My husband and I recently enjoyed a wonderful romantic getaway to Melbourne (Australia) in February 2017 - following are the highlights from our itinerary and top recommendations for you to enjoy!
Day 1: Aqua Spa's with incredible city views at Parkview Hotel
Parkview Hotel's rooftop hot tub is the perfect spot to enjoy a romantic sunset and view of Melbourne cityscape together.
We arrived at Tullamarine Airport on a Jetstar flight that was 1.5 hrs long from Brisbane.
For this trip, we did an online search for the cheapest car we could find on Rentalcars.com which lead us to a car from BargainCarRentals.com. If you book with this car rental company, note that you can't pick the car up straight from the airport - you have to wait for their bus to pick you up and take you to where their cars are kept. The clear instructions for where to wait for the bus was on our booking sheet. Once we picked up our car, we headed to our first stay which was Melbourne Parkview Hotel. Address: 562 St Kilda Rd, Melbourne VIC 3004. I chose this hotel because it was reasonably priced and has the most beautiful rooftop with a view that includes both a hot tub and a plunge pool. We chose to relax there for most of the afternoon/evening. We had dinner in the suburb St Kilda West but I personally wouldn't recommend going there as I didn't feel very safe.
Day 2: Phillip Island Glamping & Romantic Walkways with Wondrous Views
We loved every moment of our time glamping on Phillip Island. We were blessed with clear skies at sunset.
After a relaxed start to the morning, it was time for a road trip to Phillip Island which is conveniently accessible by car via a bridge that connects it to the mainland. We were super excited to arrive at Cowes Caravan Park where we had arranged for Phillip Island Glamping to set up a romantic tent for us. As per their recommendation, it was set up on stand 180 of the park which has a great beach view!
The perfect, unobstructed view of the sea from our romantic seating area just outside of our tent set up by Phillip Island Glamping.
The setup was even more magical than I'd been dreaming it would be! We absolutely loved discovering every little gorgeous detail of our tent - it was so apparent that so much thought went into setting it up for us. Outside was a little seating area for us to sit and relax while enjoying the sunset, a line of light bulbs decorating the entrance, some cute cactuses and even a doormat haha!
The inside of our tent was filled with thoughtful details.
Once inside, I fell in love with a decorative mint carpet (mint happens to be my favorite colour!) and a handwritten note on a small chalkboard caught my eye - it read "Welcome Michelle + Kobus. Have a lovely night!"with a drawing of our tent and stars above it! Some relaxing music was already playing on the radio. It was hard to pull myself away from the wonder of our tent but it was time for us to head off to our next stop while we still had some daylight left. It was a lovely feeling though to know that we'd be coming home to this little paradise later.
The Nobbies Boardwalk on Phillip Island, Melbourne
The views from this generous boardwalk are absolutely breathtaking. It's an easy walk and each step gets better than the next.
I would imagine that seeing a sunset from the boardwalk would be incredible, but we wanted to see the sunset from our tent that was calling us to come back :)
Back at the tent, we had a wonderful time exploring the path in front of our tent that lead straight to the beach. After some time, we relaxed at the seating area outside while the sun went down. With no clouds in the sky, it was the perfect night for all the stars to come out and I loved seeing how our tent glow beautifully in the dark!
Glamping under the stars on Phillip Island is one of the most romantic things to do in Melbourne!
While laying in bed and having a chat, I couldn't stop admiring the finer details of the tent such as the vine leaves and fairy lights in the middle, the flowers next to my bed and so much more! I loved waking up in the tent - staring at the fabric that forms the roof as it turned the colour of day. I only had to zip up the front door to take in the beach view and fresh air. It was hard to leave this little slice of heaven! Lucky we were heading to a place just as amazing.
It was such a treat waking up in our beautiful tent with it's stunning sea view.
Day 3: Get lost in a world of Relaxing Hot Springs
One of the many gorgeous hot spring spa's of Peninsula Hot Springs.
It was a 2 hour road trip to our next stop - the Peninsula Hot Springs. We'd booked ourselves in for the Bath House Bathing option at the 2pm timeslot. There were a variety of baths we could enjoy of different sizes, shapes, and temperatures with different features. My favorite one was situated at the highest point of the facility - it has the best view! If you are going to Peninsula Hot Springs early in the morning - my advice is to run to that bath first so you can have it all to yourself at least for a little bit. Because we had an early start the next day, we had to drive 1.16 hrs after bathing which wasn't great because we were sooo relaxed. It would have been nice to have stayed in that mode of relaxation for longer! So if you have an extra day - rather stay in one of the lovely looking accommodation options linked to the Peninsula Hot Springs for the night. Instead we headed to our next stay which was the budget accommodation Ibis, Swanston Street, Melbourne. I wouldn't call it romantic accommodation but it was cheap and a super short walk away from our next adventure :) A great stay for a great price if you're looking to save money on accommodation to spend on romantic experiences instead for example.
Day 4: Road tripping along The Great Ocean Road - Breathtaking Views all the way!
The Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Melbourne
I was very lucky to have found a great deal on Groupon for a full day tour of the Great Ocean Road for only AUD $50 per person, which we enjoyed on this day. We had to be at the shop of the tour operator early in the morning. When we arrived, there were so many people that it appeared disorganised and overwhelming at first but soon we were all split into 3 groups and transported in 3 different buses. Turns out it was very well organised and the staff (bus driver and tour guide) were really lovely. The windows of the bus are nice and big which is perfect for the great views we experienced. Aim to sit on the left hand side of the bus if you go - it's the view closest to the best views. Our guide was just great - sharing entertaining bits and bops about the highlights and history of the areas we drove past in English and in Chinese. Throughout the day, we stopped at various points of interest including Anglesea, the 12 Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge and Apollo Bay. Anglesea: There's a pretty beach and some nice shops for souvenirs.
Souvenir from a shop located along the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne
Souvenir from a shop located along the Great Ocean Road, Melbourne
The 12 Apostles My first reaction coming around the corner from the path leading to the view was WOW! These are so much more majestic than any photo could portray it.
The Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Melbourne
Walkway at the magestic Twelve Apostles, Great Ocean Road, Melbourne
Loch Ard Gorge I wish we wore our swimmers for this trip because there is a gorgeous beach at Loch Ard Gorge to enjoy. It would be a dream to swim in. Lesson learnt!
View of Loch Ard Gorge, Melbourne
View of Loch Ard Gorge beach, Melbourne
Apollo Bay We stopped to explore the area for a bit and had lunch at Georges Food Court (highly recommended by the tour guide). The prices were really good and we especially liked the spaghetti bolognaise. Travel tip: It helps to note down or take a photo of the number plate of the bus you are in to distinguish it from other buses doing the same route. It will make it easier to find your bus among the others when you need to. It was a great day out and such good value for the little money we paid! The deal is still active - you can buy it here. I booked our preferred date in well in advance with AmazingVacations.com.au. The trip ended late in the day but it was still light outside so we explored the city with it's interesting architecture, tramways and quirky little streetshops - my favorite was one selling tiny cactuses!
These cactuses were being sold in a street stall in the city that stole my heart.
Staring at these cute creations, I realised that a love for Melbourne had indeed started growing inside my heart!
Day 5: A Happy Ending After breakfast at the hotel, it was time to leave Melbourne, but we left happy and content that we just had an amazing time! Wishing you a wonderful trip!
The video highlights of our romantic escape to Melbourne, Australia
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