Phillip Island is known for its little penguins, but there are also many other attractions and activities for families to enjoy.
When going on the Phillip Island Tour, take the kids with you on this trip. So many activities will leave them with unforgettable emotions and a delightful mood for a long time.
Activities for children on Phillip Island
Phillip Island offers a variety of family-friendly activities, including scenic views, outdoor options, and free attractions. Nature enthusiasts will appreciate the beauty of Phillip Island and the Bass Coast for a memorable family vacation.
Phillip Island is just a 90-minute drive from Melbourne and is easily accessible via a bridge at San Remo. The island is known for its stunning coastal wilderness, sandy beaches and delicious seafood. It’s a great spot for quality family time and offers some of the best attractions on the island.
Observing the penguin parade
Phillip Island hosts the largest fairy penguin colony globally. The Penguin Parade offers raised boardwalks and platforms for viewing the penguins return to Summerland Beach at sunset. These tiny penguins, numbering over 40,000, go from the sea to their burrows on the dunes. They move in a group, shuffling comically.
The Penguin Parade Visitor Centre offers an immersive experience with audio-visual displays, simulated underwater environments, and interactive games for children. Visitors can purchase a 4 Parks Pass to access the Penguin Parade, Koala Conservation Reserve, Churchill Island, and the Antarctic Journey at the Nobbies Centre.
Observe a fur seal while on a wildlife cruise
Explore the natural beauty of Phillip Island by taking a boat tour.
Wildlife Coast Cruises offers a two-hour coastal wildlife cruise featuring an up-close encounter with Australia’s largest fur seal colony.
The boat offers close-up views of thousands of fur seals in their natural environment, allowing visitors to observe the playful and curious animals. During the tour, families can enjoy the scenic coastline and learn about the history of Phillip Island’s western shoreline.
The Nobbies Centre
The Nobbies Centre features an interactive Antarctic Journey, which includes various experiences such as thermal image projections, Antarctic research lab activities, wildlife encounters, and augmented reality wildlife spotting on an ice floe.
Children can learn about conservation and climate resilience at the centre.
The Nobbies boardwalks
Visitors can enjoy views of ‘the Nobbies’ and Seal Rocks from the clifftop boardwalks at the island’s western tip. The Nobbies is a wave-battered promontory with cobblestone rocks extending into the water. Seal Rocks is home to Australia’s largest fur seal colony.
The Nobbies is known for attracting wildlife, including penguins nesting under the boardwalk. Visitors can also witness the explosive Blowhole during a big southern swell.
During days of stormy weather in the Southern Ocean, visitors can witness an exciting water display at the Blowhole by walking along the cliff-top boardwalk.
Navigate through a sea cave
Experience hidden caves and towering granite cliffs on a Cape Woolamai Coastal Tour by Pioneer Kayaking.
The three-hour tour includes stops at some of the island’s secluded beaches, with no age restrictions for children due to the double kayaks allowing parents to assist with paddling.
The Phillip Island Go Kart track
The Phillip Island Go Kart track replicates the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, perfect for those wanting to experience the thrill of being a racing car driver.
Guests can enjoy zooming around the 750-metre outdoor course with the Bass Strait as their backdrop.
Jet boating
ThunderCat Tours offers jet boat tours around Phillip Island’s coastline, providing an exhilarating way to experience the area and beat the summer heat.
Exploring the Koala Conservation Reserve
The Koala Conservation Reserve features treetop boardwalks that allow visitors to view koalas at eye level.
There are two boardwalks in the area, The Tree Top Koala Boardwalk and the Tree Top Woodland Boardwalk, each taking approximately 20 minutes to complete.
Children can enjoy observing koalas and gaining insight into koala conservation through interactive exhibits.
The woodlands on Phillip Island cover six hectares of bushland and are home to echidnas, wallabies, and various bird species. Walking through them offers the opportunity to observe these animals.
A Maze’N Things
A Maze’N Things park offers a variety of attractions such as a fun parlour, magic show, maze, and illusionists’ den. Visitors can enjoy hours of entertainment, and kids can participate in interactive activities.
Puzzle Island features a shrinking room that alters the perception of size and a mirror maze that creates confusion between reality and reflections.
Magic Manor offers a variety of interactive displays and illusions, including a flying chandelier, time machine, and magic rabbits, to spark curiosity and amazement.
The outdoor maze features over two kilometres of pathways and dead ends.
Feed the pelicans
A stop in San Remo before crossing over to Phillip Island or on your way off the island is recommended. The Fisherman’s Co-Op has hosted a daily pelican-feeding display for almost 40 years. Pelicans are fed daily at noon by the jetty.
Silver gulls and giant stingrays can be seen at the jetty, where visitors can enjoy barbecues, playgrounds, and a fish and chip shop with bay views nearby.
Phillip Island Wildlife Park
One popular activity at Phillip Island Wildlife Park is feeding the kangaroos and wallabies by hand as they freely roam the 60-acre park.
Children can enjoy spotting over 100 different Australian animals at the park, including emus, cassowaries, bats, owls, wombats, lizards, and more.
Churchill Island
Churchill Island, a 50-hectare island connected to Phillip Island by an overpass, is a heritage-listed farm that provides visitors with insight into the lives of early settlers and offers interactive experiences in the animal nursery.
The site was the first European settlement in Victoria and now serves as a working farm with a historic homestead dating back to 1872.
Guides at the farm will demonstrate traditional Australian farming techniques to children, such as cow milking, sheep shearing, whip cracking, and working with dogs. Visitors can also observe highland cattle, Clydesdale horses, ducks, sheep, chickens, and peacocks at the farm.
Visitors can explore heritage farm buildings, European gardens, and walking tracks and enjoy picnics or lunch at the on-site cafe.
Churchill Island Farmers Market
Visit Churchill Island Farmers Market to browse through 40 stalls offering locally grown produce from the Gippsland region. Support farmers by purchasing their fresh fruits and vegetables.
Phillip Island Chocolate Factory
Phillip Island Chocolate Factory offers a tour, retail shop, and cafe known as Panny’s Amazing World of Chocolate.
Panny’s Amazing World of Chocolate features interactive exhibitions, a large chocolate waterfall, vintage advertisements, and an animatronic display showcasing the chocolate-making process. Visitors can also enjoy creating their chocolate masterpiece using a chocolate-making device.
Surfing
Phillip Island is known for its large waves, but beginners can still find suitable waves at Smiths Beach and Summerland Beach. These sheltered beaches offer smaller waves for children, and the sunset provides a beautiful natural display of orange and purple hues.
Cape Woolama is a well-known surf beach in Australia, with patrolling in the summer months. It is also a habitat for half a million short-tailed sheerwater birds.
Island Surf School
Smiths Beach in Victoria offers beginner-friendly waves for children learning to surf. Island Surfboard’s Surf School is well-established in the country and provides a great learning environment. Lessons are available for surfers of all levels, with all necessary gear provided. Children are guaranteed to have a fun time riding the waves.
Go to the beach
Phillip Island’s coastlines offer various landscapes, from calm sandy beaches in the north to surf breaks and cliffs in the south.
Phillip Island has 26 beaches with stunning landscapes. The top beaches for children are Smiths Beach, Kitty Miller Bay, and Cowes Beach. These beaches are protected and have lifeguards at certain times. Smiths Beach is ideal for exploring rock pools during low tide.
Scuba diving
Phillip Island offers 18 dive sites, including wreck dives, where divers may encounter penguins, seals, crayfish, kingfish, abalone, and leopard sharks.
View Phillip Island from a helicopter
Experience Phillip Island from a unique perspective with Phillip Island helicopters, ideal for families looking to enjoy a memorable outing.
During the tour, you will see landmarks such as Cape Woolamai, Seal Rocks, the Australian Grand Prix track, and Summerland Bay.
ExploreCowes
Cowes is the primary town on Phillip Island, a tourist hub with a long stretch of golden sand and grassy foreshore. Thompson Avenue is the main street to Cowes Beach, lined with 100-year-old Golden Cypress trees. It’s a laid-back coastal town perfect for exploring walking and cycling trails, abundant nature and wildlife, and nearby surf beaches.
The town square features the recently recovered Harmony Bells, which children can now ring freely. The Cheeky Goose cafe offers delicious food for children and live entertainment.
The beachfront features a riding and walking track, and Red Rock Beach has rock pools to explore.
Fishing
Phillip Island offers numerous fishing spots where families can catch seafood and cook fresh-caught fish.
Fishing can be done from jetties, beaches, and boats, but having a recreational fishing license is essential.
Fishing off the jetties at Cowes, Newhaven, Rhyll, and San Remo can result in catching flathead, snapper, whiting, salmon, shark, and squid.
Charter fishing expeditions depart from San Remo and Rhyll, and boats can be rented from Rhyll and Cowes.
CapeWoolamai Walk
Cape Woolamai offers a variety of attractions, such as beaches, cliff tops, the Pinnacles, and stunning coastal scenery, all leading up to Phillip Island’s highest point, The Beacon.
The Pinnacles are a collection of pink granite rock formations that extend into the ocean and are most easily seen from the Pinnacles lookout.
The area is home to a large colony of Short-tailed Shearwaters and Wallabies, showcasing abundant wildlife.
Cape Woolamai offers three walks: The Pinnacles Walk is 4.5km return and takes about 1.5 hours. The Old Granite Quarry Walk is 6km return and takes about 2 hours. The Cape Woolamai Beacon Walk is a 6.6km return and takes about 2.5 hours. All three walks begin at the Cape Woolamai Beach Car Park.
Bike riding
Phillip Island offers a variety of cycling tracks, including the Esplanade in Cowes for a scenic beachfront ride and the Cowes to San Remo path for a central route through the island.
Super Cruzer Bike Hire on Phillip Island offers eBike rentals with fat tires ideal for beach riding.
Visit Clip ‘n Climb Phillip Island
Indoor rock climbing at Clip ‘n Climb Phillip Island is an excellent activity for children, as it helps build strength, confidence, coordination, problem-solving, and teamwork skills.
Various colour-coded holds and routes are available for climbers to choose from, adding to the level of challenge.
Indoor rock climbing is a popular option for staying active on rainy days.
Frisbee Golf
Frisbee Golf involves throwing a frisbee into a metal basket.
Phillip Island offers a nine-hole course that provides exercise, outdoor activity, and healthy competition for families.
The course at Blue Gum Reserve covers 6.6 hectares of Blue Gum trees and open space.
Rhyll Inlet wetlands walk
Rhyll Inlet is a Ramsar Wetland with boardwalks suitable for all ages.
The 2.16-kilometre walk through the Rhyll Inlet wetlands typically takes 45 minutes, with the boardwalk winding through mangroves and mudflats. Visitors can enjoy views of the wetlands and surrounding woodland reserves from the Conservation Hill Observation Tower.
The track is known for its wildlife sightings, including spoonbills, oystercatchers, egrets, and cormorants, making it a popular spot for birdwatchers.
Phillip Island Winery
Phillip Island Winery, a family-owned establishment, offers a kids’ menu, games, and ample space for children to enjoy.
Visit us Thursday through Sunday to taste pizzas and share plates at the cellar door and restaurant. Live music on the lawn is a popular attraction for families.
Visitors can reserve a table or bring a picnic blanket to enjoy the 2 hectares of lawn. Dogs are also welcome and have their special menu available for them.
