I went to Phillip Island with Hilda yesterday. It was a…read moregreat experience. She had an outstanding attitude the whole way, even overlooking late-return-to-the-bus customers and others that hustled her to drop them off at custom locations. I was thrilled with the Penguin Plus seating area and loved the astounding parade. The other stops were fun (Brighton Beach and Moonlit Sanctuary). The time went by quickly; the timing was quite tight. In hindsight, it is quite a bargain price-wise considering all the admission prices. Future recommendations would include wider seats, pockets in front and overhead shelves.

RED WAS THE BEST! Totally recommend going on a tour with Go West, we had an absolute blast on the…read moreExpress Penguin Tour! Red was HILARIOUS and super knowledgeable, he made the tour infinitely cooler (and yes, penguins are SUPER cool). We saw tons of penguins (heads up, no photos after sunset) and had a great stop for dinner. Pro tip is to dress SUPER warm, I'm talking puffer jackets/padding/blankets and definitely long pants cause it's freezing, even in the Summer. Hope y'all enjoy, 10/10 experience and I understand why they have five stars!

- great tour - knowledgeable staff…read more- great recs on sites and activities in Melbourne - we saw a lot - you really see everything - great lunch - plenty of bathroom and water breaks

It was our third trip back in Melbourne in the past four years and finally my husband and I visited…read morethe Great Ocean Road. We had a fantastic day out with Paul and though it was a long day, it certainly did not feel like it. It is evident that Paul has put his whole heart into making Escape Discovery Adventures a success and what made us love the tour most was that it was personal. My husband and I do not like going on huge commercialized bus tours and the small group led by Paul was perfect for us. We went on this tour wanting to learn about Australia and its history, and what it means to be Australian and our day out with Paul helped us achieve that. We also appreciate the tiny details that Paul thought of e.g. informative collection of articles about Victoria that we read while riding in the van. Clearly, alot of effort has gone into making his tours a success and we hope it continues. We saw and learned so much: Great Ocean Road, 12 Apostles, rainforest, "ufo" mystery, aborogines situation,etc. Loved the vegemite with crackers, ANZAC biscuits, and lamingtons. We will always have this to anchor our memories of Victoria! Thanks Paul!

GREAT OCEAN ROAD/ 12 APOSTLE TOUR. "THE PRIVATE TOUR…read moreGUIDE.COM" RATHER than subject ourselves to a 30 to 50 passenger tour bus , we chose an individual tour, just for the two of us. Our thoughts were we could stop as long as we wanted, take photos when we wanted, eat when we wanted, use the rest room when we wanted and, in general, do our own thing, not dependent on anyone else. It was a great choice! Our tour guide, Simon, was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and other parts of the world we had visited. Our tour was 12 hours and throughout this entire time we never got bored, lacked for conversation or tired of the incredible scenery. Included in the tour were an early stop for coffee and pastries, a stop for lunch and a stop for ice cream. We requested an additional stop at a golf course, whose greens were covered with kangaroos I might add, so we could buy logo merchandise with the course's kangaroo logo. Yes, I know I didn't play the course so it's kind of cheating but it's thousands of miles away. We were promised and Koalas and, although not near as plentiful as the yellow highway signs would have you believe, we did find a few. The Parrots were hungry as you can see from the photos. Koalas are invisible to I-phones. We returned to Melbourne at the appointed time, just after rush hour, tired but incredibly pleased with our day, our guide and the way we toured the Great Ocean Road. HIGHLY, HIGHLY recommended!

While we used this company around 2 years ago we had the best experience possible…read more When compared to other companies it was reasonably priced for the quality of service you are receiving. We spent three days with the company, doing a wine/brewery tour, touring the city of Melbourne and seeing the penguins, plus touring the great ocean road. The tour was everything we could have hoped for and more.

The guide was the driver of a 12(?) passenger van. He was very courteous and accommodating. Since…read morewe sat in the very front seat by the driver, we were able to have numerous questions answered. The tour came with tickets for the Wildlife Park, and we also purchased tickets to have pictures taken with a koala when we arrived the park. It gave us the opportunity to pet the soft fur of the koala. You might also want to purchase food for the kangaroos. The kangaroos gravitated toward tourists with food. An opportunity to pet and take pictures with numerous kangaroos. For the Penguin Parade, you'll want a warm jacket. I was glad I brought a warm jacket, but I am from southern California. Someone from Chicago might not consider it as being cold. I was glad that we chose this company with a passenger van than to tour around with a bus load of people.

Amazing Melbourne T had to be one of the high points of our 12 days in Australia then NZ; we spent…read morefive hours w/ Shelly and she turned it into the value of values for this beautiful city of Melbourne---the stops were the best; her love and depth of knowledge of the region and the city made it a day well spent and she is surely known to the many merchants, tourist highpoint stops and neighborhoods that she showed to us; it was an air conditioned roomy van and she began the morning by giving us the history of what we were about to see--if you want value and the chance to see just what you need to see for your time here--then this is the local to book and book now---my guess is she has got to be in demand and I can vouch for time and dollars very well spent/ so do it now/

Scott was an excellent host for our family over a three-day, personalized tour outside Melbourne…read moreand along the Great Ocean Road. He is extremely knowledgeable about the region, in part due to his local origins, but also because he has obviously thoroughly researched all facets of the environment in which he operates. This produces a travel experience that offers ecological insights, historical background, and local color, conveyed through uniquely interesting, and often funny, stories. If you are seeking a highly engaging, personalized, and value-driven tour provider, I can recommend Scott unequivocally.

Great stops along the beach. Easy transport to each location. Flexible time to spend at each…read morelocation. Beautiful sun drenched beaches, incredible rock formations. We even got to see a koala bear in the tree and some kangaroos running around some golf course or farm too. So many great photo opportunities along the strip and Road. You must make stops along the way, it's an absolute must.

Matt and his company were great. We wanted something much more personal than a big bus tour. We…read moresaw amazing sights on the Great Ocean Road, heard a lot of interesting facts, saw koalas and kangaroo up close in the wild, and had numerous nice stops to break up the trip. Matt is a local, and you can tell from his depth of knowledge of the plants, animals and terrain. Our family highly recommends Matt and his company. Support a local small business!

We had an amazing time with Matt as our guide! He took us from Melbourne to Adelaide over a 4 day…read moreadventure! We added an extra day trip out of Melbourne to see the Penguin Parade and Churchill Island. He personalized our tour to meet our needs, and gave us a wonderful tour of wildlife, beaches, 12 Apostles, seaside towns, and wonderful food! Also, made extra trips to get us coffee and playground time for my two kids. Australia is amazing, but to have a personal guide that became a friend made it exceptional! We visited places we probably would never have found on our own, and he was able to give us information about each and every place. I highly recommend this group to show you the Great Ocean Road!

Booked a tour with them through Viator. Never received a confirmation email and they charged me…read moreanyway. Said it "wasn't their problem". Viator said it wasn't their problem either.

Wasn't nuts about my experience. I did the one day Great Ocean Road tour. I purchased through…read moreSightseeing Tours Australia which advertised a large coach tour and then a tour that was not labeled large coach. I opted to not be in a large coach because I don't like huge bus tours and that's exactly what I got. First off I was one of the last pickups so I got a crummy seat in the back and not at a window. I asked the girl next to me if she'd be willing to switch at some point during the tour since the whole tour is about a scenic drive and she literally said no and that it wasn't her fault I got picked up last. I think the tour guide should tell people to move seats at each stop because your seat on the bus makes a HUGE difference. I was at least on the left side of the bus, on the coast side - if you're on the right don't even bother trying to see anything because you won't. On top of that most of our stops were pretty whatever with the exception of the last two stops at Loch Ard Gorge and 12 Apostles. Our stops included: a gas station if we wanted coffee or tea, the arch that says great ocean road (really kind of whatever), an area where you can see parrots and if you're lucky a wild koala, a town for lunch, and a quick rainforest walk to see a fairly unimpressive waterfall. My interest was the Great Ocean Road, and we made NO stops by the cliffs or for scenic views of that until the end at 12 Apostles. Basically you are on the bus ALL day, and only 1/4 of you are going to have a full view, and you won't stop at scenic areas. The tour finishes with a stop at McDonald's for dinner. Or KFC. Your pick. All in all I REALLY wish I had just rented a car and done it myself. I don't think the Great Ocean Road is a good destination for a large coach tour. But this one made it even worse.