Long, curved sandy beaches, ocean-facing cafes, bay walks and soft hills cloaked in vines – the Mornington Peninsula is a bite-sized paradise only an hour's drive from Australia's second-biggest city. The fan club for this coastal playground is a big one, and justifiably so.

Just a tiny splinter of land 50 kilometres long, the peninsula packs out over summer for the iconic Aussie beach holiday – with sites booked well in advance as Australians down tools for the Christmas break. So, November is the time for a sneaky getaway before the rush, when you can soak up the glorious beaches, views, walks and food, without the crowds.

This is not a geared-up, off-road adventure; the Mornington Peninsula is just 110 kilometres from Melbourne's Bourke Street Mall. Our run is made even easier by the toll roads that feed onto the Mornington Peninsula freeway (M11), which finishes at land's end and Portsea, one of the state's most exclusive postcodes.

Here, millionaires and billionaires rub shoulders, from Fox to Fairfax, Murdoch to McGuire… chances are you know the names. Many of the smallest crescents and cul-de-sacs are narrow and deliberately left unsealed to discourage traffic; be sure to look before turning in.

Water World

One of the best things about visiting the Mornington Peninsula is getting off the peninsula. Into the water, I mean. It might curve around a capital city, but Port Phillip Bay bubbles with marine life. One quiet morning on a swim at Safety Beach, a little ray dashes across my feet. On another morning, I spot the tiny, golden weedy sea dragons that live beneath the historic Flinders Pier, their fins aflutter in the clear waters. And one of the best (and most underrated) things to do on the peninsula is a dolphin and seal swim. 

"The common dolphins are a bit skittish," says Justine from Polperro Dolphin Swims. However, the Burrunan dolphins, an indigenous subspecies of bottlenoses, are smaller, lighter and more playful, she adds. They're also critically endangered as humans pollute their world, so I take it as generosity of spirit that they're still happy to swim with us. 

When they pack up their play after just 10 minutes, we head over to the 'sleeper' hit of the bay – the all-boy colony of Australian fur seals that hangs out on the channel markers. Like a pack of labradors, they perk up on spotting the swim boats, leaping into the water to show us how swimming really should be done. They're heart thieves and I can't stop raving about them when I'm back on shore.

Farm Charm

With Australia's top tables, boutique Italian-planted vineyards and celebrity pop-ups, the peninsula lives up to its lofty culinary reputation. While chef Brigitte Hafner's tiny Tedesca Osteria is often voted the best long lunch, and Point Leo Estate's fine-diner, Laura, gets all the hats, they're dining adventures best planned long in advance.

For my weekend getaway, I revert to some of my favourites, which are also the peninsula's oldest and simplest. A coffee and oozy toastie from The Verandah at Merricks Store, which has been standing at this crossroads since 1922 and simply gets better with age. Or the best hot chips on the peninsula – thrice cooked at Hawks Farm, whose farm shop in Boneo bursts with freshly harvested produce, as does Torello Farm Shop in Dromana. Torello's is the essential stop for great sourdough and goat's cheese, and anything baked by peninsula pie king Johnny Ripe.

To The Trails

Just a short drive will take you anywhere fabulous on the peninsula; one of my top picks is the walking trails starting from the eastern carpark at Cape Schanck Lighthouse. With a sealed road in, long-vehicle parking and bathrooms and boardwalks, it's always a solid favourite on a sunny day. From the parking area, it's a short circuit walk to look out to the poetically named Pulpit Rock and the Devils Desk; but we turn left to follow the shady track to Bushrangers Bay. This two-hour return walk has stupendous views and plenty of kangaroos, and we celebrate with a little snack break on the wide sandy beach. There's also a great rock pool to explore at low tide.

If we had bikes in the RV, I'd be taking a spin down to Point Nepean. It's three kilometres from the Gunners Cottage carpark down to Fort Nepean, where the first Australian shots were fired in both World Wars. Instead, we walk one way and jump on the shuttle bus back to the carpark; the dramatic bunkers, 19th-century fortifications and views across the mouth of Port Phillip Bay to the Bellarine Peninsula make it a triple-threat outing for its history, nature and exercise.

Drive Outs and Drive-Ins

There are several ways to reach the top of Arthurs Seat, the highest point on the peninsula. I recommend the gentler White Cliffs Road to access the top, to avoid the 25 km/h hairpin bends on the squiggled Arthurs Seat Road. But really, the best way to the top is via the Arthurs Seat Eagle, the silent gondola that sweeps over the treetops, watched with a blasé eye by the local kangaroos that live in the state park below your feet. Parking at the base station, we take the gondola up, then follow a series of hiking paths through bushland back to the base and its welcoming café.

For a low-key night out at the movies, Dromana is home to one of Australia's few original drive-ins – first opened in 1962. Motorhomes are welcome, and the 1950s American-style Shel's Diner is ridiculously good fun.

To the Beach

Let's face it, the beach is the real reason we're all here. Whether we sail, paddle, swim or simply admire the water. As a rule of thumb for swimmers, the bayside beaches such as Rye Front Beach are calm for even the smallest paddlers. And I've spent many a long afternoon beneath the umbrella at family-friendly Mills Beach in Mornington with its brightly painted beach boxes. The ocean beaches, such as Gunnamatta and Portsea Back Beach, are wilder and draw the surf crowd.

There's a mantra in my family: "The best weather on the peninsula is the week school goes back." Suddenly, come the first week of February, the peninsula empties once again; the weather is sublime, and it's time for another city escape.

Journey Planner

The Mornington Peninsula starts just after Frankston, running south on the M11 until Portsea, 110 kilometres south of Melbourne's CBD. 

Seasonal campgrounds are dotted along the foreshore from Dromana to Sorrento; all have amenities and some have powered sites, water connections and dump points. Whitecliffs Foreshore Reserve Campgrounds' best sites are ocean-facing and suitable for caravans and motorhomes (open September to April). For year-round camping, Mornington Gardens Holiday Village has large, leafy sites, a playground, recreation room and a library.

Category: Features
Written: Sat 01 Nov 2025
Printed: November, 2025
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