Walk the clifftop path in Port Campbell National Park
Koala in the Otways
Raised path through ferns at Cape Otway
Path through coastal scrub at Cape Otway
Eucalyptus forest in the Otways
Mother and baby koala in the Otways
Great Ocean Walk trail above the sea
Walker on the Port Campbell Discovery Walk
Boardwalk to the Twelve Apostles at sunrise
Trail down to Milanesia Beach
Green coast near Milanesia
Apollo Bay from the air
Sunset over the hills at Johanna
Beach below Castle Cove
Gellibrand River mouth at Princetown
Rocky coast near Milanesia Beach
Beach below Gibson Steps
The Memorial Arch statue on the Great Ocean Road
1/18

The Great Ocean Walk: End to End

7 days / 6 nights

|

Australia

|

Koalas at Cape Otway, shipwreck anchors on Wreck Beach at low tide and the Twelve Apostles at the finish: the whole Great Ocean Walk in seven days.

Starting Point

Apollo Bay

Finish Point

Twelve Apostles

Fitness Level

3/5

Technical Level

2/5

Season

From September to May

Accommodation Level

Comfort

Tour Type

Inn-to-Inn

Daily Distance

6 – 12 mi

Daily Elevation

361 – 2592 ft

Highlights

  • Walk the whole Great Ocean Walk, Apollo Bay to the Twelve Apostles
  • Spot koalas in the manna gums around your cabin at Cape Otway
  • Explore the 1848 lighthouse and the keepers' cottages at Cape Otway
  • Cross Johanna Beach, two kilometres of sand below the Otway hills
  • Climb down to the shipwreck anchors on Wreck Beach at low tide
  • Finish on foot at Gibson Steps and the Twelve Apostles

What’s included in the price?

Self-guided

Are you looking for a good adventure and limitless flexibility? Then you should try out a self-guided tour, perfect for independent explorers who want to set their own pace. Without the need to stick to a group schedule, you’re free to linger at scenic viewpoints while the logistics are taken care of in advance.

INCLUDED

6 nights in motels, a cabin and a cottage
Breakfast, where your stay serves it
Transfers to the start and from the end of every walking day, with your bag on the days you change base
Transfer from the Twelve Apostles to Camperdown station on the last day
Entry to the Cape Otway Lightstation
Digital guidebook with itinerary, route instructions, tide plan and practical information
GPS navigation with an easy-to-use app
Tour design and organization
Service and support during your walk

NOT INCLUDED

Lunches and dinners
Coach and train from and to Melbourne

OPTIONAL EXTRAS

Airport transfer
on request
Extra nights
on request
Hotel upgrades
on request
Single supplement
+1.000 €/person
Accommodation levelComfort

Carefully selected motels, a forest cabin and a bush cottage, all with private en-suite rooms and breakfast where the property serves it. Expect comfortable, well-appointed rooms with attentive hospitality, typically in convenient and scenic locations — some properties also offer on-site dining.

These are examples of the type and standard you can expect. Actual properties may vary depending on availability.

What to bring to the tour

  • Hiking shoes/boots
  • 25 to 45-liter backpack
  • Base layer
  • Sports T-shirts
  • Hiking shorts
  • Hiking water-repellent pants
  • Waterproof jacket
  • Midlayer
  • Sports socks and underwear
  • Leisurewear for evenings
  • Down jacket
  • Gloves
  • Shade hat/cap
  • Warm headwear
  • Sunscreen
  • Sunglasses
  • Headlamp
  • Hiking poles
  • ID card or passport
  • Snacks
  • Cash
  • Water bottles or hydration pack
  • Sleeping liner
  • Toiletries
  • Toilet paper
  • Small first aid kit

The Great Ocean Walk follows Victoria's south-west coast for just over 100 km, from the fishing town of Apollo Bay to the limestone stacks of the Twelve Apostles. It keeps to the clifftops and beaches of the Great Otway and Port Campbell national parks, through country the road never reaches: forest ridges, river mouths and empty surf beaches.

The trail has hike-in camps but no beds, so you sleep in four bases near it and a shuttle carries you to the start of each day's walk and back. That means a motel in Apollo Bay, two nights in a cabin at Cape Otway, where koalas live in the manna gums around the cabins, two nights in a bush cottage at Glenaire and a last night in Port Campbell. On the three days you move on, your bag rides in the shuttle with you.

You walk east to west, the direction the park recommends. The path is good, with stairs, gullies and a few river crossings, and nothing exposed. The tide decides the timing: Johanna and Milanesia beaches have no path around and are walked at low to mid tide, while Station Beach and Wreck Beach are low-tide extras below the trail, so your guidebook gives a start time for each day, worked out from the tide tables.

Distances and climbs are approximate, measured on our route lines along the official track.

The last afternoon brings the walk's best-known view: the stacks below Gibson Steps, then the lookout over the Twelve Apostles.

Frequently Asked Questions

It is seven walking days in a row, between about 9 and 19 km, and the last two days are the longest and hilliest. The path is well made and never exposed, but it has steps, steep gullies and soft sand. Fitness 3 of 5, technical 2 of 5 on our difficulty scale.

Only a day pack. Your bag stays in your room, and on days 2, 4 and 6 it rides in the shuttle with you to the next base.

The start time. Johanna and Milanesia beaches have no path around and are crossed at low to mid tide; at Station Beach and Wreck Beach the trail stays above the sand. Your guidebook gives a start time for each day, and the shuttle runs to the tide timetable.

If the sea is too high at Wreck Beach on the last morning, you stay on the clifftop path, or we can drop you at Princetown instead.

By public transport from Melbourne. The V/Line train and coach leave Southern Cross at 09:10 and reach Apollo Bay at 13:12, every day.

On the last day our shuttle takes you from the Twelve Apostles to Camperdown station, about 50 minutes, for the 18:22 train to Melbourne, arriving at 21:01 (18:14 at weekends).

Apollo Bay and Port Campbell have cafés, pubs and restaurants. At Cape Otway and Glenaire you cook your own dinners: the cabin and the cottage both have kitchens, but Glenaire has no shop, so buy food in Apollo Bay before you leave. Lunch on the trail is a packed one.

Breakfast is included where your stay serves it. Not every stay on this walk does: we tell you which ones before you book, and they are marked in your guidebook. Where breakfast is not served, we try to arrange a packed lunch for you instead, if the stay or a café nearby can make one.

Patchy. Some stretches and car parks have none, so the shuttle times are agreed in advance and the guidebook works offline.

We run the walk from September to May. October–November and February–April are the sweet spots. The weeks after Christmas are peak holiday time on this coast, with the beds to match.

June to August is wet and windy, with big swells on the tidal beaches, so we leave it out. The Cape Otway Lightstation opens Friday to Tuesday.

Yes. The Great Ocean Walk Highlights covers the western half, from Cape Otway to the Twelve Apostles, in five days.

HANDPICKED ADVENTURES

Only the best adventures across the world, cherry-picked by our team with an in-depth knowledge of the regions.

VALUE YOUR TIME

With everything on your plate, let us handle the vacation planning, so your valuable time stays exactly where you need it.

SELF-GUIDED TRAVEL

Explore independently and with confidence while we keep everything running from behind the scenes.

TRUSTED BY MANY

Since 2014, we have taken care of thousands of happy customers, making it our mission to put your satisfaction first.

OUTDOOR SPECIALISTS

We are a team of outdoor specialists equipped with the knowledge and insight to bring you the best hiking experiences.

from 2.395 € /person