Bells Beach is the surf break 8 km west of Torquay and about 29 km from Geelong, home of the Rip Curl Pro at Easter, a contest first held there in 1962. Entry is free: park in the reserve, watch from the clifftop viewing platforms, take the timber steps to the sand or walk in on the Surf Coast Walk.
Bells Beach is a surf break in a clifftop reserve about 8 km west of Torquay and about 29 km from Geelong. Its two land managers, past and present, call it the world’s first surfing reserve, and the contest that became the Rip Curl Pro has run every year since 1962 apart from 2020 and 2021. Visiting is free. Drive into the reserve, watch from the viewing platforms above the break, then take the timber steps down to the beach or walk a stretch of the Surf Coast Walk.
You do not need to surf to enjoy it. Plan on 30 minutes for a look, or half a day if you walk in from Torquay.
| Detail | Checked October 2026 |
|---|---|
| Entry | Free |
| Getting there | About 35 minutes’ drive from Geelong; 11 minutes from Torquay |
| Parking | Sealed car park inside the reserve, on Bells Beach Road |
| Public transport | None to the beach; bus 53 reaches Torquay, then walk |
| Dogs | Allowed in the reserve on a lead |
| Manager | Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority (since 1 July 2024) |
The car park itself has views along the coast and over the break. The white wave sign at the first car park went up in 1972 and is now on the Victorian Heritage Register.
Neither land manager lists a lifesaving patrol for Bells. Treat it as a place to watch surfing, and swim at the patrolled beaches back in Torquay.
The Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority maintains the viewing platforms along the clifftop. From them you can see the two main breaks, Bells itself and Winki Pop.
The timber steps from the car park to the beach were built in 2008 and give year-round access down to the sand.
The Surf Coast Shire once proposed a 60 m elevated walkway and viewing platform over Winkipop. Surfers objected, and in May 2021 the state government approved the reserve’s new plan only on condition that the platform was dropped. So what you see is low-key on purpose: a car park, the steps, the platforms and the bush.
The Rip Curl Pro is Bells Beach’s surf contest. It is held over Easter and is the event most people know the beach from.
Dates and facts (Checked October 2026):
| 2026 event | 1 to 11 April 2026, the first stop of the WSL Championship Tour |
| 2027 event | Dates not announced by the WSL or Surfing Victoria |
| Contract | The Victorian Government has the event locked in to 2028 |
| First contest | Australia Day 1962 |
| First prize money | 1973, from Rip Curl |
Surf Coast Shire calls it “the world’s longest running surf contest”, and the Victorian Government uses similar words. It has run every year except 2020 and 2021, when COVID-19 stopped it.
The winner rings a bell, which is the trophy. The Australian National Surfing Museum in Torquay has an exhibition on those bells, with more than a dozen on display; see it before or after your visit.
During the contest, spectators watch for free from the clifftop. Check the WSL website for the day’s schedule before you drive down.
The Surf Coast Walk passes through the reserve, with views over both Bells and Winki Pop. It runs from Torquay to Fairhaven, just past Aireys Inlet.
There is no bus at Bells. Either walk both ways, leave a car at each end, or catch a lift back to Torquay.
Bells Beach is on Wadawurrung Country. Its Wadawurrung name, Djarrak, means “bended arm”, after the shape of the cliffs, according to Surf Coast Shire and the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority.
The surfing story is short and well recorded:
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1961 | Local surfers grade a track down to the beach |
| 1962 | The first contest, a “Surfboard Rally”, is held on Australia Day |
| 1970 | Bells Beach Road is built in time for the World Surfboarding Titles |
| 1971 | The council becomes land manager; in November the land is named the Bells Beach Surfing Recreation Reserve |
| 1973 | Rip Curl puts up prize money and the contest becomes the Rip Curl Pro |
| 1981 | Simon Anderson wins on a three-fin “thruster” board |
| 2008 | The current timber steps are built |
| 2024 | Management passes from Surf Coast Shire to the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority |
Both the shire and the authority call the 1971 naming “the world’s first surfing reserve”. The Victorian Heritage Database gives 1973 for the reserve instead. Surf Coast Shire also calls the 1973 contest the first professional surfing contest.
The reserve is not only about surf. The shire’s surveys count 197 native plant species and more than 80 bird species, including the Rufous Bristlebird, listed as vulnerable. The sea off Winki Pop and westward has been part of Point Addis Marine National Park since 2002.
Bells is where the world tour professionals compete. If you are learning, take a lesson on Torquay’s main beach first; our Torquay guide lists one with board and wetsuit supplied. A tandem skydive from up to 15,000 ft also flies over Torquay and Bells if you would rather see it from above.
Bells is the first stop on the Great Ocean Road after Torquay, so it fits any drive west. Our Great Ocean Road itinerary puts it on the way to Anglesea and Lorne, and the Great Ocean Road map gives the distances.
The most-reviewed big day tour from Melbourne stops at Torquay’s surf beach with a look at Bells. Like the others, it starts in Melbourne and does not stop in Geelong. See Great Ocean Road tours to compare them, or all tours for local options. If you want to stay near the coast but close to the city, our Geelong accommodation guide covers both.
13.5 hours
The most-reviewed Great Ocean Road day trip, run by a family business: Torquay surf beach with a look at Bells Beach, wild koalas, a tall-forest walk and the Twelve Apostles.
fromA$125
Check availability2-6 hours
A tandem skydive from up to 15,000 ft above Torquay and Bells Beach, with up to a minute of freefall and an optional Melbourne pickup.
fromA$379
Check availability1.5-2 hours
A beginner surf lesson on Torquay's main beach with wetsuit and board supplied; there are also three-lesson course and private options.
fromA$94
Check availability13 hours (multi-day options up to 3 days)
A long-running minibus tour that starts the coast with morning tea near Torquay, then the Memorial Arch, Apollo Bay, Maits Rest rainforest walk and the Twelve Apostles.
fromA$159
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Updated
The Rip Curl Pro runs over Easter. The 2026 event was held from 1 to 11 April and opened the World Surf League Championship Tour. As of October 2026 neither the WSL nor Surfing Victoria had announced dates for 2027. The Victorian Government has a deal keeping the contest at Bells until at least 2028, so expect it again next Easter.
Bells is a surf break, not a swimming beach. Neither the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority nor Visit Great Ocean Road lists a lifesaving patrol for it. If you want to swim, go to the patrolled beaches in Torquay, about 8 km back, and swim between the red and yellow flags while lifesavers are on duty.
Drive. Bells Beach is about 29 km from Geelong city centre, around 35 minutes via Torquay, with a car park inside the reserve. There is no public bus to the beach. Without a car, take bus 53 from Geelong Station to Torquay and walk the Surf Coast Walk from Point Danger, which trail guides put at about 6.5 km one way.
The Rip Curl Pro trophy is a bell, and the winner rings it on the podium. Victorian Government material names past winners who rang it, including Stephanie Gilmore, Layne Beachley, Kelly Slater and Mick Fanning. The Australian National Surfing Museum in Torquay has an exhibition on the trophy with more than a dozen of the bells on display.
Yes, for an hour or so. The clifftop platforms give a clear view of surfers on the Bells and Winki Pop breaks, the timber steps take you down to the sand, and the Surf Coast Walk runs along the cliffs in both directions. It is a short detour on any drive down the Great Ocean Road, about ten minutes from Torquay.
Torquay is the surf town where the Great Ocean Road begins, about 21 km and 25 minutes' drive south of Geelong, or 45 to 50 minutes on bus 53.
From Geelong, the Great Ocean Road starts 21 km away in Torquay.
The Great Ocean Road starts in Torquay, 21 km south of Geelong, and runs about 240 km west to Allansford near Warrnambool.
Lorne is a beach town on the Great Ocean Road, about 65 km and 1 hour 10 minutes from Geelong.