Great Ocean Walk - advice please

[Peta]

My husband and I are flying down from Mackay, Qld to Melbourne in April 2024 and we are looking for the best and most cost effective way to transfer from Melbourne airport to Apollo Bay.

We are also trying to work out how to get gas canisters for our Jetboil stove, as we are unable to bring them with us, as we are flying. Has anyone else flown down and been able to get some gas canisters delivered to their accommodation in Apollo Bay.

Any information or advice will be very much appreciated.

[Baeng72]

Take all of this with a grain of salt, as I've not done it, and am only going on 2nd hand info/internet searches...

You can get a train (Melbourne to Geelong)/bus to Apollo bay and then the Twelve Apostles (termini of the walk) from Southern Cross (Spencer Street) station.
You don't need to book this bus to get on, so you can train/bus to the start of your walk at Apollo bay, finish at Twelve Apostles (near Port Campbell) and wait for the next bus heading back to the city, just pay (somehow, I haven't done it) when you board.
There appears to be a change at Apollo Bay, and in true Victorian public transport fashion, the connecting service will have left 15 minutes before you arrive.

Melbourne is marvelously woeful in public transport options from Airport to City, unlike Brisbane, due to vested interests, so you'll need to taxi or get a Sky Bus type transport.

Gas could be acquired at a Kmart, if the city store stocks it, or somewhere nearby like Paddy Palin.
(both are in Bourke Street according to Google, who never lies, but both are the wrong end of Bourke street for a 5 min stroll. Maybe Taxi to top end of Bourke Street, get gas, tram (free in city center) down to Southern Cross, then catch your train?)
https://www.vline.com.au/getattachment/ ... Ocean-Road)
https://www.kmart.com.au/store-detail/Melbourne+Cbd/
https://www.paddypallin.com.au/store-locator/melbourne/
https://www.paddypallin.com.au/equipmen ... e/gas.html

[Peta]

Thanks for all of that advice. We will check it all out.

[Baeng72]

TMaybe Taxi from the airport to top end of Bourke Street, get gas, tram (free in city center) down to Southern Cross, then catch your train?)

If you get SkyBus to Southern Cross, then take free tram to other end of Bourke Street, it's perpendicular to Spencer Street - but not at the 'station/kiosk' end -, get gas, then tram back.
Apologies, there's a lot of assumptions in my previous post.
I'm not you, so I can only imagine what I - someone familiar with Melbourne and Western Victoria but yet hasn't done the journey - would do. So, your 'mileage' may vary.

[Lophophaps]

Tickets for the bus from the airport need to be bought before you get on the bus. I think that there are machines near the departure points, not advertised so that the customer prints the tickets. It may be possible to have a ticket on a phone.
https://airport-transfers.tickets-melbo ... %20-%20All

At Southern Cross railway station, get off the bus and go south, wall on the left, buses on the right. Go through a few doors past the toilets and the country trains are on the right.

In the Melbourne CBD trams are free.
https://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/free-tram-zone

[peregrinator]

My husband and I are flying down from Mackay, Qld to Melbourne in April 2024 and we are looking for the best and most cost effective way to transfer from Melbourne airport to Apollo Bay.

We are also trying to work out how to get gas canisters for our Jetboil stove, as we are unable to bring them with us, as we are flying. Has anyone else flown down and been able to get some gas canisters delivered to their accommodation in Apollo Bay.

Any information or advice will be very much appreciated.

A key question is, what time of day do you intend to arrive at the airport? Depending on the answer to that, you may need to stay in Melbourne on your first night. (This could probably make purchasing gas easier.) There are limited public transport services to the Otway region. But you will be able to find a satisfactory one. (For good views, make sure you sit on the coast side of buses in both directions.) Specific information is available from the Public Transport Victoria website. For example:

https://tinyurl.com/bddcu87f

Note that the bus connections at Apollo Bay do allow a changeover time gap. For initial information on walks and camping see:

https://www.parks.vic.gov.au/places-to- ... ocean-walk

As others have I think suggested, you could start at either end based in what your overall time-frame allows.

[Eremophila]

To my knowledge, tickets for the V-Line bus between Geelong and Apollo Bay / Twelve Apostles need to be purchased beforehand, and either posted to you or collected at a V-Line outlet. The driver won't have any facility to accept payments.

Regional fares in Victoria were capped earlier this year which is a bit of good news.

You can view departure/arrival times by entering your trip details here: https://www.vline.com.au/Plan-trip-buy-tickets

[Baeng72]

To my knowledge, tickets for the V-Line bus between Geelong and Apollo Bay / Twelve Apostles need to be purchased beforehand, and either posted to you or collected at a V-Line outlet. The driver won't have any facility to accept payments.

Regional fares in Victoria were capped earlier this year which is a bit of good news.

You can view departure/arrival times by entering your trip details here: https://www.vline.com.au/Plan-trip-buy-tickets

Apologies for spreading misinformation about tickets. I'm sure i've read people saying you can just get on and pay, but there you go...

[Lophophaps]

To be certain of a seat it's best to book.It is possible to just turn up and pay, but there's no guarantee of a seat.