Phillip Island Pengui Parade

No visit to Phillip Island is complete without visiting the famous Penguin Parade. This very popular tourist attraction showcases the cute little Fairy Penguins waddling up from the water, onto the beach and then up to their burrows in the dunes at sunset. Best to pre-purchase your tickets if you want to avoid the queues and get there early if you want a good seat. There are a few different seating options available with escalating prices accordingly. We went with the general viewing and still had a good view however some selfish visitors seem to rush over to view the penguins and do not sit down, therefore obscuring the view for other visitors. Unfortunately, there are hardly any park rangers/staff to monitor this behaviour as well as the blatant disregard of no photography/filming.

A must-do for visitors to Melbourne. Best bet is to take a tour that includes this attraction. Every day you are guaranteed to see so many penguins come out of the water and run back to their holes! Look in the holes for the babies, too. This place is really crowded but worth it. I saw plenty and didn't pay for any special seating. Only wish there was more seating inside (it was raining when I went) and better food options.

Joined the ultimate penguin tour and it was really really good! Although its the most expensive, its definately all worth it, as the tour goes for such a long time and you get to know as much about the penguins as possible! the tour guide was very confident to tell us anything we asked, and seemed very happy in his career. watching the little penguins come up the beach was very cute, and its an experience that you will never forget. The only real dissapointment was the year that we went, was not a very good season for many penguins coming up along the beach, but was still amazing! Just don't forget to go to the toilet beforehand, because you don't want to be busting to go right at the end like I did! haha! Also, the cafe is excellent and well priced! Souvenirs are to die for and the photo shoot with the green screen is amazing! Photos look very real!

I have been here six times now over some 28 years. Each time we have visited, we have noticed improvements. It had been 8 years between visits when we took on the Parade this year on, of all times, the busy Easter Weekend. It was something we did on a whim and on the way there I thought about the potential crowds. However, despite a large turnout which management kept referring to, the crowds were managed very professionally. The large human turnout was matched with an abundance of fairy penguins, and the thrill of spottung the first brave little guy to face the crowd will never go away. We always go away satisfied from the experience and I commend planners who structured the viewing walkways, so that plenty of viewing opportunities present regardless of the size of the crowd present. Plenty of souvenir shops and a nice cafe area.

Love this tourist experience, seeing the worlds smallest and cutest penguins in the world. Always a fantastic experience and the facilties allows you to see the penguins up close, almost close enough to touch.