Bendigo’s gold-rush heritage, Central Deborah Gold Mine and heritage trams are still all worth the trip, but the Bendigo Art Gallery is closed for redevelopment until early 2028. Here’s the current, honest guide to getting from Melbourne to Bendigo by car or train in 2026 (there’s no standalone coach service anymore).
Mildura sits on the Murray River at the far end of Victoria’s Mallee country, and it’s become one of the state’s most popular long-weekend escapes precisely because it doesn’t feel like Victoria at all. Think houseboats, citrus groves, cellar doors and 300-plus days of sunshine a year. There are four distinct options for getting there, […]
Mansfield sits where the Victorian High Country properly begins, a lake-and-farmland town that spends its winters as the last stop before Mount Buller and Mount Stirling, and the rest of the year as one of the state’s most underrated bases for wine, water and a bit of Man from Snowy River folklore. The 2026 season […]
One of the Dandenong Ranges’ most distinctive attractions reopened in August 2026 after five years of storm-damage repairs, while SkyHigh’s restaurant sits closed and Puffing Billy fares have crept up. Here’s the current 2026 guide to getting to the Ranges by car, train and bus.
Beaches, cellar doors and hot springs are barely an hour from the city, but Portsea Pier is shut for major repairs and the Peninsula’s bus network just had its biggest shake-up in years. Here’s the current 2026 guide to getting there by car, train and bus, and what to expect once you arrive.
The Bendigo line stops at Woodend and Macedon, but neither station is anywhere near Hanging Rock itself, and there’s no bus to fill the gap. Here’s the honest, current guide to getting from Melbourne to Hanging Rock, Mount Macedon and the historic townships of the Macedon Ranges in 2026.
King Valley’s Italian-variety wines (prosecco, sangiovese, nebbiolo) are a properly different drawcard to the Yarra Valley, but there’s no Melbourne day-tour bus, no direct flight, and no bus into the valley itself. Here’s the honest, current guide to getting from Melbourne to Milawa, Whitfield and Cheshunt in 2026.
The Grampians Peaks Trail reopened in full after the 2024-25 bushfires, but MacKenzie Falls is shut for redevelopment through the rest of 2026. Here’s the current, honest guide to getting from Melbourne to Halls Gap by car, train and coach, or organised tour.
Getting from Melbourne to Bright in 2026: drive times, the real character of the Great Alpine Road, current snow chain and Mount Buffalo road rules, half-price V/Line fares, and an honest read on whether Bright, Harrietville or Mount Beauty is really the better base for Hotham or Falls Creek.
The Bellarine Peninsula covers a whole string of destinations rather than one town, Drysdale, Portarlington, Indented Head, St Leonards, Queenscliff, Ocean Grove, Point Lonsdale, Barwon Heads and Wallington among them, all within easy reach of Geelong on the peninsula’s eastern side. It’s one of the few Melbourne getaways you can genuinely reach by car, ferry […]