Victoria · Australia

Mornington Peninsula

Vineyards, hot springs and two coastlines, an hour from Melbourne.

A hook of land with calm bay beaches on one side, wild surf on the other, and a hinterland of cellar doors and steaming mineral pools between.

The Mornington Peninsula is Melbourne's weekend in the country. Soak in the hot springs at dawn, lunch among the vines at Red Hill, swim at the gentle bay beaches, then watch the sun set from the wild back beaches at Sorrento. It rewards a hire car and an unhurried plan.

Wine countryCoastalHot springsWeekend

Best for

Wine + hot springs

Two coasts

Bay + back beaches

From Melbourne

75 min

Cellar doors

200+ in the hills

Best time to visit

November–April (warm beach days); winter is magic for the hot springs

Getting there

Roughly 75 minutes by car from Melbourne CBD, a car is essential.

A local secret

“Book the first morning session at the hot springs, before the day-trippers arrive, you'll have the hilltop pool and its valley view almost to yourself in the mist.”

Eat. Do.
Stay. Know.

Everything in Mornington Peninsula, indexed to the bone. Hover a row.

01
Fine diningMain Ridge$$$$
Ten Minutes by Tractor
A celebrated cellar-door restaurant across three vineyards, the peninsula's special-occasion lunch.
UnmissableCouplesLuxury
02
VineyardMerricks$$$$
Pt. Leo Estate
Dining over a sculpture park and the bay, the views and the wine are the headline.
CouplesLuxuryUnmissable
03
VineyardRed Hill South$$$
Montalto
Vines, gardens and a kitchen garden lunch you can wander before and after.
CouplesFamily
04
BistroMerricks$$$
Merricks General Wine Store
A converted general store doing relaxed, excellent food, easy with kids and a dog.
Family
05
Farm caféRed Hill$$
Green Olive at Red Hill
A working farm with a paddock-side café and animals for the kids to meet.
KidsFamily
06
Fine diningMerricks North$$$$
Doot Doot Doot at Jackalope
Theatrical fine dining beneath a thousand-light installation, a grown-up night to remember.
CouplesLuxury