the beach. Due to my scheduling issue and basically eating my lunch on the “run”, I missed the beach view. Once again, you are in a location with full-service rest rooms so take advantage of them. Lunch is now complete and you are heading back along the Great Ocean Road. The tour will stop several times for photos at spots that have views you will not see every day. Take advantage of a picture with you and whomever you are with to capture the moment! Remember we can always buy pictures of the view, but not with you in them! One of the best stops included a view of Koala bears in the wild. Just there on the side of the road, James helped us find Koala Bears and in one case a baby Koala resting in the tree! This was such a great view! On this trip, one of the iconic shots you will get is in front of the sign for the Great Ocean Road. Remember this is a busy road, it is best not to stand in the middle of the road for the pictures. Please be cognizant of the number of vehicles that are also stopped in this area for photos. On the way back to Melbourne, there will be other great stops to see Kangaroos. James did a great job to take us to several sites that I would have never seen had I rented a car and driven this route. His knowledge of the area is superb, and he adds so much to the tour for sites and helpful hints. To my fellow passengers on the December 3, 2025 tour, you made it FUN as well! Thanks to each of you for being engaged in the tour and making it a great day and thanks to James for putting it all together!

It was a great trip! The weather was nice, and we arrived at every sightseeing spot ahead of time, before the crowds. Our guide, Marty, was awesome! He has eagle eyes — he was able to spot koalas and kangaroos from afar! We loved learning fun facts about koalas. The whole trip was well organized and smooth. Highly recommend Hit The Road Tours!

First, the plus side. Everything went to plan, the tour guide Glen did a good job, the itinerary was good and the scenery did not disappoint. Avoided the crowds. The reason for not giving 5 stars is the 12 seater minibus we had. It’s pretty tight for legroom, and due to side pillars, it restricts the window view a lot for those in the middle seats. So the beautiful coast scenery was difficult to see and impossible to photograph from my seat. See the photo below. I think they have bigger vehicles with bigger windows.

Had a jam-packed day out with Ann. Limited time at each point due to there being many stops but each one was worth it. Goes by quickly. Beat most of the crowd to the Twelve Apostles and neighboring stacks then stopped for a fantastic lunch at seafood cafe in Apollo Bay. Great Ocean Road drive on the way back was stunning and we got to see koalas, kangaroos, and kookaburras! I recommend this tour if you cannot roadtrip the coast yourself.

Great tour. Small group is a plus. Beautiful views. I wish we made more stops at viewpoints, but I understand we had a very busy itinerary as it is. Koala encounters was a definite highlight.

Peter was great tour guide. He knows lots of stories we didn’t get bored while in the car. We spend full day and so much place to see. I will highly recommend this tour.

Thank you Peter for making the great ocean road truly great!! If you are lucky to get Peter as your tour guide, I can promise that you will have a fun and educational journey. We made all of the stops and got to see the 12 apostles and some amazing wildlife! I learned about all the dangerous animals in Australia and feel well educated exploring in nature now! We also saw wild koalas, kangaroos and wallabies. I had such a fun time exploring and it was such a gorgeous day. 10/10 tour, we were a small group of 8 people and it was just lovely.

Great experience - no crowds, amazing views, smooth rides and interesting explanations by our guide Marty who made sure everyone was well taken care of.

The tour guide was very experienced and familiar with the routes. He always managed to take us to the attractions when there were fewer people. The service was thoughtful and his attitude was excellent. We got to see both kangaroos and koalas.

It was a wonderful experience. We had in Jimmy Chien as our driver and tour guide, he’s warm, funny and knowledge which made the entire experience even better! The scenes are really beautiful too.