Exploring the Great Ocean Road with a small group tour: G Adventures Australia review
An honest review of my experience with G Adventures Australia on a 5 day tour of the Great Ocean Road
I wanted to visit the Great Ocean Road for a few days without renting a car and I was looking for a social experience with other budget minded travellers in my age range, so this 5-day ‘Great Ocean Road’ tour with G Adventures seemed like a good way to travel along the most famous road in Australia.
I had some great experiences on this tour like visiting the 12 Apostles rock formations, seeing wildlife like kangaroos and emus, having an authentic Australian barbeque, visiting the beautiful Mackenzie Falls and hiking in Grampians National Park ! I booked the tour in April 2017 and I paid for it myself, so this is a completely independent review.
You can read a detailed day-by-day summary of all the experiences I had on this tour or jump straight to the end where I share what I liked, what could have been better and my final recommendation.
Overview of the G Adventures Great Ocean Road tour from Melbourne to Adelaide
Highlights: The Great Ocean Road is a classic road trip and the overall experience of stopping at the different beaches and little towns along the way was a lot of fun, also seeing kangaroos, emus and the 12 Apostles rock formations in the ocean were the highlights.
Destinations: Melbourne, Port Campbell, 12 Apostles, Hall’s Gap, Adelaide and several smaller towns and nature sites along the Great Ocean Road.
Who was on the trip: It was a smaller group, around 12 people, a third were Germans or Swiss, 3 Americans, 3 British people and another Canadian. I think there was a teacher, an engineer, and some people on gap year. Around three quarters of the people were solo travellers. It was an age-limited 18-39 tour.
Who was the guide: We had one driver/guide, who I think was actually from New Zealand. He was quite good, he knew about all the history, nature and animals and had a good personality for being a tour leader. I actually had him again the following year as a guide on a South Island New Zealand tour.
How did we travel: Our own private mini bus with luggage trailer, G Adventures names their buses, ours was called ‘Giles’. We also walked around in the cities and on hikes, and we took a tram in Adelaide.
Where did we stay: We stayed in hostels the entire time, generally in four-share, gender separate rooms.
Recommended Luggage: You could bring a backpack, or a rolling duffel style would work as well. You should be able to lift and carry your luggage between the bus and accommodation, and upstairs, but we never had to walk more than a few minutes with it.
Melbourne Arrival
The first day was a free day in Melbourne and didn't really have anything included. I did a walking tour of the city by myself and visited the market (I tried a fresh coconut for the first time ever !) and went down to St. Kilda. I met the group for the G Adventures Great Ocean Road tour at the departure hostel around 5pm and joined a four share girls room.
There was a brief welcome meeting with the tour guide which was interrupted by a number of confused people looking for a martial arts class. But the guide explained how everything would work as some of us were only with the G Adventures group for 3 days to do the Great Ocean Road, and some people would be continuing on for about 2 weeks to visit the Outback.
The guide organised an optional dinner at an Asian restaurant where everyone just ordered and paid for their own food, and we went and got some drinks after that. We were back at the hostel before midnight, as we had an early morning the next day to start driving the Great Ocean Road. I have to say, I was a bit disappointed that literally nothing was included on this day besides the hostel room.
Great Ocean Road Entrance and Driving
We had breakfast at the hostel and boarded our mini bus, it wasn’t a huge coach bus, so it was pretty fast to get everyone and their luggage loaded on and ready to go. First stop was the entrance of the Great Ocean Road, which has a display explaining that it’s actually a permanent memorial to those who died while fighting in World War I, built by returned servicemen and opened in 1932. You can read more about the history here.
Next stop was to visit some…fancy birds. Parrots maybe? I’m not sure if that was an official activity, but it was fun, we bought little packs of bird snacks and they would come sit on you. We had another brief stop at Bell’s Beach where they were setting up for a big surfing competition.
Lunch was in Apollo Bay, everyone got fish and chips or grocery store food and we had a picnic on the beach, which sounds like a fun idea, but you have to watch out for the seagulls, they stole some of the German girl’s French fries.
12 Apostles Port Campbell National Park
The major stop for the afternoon was the 12 Apostles lookout area in Port Campbell National Park. This is the place with the big rocks in the ocean you see in every picture and postcard of the Great Ocean Road. It is SUPER BUSY, packed with people on the boardwalks getting to the lookout to take pictures.
Also, fun fact, there were never 12 of those rock formations, someone just thought it was a good name to attract people to come see it. With the way rock erosion works, eventually they will all fall over into the ocean, so you had better go see it while you can ! (not that I'm a geologist or anything ).
We arrived in the actual town of Port Campbell just before dinner. We had shared hostel rooms with bunkbeds again and an optional dinner at a nicer restaurant. Port Campbell is a smaller town and I went to every store in town and never found any souvenir pins for my collection. We had a few drinks at a bar in town and then went to bed early again because we had a sunrise bus trip the next day.
Lookout and BBQ
We woke up quite early and made breakfast from ‘The Breakfast Box’. This was a big Rubbermaid container G Adventures provided that was full of supplies, you could have toast with peanut butter and jam, instant coffee and I think oatmeal sometimes ? That was included which was nice, not fancy, but it’s enough for breakfast and we had the same thing on my Outback tour, which you can read about here [link coming soon].
We then drove back to the beach for a quieter, sunrise visit. That’s just reality with popular destinations, you’re not the only one who wants to visit, so the early morning experience was a nice contrast to the busy afternoon the day before.
After a short drive, the next stop was a park area with a short walk up to a lookout. For lunch, we had an included traditional Australian BBQ where we were bothered by a large gang of emus, they came quite close to the table to investigate our picnic.
This tour was very good about catering for vegetarians and we also had beetroot to put on the burgers which is very Australian. I had that once before in Spain with the Australians at a surf camp in San Sebastian which you can read about here [link coming soon].
Hall’s Gap and Grampians
Later in the afternoon we stopped for another hike called ‘The Pinnacle Walk and Lookout’ in the Grampians, on the way to Hall's Gap. This was a real hike, moderately strenuous, up to a high lookout over a valley. The views were beautiful but I unfortunately only had an iPod Touch with me so the pictures here do not do it justice. One aspect of this tour which I enjoyed was that we were pretty active every day.
We drove into the town below, called Hall's Gap, for the evening, and stayed at another hostel in 4-share dorms again. The guide offered to arrange for an optional group meal if everyone put in a few dollars for him to get supplies. I declined just because I don't eat meat but I ate a salad with everyone.
We had free time before dinner so a few of us walked into what looked like a soccer field, but I was corrected, it was apparently a rugby oval, or a cricket square or an AFL… something ? Anyway, there were lots of random kangaroos just chilling there to take pictures with. Later we just played trivia and board games in the hostel, not much else to do in such a small town.
MacKenzie Falls and Drive to Adelaide
First stop today was a waterfall hike at MacKenzie Falls and we left quite early before it got too hot. This was again a moderate walk, but with quite a few stairs and going up and down. There was a nice stepping stone bridge across the water and we tried to get some action shots jumping across.
Later we stopped in a small town called Keith for lunch, on the drive into Adelaide. We all got grocery store food and had a picnic in the park, one of the Europeans bought berries and thought the price per 100g was the full price so ended up paying like 12$ for a handful of blueberries !
You have to be careful with that in rural areas and the Outback because it is expensive to ship stuff in. I did enjoy that this G Adventures Australia tour felt like a legitimate backpacking trip and options like getting food from the grocery store were in line with most peoples’ budgets.
Adelaide
I believe we were supposed to visit an Aboriginal cultural centre either today or the previous day but it was closed for renovations or a similar issue so we had to skip that, but I do believe that it is important in a colonial history country like Australia to learn about history and culture from the traditional people to get another perspective.
The rest of the afternoon was just driving, upon arrival in the city of Adelaide, we checked into a YHA hostel in another 4 share. It’s funny, my entire Australia trip had started 6 weeks earlier at the same hostel in Adelaide to start a tour through the Outback, I didn’t think I’d be back so soon, but sometimes plans change (because of a cyclone in this case)!
We went out for one last optional group dinner and also to a bar and nightclub, as it was a weekend evening and one of the only stops in a big city. This was my last night with the group as everyone else was continuing on into the Outback and I was joining another small group tour in Tasmania with Intrepid.
Adelaide and Glenelg Beach
I had one final breakfast from ‘the breakfast box’ as this was the last official day, and the tour technically ended after that but it was a free day for those who were continuing on into the Outback. Three of us decided to go to Glenelg beach for the day. We took a tram/light rail and they are very trusting in Australia, you purchase your own ticket at a machine and there aren't any checks or inspections.
We just had a nice typical beach day here, had ice cream, did some shopping, not planned in particular. On our journey back to the city, the streets were packed with people that night going to an "AFL game" all in matching scarfs and sweaters, they seem to take it very seriously in Adelaide.
Even though I was only with the G Adventures group for 3 days, I actually really liked the group and was sad to leave them as they were on a longer tour through the Outback and I needed to return to Melbourne to catch a flight for my Tasmania tour. I said goodbye to everyone that afternoon as I was staying in a different hostel and met a friend for dinner from my Contiki USA tour which you can read about here [link coming soon].
Adelaide to Melbourne
I decided to catch the train back to Melbourne the next morning and went to the WRONG TRAIN STATION. However, I always try to be early and was able to catch a taxi to the correct terminal.
Travel Tip: make sure you know WHICH train station you need to be at, don't just go to the closest one and assume it’s the only one (same goes for airports, London for example, has 4 ).
I then enjoyed the slowest train journey of my life on the Overland train service, we were literally going 85km/hour. Taking trains is better for the environment than flying but the timing wasn’t ideal, as I lost an entire day sitting on the train. But sometimes you need a break after a tour, and I am also trying to avoid short-haul flights when there is a reasonable alternative available. It was nice to have a rest day after all the fun and activities on the G Adventures Great Ocean Road tour over the previous few days.
Final Recommendation for the G Adventures Great Ocean Road Tour
What I liked : I felt that 3 days to visit the Great Ocean Road with G Adventures in Australia was a nice amount of time to not feel as rushed as a 1 day tour but still reasonable for those short on time. I liked the smaller group and smaller bus, we were able to all get ready in the morning much faster than a 50 person coach.
I generally liked the backpacker style of this trip, it really felt like being on a little road trip with some friends and the options for food and activities were all in line with a backpacker budget. The guide was knowledgeable and friendly and I felt safe at all times.
The pre-departure information and communication was adequate, and all activities and accommodation were in line with what was advertised by G Adventures.
What could have been better : My issue was really that I feel like I got a 3 day tour but paid for a 5 day tour, the first and last day had nothing included so I could have just paid for a hostel myself those nights, since I paid for my own food and activities anyways.
Would I recommend this G Adventures Great Ocean Road tour ?
I think this could be a good option for someone in a similar situation, having a few days and wanting to see the Great Ocean Road with other budget minded backpackers and not wanting to deal with the hassle of car rental or driving (on the ‘wrong’ side of the road in a foreign country).
I liked the smaller group size, the private bus, the professional and well-informed tour leader and the general budget minded and backpacker friendly atmosphere.
I think the service and experience were quite good and I would recommend a shorter version of this tour, I just didn’t get any added value from the first day in Melbourne or last day in Adelaide being included with the tour.
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Frequently Asked Questions about G Adventures
Is G Adventures good ? I have done two tours with G Adventures, the G Adventures Great Ocean Road tour in Australia and the G Adventures USA North West camping road trip from Chicago to San Francisco, which you can read about here. I enjoyed both experiences, and you can read my full reviews to decide for yourself whether an experience with G Adventures is right for you.
Is G Adventures worth it ? As someone who has done two G Adventures tours, I thought the G Adventures USA camping trip I did was definitely worth it in terms of included activities, food, acocmodation and services. I more unsure about whether the G Adventures Great Ocean Road trip I did was worth it, you can read my full review above to learn more about my concerns.
Does G Adventures have age limits and is G Adventures for seniors ? G Adventures offers a range of tours, some are aimed at the 18 to 39 demographic and are age-restricted for this reason. There is no listed upper age limit but they may ask you to complete a medical questionnaire in some situations, make sure to check their website for details.
Where is G Adventures based ? The main offices are located in Toronto, Canada and the founder, Bruce Poon Tip, is Canadian. G Adventures offers tours to destinations all over the world.
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